third viscount palmerston

Palmerston, Ontario

Palmerston (population 2,518 as of 2001) is a community located at the south end of the Town of Minto, Ontario, in northern part of Wellington County in southern Ontario, Canada.

History

In its original concept the railroad was to run from Guelph to Harriston and would not have gone through Palmerston. Listowel needed to be linked to the railroad and it was decided to bend the route toward Listowel. It was also decided that a yard with maintenance shops would be needed.

When the railroad decided to build a junction and maintenance sheds between Guelph, Harriston and Listowel, this also included a station. One of the active supporters of the railroad was John McDermott, Reeve of Wallace and, because of this support, the railways decided to let McDermot name the station. He named it Palmerston in 1870 in honour of Henry John Temple, the future third Viscount Palmerston. As soon as the railroad decided where it would build, people started buying property around the area for businesses and homes.

In 1995, the Progressive Conservative government of Ontario began to reduce the number of total municipalities in the province. Effective 1 Jan. 1999, The Town of Minto is composed of the former towns of Harriston and Palmerston, the former village of Clifford, and the surrounding rural area of the former Minto Township. Older documents show how this process has simplified local maps.

Schools

Minto has public schools situated in Harriston, Clifford and Palmerston. Norwell District Secondary School is the secondary school for Minto and surrounding areas as governed by the Upper Grand District School Board. The schools located in Palmerston are:

Palmerston Public School (K-8, with French immersion)
Norwell District Secondary School - Sports: Redmen

Trivia

The entire town is served by the single postal code of 'N0G 2P0'; a self-effacing mnemonic for the code reads as No 0ne Goes 2 (to) Palmerston, 0ntario.