Enniskillen, Ontario (Hamlet)

Enniskillen is a community located in the municipality of Clarington, Ontario, Canada. Enniskillen was established in the early 1800s. Enniskillen has one school, Enniskillen Public School, which takes students from junior kindergarten to grade 6. Enniskillen is mostly a farming community with one small urban area. In early December every year, THEE (Tyrone, Haydon, Enniskillen, Enfield) Farmers Parade takes place. The farmers in the area decorate their farm implements and provide a free parade to the residents as a thank-you for sharing the rural roads with them. The event is usually held the first Wednesday in December, starting at 6 pm.

Enniskillen has one general convenience store (very well known for its large ice cream cones) called the "Enniskillen General Store". This General Store was built in 1840 and was a Canada Post Office which developed into a general store for the needs of the community. Through the 1900s it also operated as a butcher shop. Customers would bring there cows to this shop where the butcher would cut and store the meat for them until they needed it. The store has a large meat locker located in the basement; this is still present today.

At the time of its construction and for many years, Old Scugog Road was the main road for the area. Neil Newton, Canadian Photographer, took pictures of John and Jessie Slemon (previous owners of Enniskillen General Store) in July 1971, which were famously featured at the National Gallery of Canada. Enniskillen also has one church and one auto garage. Enniskillen is also home the Enniskillen and Long Sault Conservation areas. Enniskillen is also known for the beautiful Enniskillen Hill part of the Oak Ridges Morine. The many rolling hills around Enniskillen has made it very popular with cyclists.

It was named after the town of Enniskillen in Northern Ireland.

Notable businesses

The McLaughlin automobile company began life in 1876 as the McLaughlin Carriage Company, a blacksmith's shop in the village of Enniskillen, located 20 kilometres (12 mi) north east of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. McLaughlin also taught Sunday school in the Presbyterian church there. The company began making horse-drawn carriages in the mid 19th Century. In 1876-7, he moved his business to Oshawa, feeling that moving to a larger urban centre with railway access was necessary for the growth of the business. The McLaughlin Carriage Company would later be renamed as General Motors Canada.

In 1890, Canadian pharmacist and chemist, John J. McLaughlin of Enniskillen, Ontario opened a carbonated water plant in Toronto. McLaughlin was the oldest son of Robert McLaughlin, founder of McLaughlin Carriage and McLaughlin Motor Car. In 1904, McLaughlin created "Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale"; three years later the drink was appointed to the Royal Household of the Governor General of Canada, and the label featuring a beaver atop a map of Canada was replaced with the present Crown and shield.

In film

• In March 1974 a film crew came to the area to film the Canadian horror film, Deranged starring Roberts Blossom. It was based on the story of Ed Gein. The general store shown in the film was the Enniskillen General Store.
• 2008's Slow Shutter, a thriller, was also shot at the general store's phone booth.

References

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Oshawa Museum

External links

• Images of Enniskillen at Panoramio.com