Publisher's Synopsis
Arthur is located just north of Highway 6 and Wellington Road 109 in the township of Wellington North. Arthur, named for Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, was the southern terminus of the Garafraxa "colonization road" to Owen Sound. Settlers arrived in 1840 with the town site being officially surveyed in 1846. The establishment of saw and grist mills hastened growth in the community which was also the natural market centre for the area's agricultural production. In 1851 a post office was opened and the first church and school were organized. A weekly newspaper, The Arthur Enterprise News, began publication in 1863 and a Division Court met at Arthur. In 1872, a station of the Toronto Grey and Bruce Railway was opened in the community. In 1897, Arthur was one of the first villages in Ontario to be served by a power transmission line. There were no meters, but people were charged ten cents for each light bulb used. Power was available in the evenings and was cut off at midnight. James Morrison, an influential activist in farmers' causes, lived two kilometers south of Arthur. He entered politics in the early 1900s, a time when many farmers felt ignored in an increasingly urban and industrial society. Morrison helped form the United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) and the United Farmers' Cooperative in 1914. Morrison advocated cooperative effort among farmers.
