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HISTORY & HAMLETS
Elmwood
Elmwood
Elmwood's founding is attributed to John Dirstein, Sr., who acquired 273 acres in Brant Township and set about establishing a community. The name seems to have derived from a giant elm tree, which was in the way of progress and felled near the intersection of Main and Queen Streets (very likely all the citizens benefitted from the resulting wood).
Eventually, the village offered five churches, a hotel, carpenter, furniture factory, doctor, flour mill, grain dealer, hardware store, cooper, four general stores, carriage, harness and wagon makers, blacksmith, livery, wood dealer, two grocers and a pump maker. The village straddles the line between Bruce and Grey Counties but the citizens have always conducted business as a community on both sides of the street.
It is of some interest that a local inventor, Elhanan Bowman, strung some wire between himself and a neighbour a few blocks away, thus establishing telephone service in 1908. Before long he had 160 subscribers. The business passed through various ownerships until it was taken over by Bell in 1966.
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