The Rural Voice, 1997-07, Page 41t
c
My Town
Brussels marks its 125th birthday still
WORKING TOGETHER
with its farming community
By Bonnie Gropp
The flax mill was one of a number of agriculture processing industries that made
Brussels boom in the 19th century.
Over a century ago, it was a
thriving industrial community.
Today, as it prepares to cele-
brate its 125th anniversary, the Vil-
lage of Brussels is a key example of a
town that exists to serve its rural com-
munity.
From the pioneers who built it, to
the volunteers who keep it strong,
Brussels has become not just a place
to do business for its rural neighbours
in Morris and Grey Townships, but
their town.
The potential in this riverside vil-
lage was discovered early. Historians
suggest that English -born William
Ainley, who had arrived in Huron
County with his parents as an eight-
year-old, chose the Brussels site
because of the Maitland River and the
rich, virgin soil umbrellaed under
majestic trees.
On November 1, 1853, Ainlay
moved to the log shanty he had con-
structed and began planning his vil-
lage. By 1855 Ainleyville was born, in
what is the southeast section of the
present village.
The community prospered and
grew.
The village and its productive agri-
cultural base received a boost in 1864
when a railway station was built about
three blocks away from town. An
early inhabitant, grain dealer John
Leckie, is regarded to have been the
driving force behind Great Western
Railroad's (later CN) decision to build
a line through Ainleyville.
While this was a boon for business
and industry, it also began the trans-
formation from Ainleyville to Brus-
sels. Railroad workers were given the
opportunity to name the new station
and with many of them being of Euro-
pean descent, the name Brussels was
selected.
At this same time, the post office in
the village had been officially named
Dingle Post Office. Obviously this led
to confusion, so less than 20 years
after the development of Ainleyville.
with its founder now deceased, the
names of the community and post
office were changed to Brussels.
The population in the early years
stayed fairly constant at 900. Indus-
tries such as a steam -powered fire
engine factory and corset factory w ere
established and business boomed. But
it was the mills and the retail stores
that attracted neighbouring farm fami-
lies to the village. There were stores,
shops and professions, including two
lawyers and three doctors. The village
boasted seven churches and its own
newspaper. In time it added woolen
mills, a flax mill and a planing mill.
Over the course of its 125 -year his-
tory, Brussels had its share of chal-
lenges. Fires have devastated it,
industries have left. By the 1950s the
population had hit a low of 800, yet
the pride in community, which has
always been evident, continued. And
the services offered to the agricultural
community continued to attract farm-
ers to town.
To attest yet further to Brussels'
strong rural roots, one has only to look
at its annual Fall Fair, older even than
the village itself. The first, called the
East Huron Agricultural Society was
held in 1861. It was a grand occasion,
one of friendly rivalry, as exhibits of
stock, farm produce and fancy work
were compared, as well as a time of
socializing.
President of the Brussels Agricul-
tural Society today, Dorothy Cum-
mings, said that while some of the
focus has been shifted from agricul-
ture to a more commercial event to
meet the changing trends of modern
society, this aspect of the fair has not.
"We still have the exhibits, and the
fair continues to be a place for country
and town people to get together, slow
the pace down and visit. It is today,
perhaps even more of a community
event between Brussels people and
their rural neighbours."
So close is this community sense.
that in many aspects it is difficult to
tell where the village ends and the
country begins. Most undertakings are
accomplished through a partnership of
town and country.
Doctors and a dentist care for
patients from their offices in the Med-
ical/Dental Clinic, built in the late
'60s through the efforts and determi-
July 1997 37