BETHLEHEM

In the early sixties the Methodists built a church on Lot Seven, Concession Fourteen, Windham, and named it "Bethlehem." So, although the church building has vanished and there is nothing but the cemetery left, the locality is still known as Bethlehem, and the name has expanded to include the school that is about three-quarters of a mile away. For many years however this school was called the Mills School House as it was built on a corner of the farm of John Mills.

ATHERTON

Just where the main road leaves the town line between Windham and Charlotteville was formerly a busy spot. The familiar name was the Junction or Junctionville. For many years there was a post office there bearing the latter name, but it eventually gave way to the more euphonious name of Atherton, which was likely traceable to Lancashire, England. There has been no post office there for years.

BRANDY CREEK

Brandy Creek was formerly a post office in Windham Township. Brandy Creek is a small stream running into Big Creek at this place, but there is, alas, no post office there now.

Gibson Station, on the Railway west of Lynnville, was named for the Gibsons � William and David Z., who operated a sawmill nearby. Another neighborhood name for the place is Rattlesnake Harbour, but the rattlers have not been seen there for many years. The post office, Ellaton, was formerly at this place, and it is said was named for Ella Gibson, daughter of William Z. Gibson.

LAKE HUNGER

There is but one natural lake in Norfolk. On Lots 18 and 19 Concession 2 and 3, Windham, is located Lake Hunger. It is said by some to be bottomless, but it is not really so very deep. This bottomless idea may have been responsible for its name, and another theory is that it was given by the Indians. A small stream runs from Lake Hunger into Big Creek.

LA SALETTE

La Salette is a French name and is the place name of a celebrated shrine in France. About the time that a post office was established here, the shrine of La Salette in old France was much before the public, and the lovely church in the Norfolk village bears the name of "Our Lady of La Salette." Hence the name of this hamlet.

Bookton owes its origin to William Book, who in 1844 bought Lot 21, Concession 3, Windham. He was evidently of German extraction. It was easy to attach the English "ton", the word for town, to the proper name, and hence comes the word Bookton.

Ranelagh is apparently from Ranelagh Park, a lovely pleasure spot near London, England. But I cannot imagine how it was transferred to a crossroads between the counties of Norfolk and Brant. Kelvin takes us back to Auld Scotia. There is to be found a River Kelvin, and also a district called Kelvinside in Lanark County, near Glasgow.

VANESSA

Many years ago there was located a Methodist Church, called Bethany, on Lot 6, Concession 4, Windham. When the Bartholomews established their extensive mills there it became necessary to have a post office. The residents of the neighbourhood could not fix upon a name, so it was left to the post office department to select a name for them and so it happened that in 1876 Vanessa came into being. Henry Bartholomew was made postmaster, which position he held for 57 years being one of the oldest, if not the very oldest postmaster in the Dominion when he died.

Round Plains probably received its name from the plains in the vicinity, or possibly from the old practice track for horses.

THE LYNNS

Lynnville and Lynn Valley trace their names to the River Lynn, which by the way comes from Norfolk, England. This little stream rises in Windham Township, near Lynnville, and flows through Simcoe and Lynn Valley in Woodhouse and empties into Lake Erie at Port Dover.

COLBORNE

Colborne is one of the numerous places in Ontario named in honour of Sir John Colborne, Lord Seaton, at one time Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. There is also a township of Colborne in Huron County, the town of Port Colborne, and a village of Colborne in Northumberland County.

NIXON

Many years ago John Nickerson was a large landowner in Windham township. When the Great Western Railway was built, he called village on this road Nixville. But this was too long for the conductor and brakeman. They shortened it to Nixon.

VILLA NOVA

It is possible that the name Villa Nova in Townsend township was derived from the Peninsular War. The first name of the hamlet was Buck�s Corners. There was at the time of the Peninsular War a Villa Nova in Portugal. It is still there, and today there at least five villaneuves in Spain.

TEETERVILLE

On May 3rd, 1855, George Teeter bought more than 400 acres of land, the site of the village of Teetherville. He established prosperous saw and grist mills there and his name was given to the village.

NANTICOKE

We may mention the village of Nanticoke which is not far beyond our boundary. It is an Indian name, from Nanticoke creek which rises in Windham and Townsend and flows through the latter township and southeasterly across Woodhouse and Walpole townships to empty into Lake Erie near Nanticoke. The Indians called it the �crooked creek�.

MARBURG

Marburg commemorates the Marr family, prominent among the early settlers in this locality. Numerous members of the Marr family also lived at Marr�s Hollow a short distance  south of Simcoe, at that time a deep ravine with hills on either side. Robert Marr, son of David Marr of Marr�s Hollow, settled at Marburg early in the 19^th century. The Marrs at one time had 1,200 acres of land in East Woodhouse and some in Walpole.

DOAN�S HOLLOW

Doan�s Hollow, preserving the Doan family name, is where the west quarter town line of Woodhouse intersects the road between Concession Two and Three. It formerly boasted a prosperous foundry. From the old family home at the top of the hill, the Alleghany Mountains south of Lake Erie may be discerned on a clear day.

Stickney�s and Bowlby�s were stations on the L. E. & N. railway between Simcoe and Port Dover. These names remind us of two of the oldest families in Norfolk.

VARENCY

Previous to 1881, Varency had no name other than Long�s Mill. A post office was established in the community in 1881 and the Postal Department gave it the name of Varency. There were settlers on Nanticoke Creek up to the site of Varency as early as the 1790�s. The remainder of the Varency district was not settled until the opening of the Hamilton-Port Dover Plan Road in 1844. The railroad from Hamilton to Port Dover through this district was opened in 1878.

PORT RYERSE

It is a familiar story how Colonel Samuel Ryerse and his party, armed with an order from Governor Simcoe for a liberal grant of land, while working his way up Lake Erie in the fall of 1795, came to a place where there was a beautiful stream flowing into the lake and a steep hill as a background; how he landed and after looking over the place, went up the hill and declared: "Here is where I will settle and on the place where I stand, I will be buried." Thus Port Ryerse had its inception. Its founder died in 1812 and was buried on the spot, which he had designated. It is well known that the name Ryerse resulted from an error by a clerk in spelling it that way instead of 'Ryerson' in Samuel's military commission, and since it was an official document and the land grants had to be spelled the same way, we have the family name of Ryerse today. Dr. George Sterling Ryerson of Toronto, a grandson of Colonel Joseph Ryerson, who was a brother of Samuel, declares that the proper spelling of the name was Ryerzoon, being a Dutch name. Port Ryerse at one time was one of the very busy lake ports on the north shore of Lake Erie. Much timber and grain was shipped from there. When I was a boy, it was simply amazing to see the piles of wood of various kinds and shapes ready to be loaded for Buffalo and other ports.

NORFOLK TAVERNS

About one-third of the way from Port Dover to Jarvis formerly stood the old tavern known as the Dog's Nest, with a symbolical hanging sign. The old tavern and its sign have long since vanished, but the name of the Dog's Nest is still preserved.

Years ago there was situated a tavern at what is still called the Half-Way House, where No. 24 highway turns east leading from Simcoe to Port Dover. In those days the proprietor was C. R. Brown, and the name "Charlie Brown's" was a familiar one. Like so many other buildings, it fell prey to fire.

Then there was the Old Poplar Inn, located near the present site of St. John's Church, Woodhouse. It was one of the oldest places of its kind in Norfolk and a favourite meeting place. During the War of 1812, volunteers were recruited at this point by General Isaac Brock in preparing for his successful expedition to capture Detroit.

LAKE ERIE

I cannot consider my work complete unless I mention that lovely but treacherous sheet of water�Lake Erie�on our south. This lake bears the name of a tribe of Indians who lived on its south shore. They were related to the Senecas of the Six Nations, and yet it was the powerful Iroquois who destroyed them completely about the time they meted out the same fate to the Neutrals, who lived in this part of Ontario. This was about the middle of the 17^th century.