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ESQUESING HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER P.O. Box 51, Georgetown, Ontario, Canada L7G 4T1 May- June 1998 Historical Glen Williams "Beautiful spot! A perfect oasis in the leafy' desert... The village itself is built on a 'flat,' hut above and below it there are numerous mill seats. It is only a short time since it was located, yet there are already erected an in operation an extensive Woollen Factory, by Williams; a Grist Mill with three run of stones, and a Saw Mill.-- There is no doubt that in a few years this place will be the nucleus of an extensive trade with the adjoining country." Such were the first impressions of a traveller who arrived in the Glen in 1847. Today the "perfect oasis" takes considerable pride in its legacy of well-constructed buildings, its long manufacturing history and its sense of community (an irreplaceable commodity these days). In 1825, old Benajah Williams and his wife, Elizabeth Kennedy, brought their large family to lot 21, concession 10, Esquesing Township. As in most emerging settlements, the power of the local stream, in this case the Credit River, was used to run saw and flour mills. But for the local farmers, the Williams were more than just millers. They were blacksmiths (Joel Williams), cabinetmakers (Isaac Williams), leather tanners (David Williams), and general store (Charles Williams). Since Benajah had run a textile mill in the Niagara peninsula before moving to the Credit, it was natural for his son Jacob to open a woollen mill here in 1839. INSIDE THIS ISSUE TOUR OF GLEN WILLIAMS page 2 SOCIETY NOTES page 3 MEADOWGLEN GROWERS page 6 UPCOMING MEETINGS page 7 HISTORICAL GARDENS page 8 BEAUTIFUL HOMES AND GARDENS page 9 BANK MERGERS AND FAILURES page 11 The settlement which grew up around all this activity was known locally as Williamsburgh until 1852. Postal authorities refused to give the community a post office unless its name was unique (and there was already a Williamsburgh on the St. Lawrence)--so it became Glen Williams. Although Charles Williams would be the first postmaster, it was to Wheeler's General Store that generations of those in the Glen went for their mail. Esquesing Historical Society Newsletter 1