Priceville, Ontario
| Priceville | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
  Priceville Location of Priceville in Ontario. | |
| Coordinates: 44°12′36″N 80°37′36″W / 44.210019°N 80.626602°WCoordinates: 44°12′36″N 80°37′36″W / 44.210019°N 80.626602°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| County | Grey County |
| Municipality | Grey Highlands |
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Priceville is a small village in the southwest corner of the Municipality of Grey Highlands, Grey County, Ontario, Canada. Priceville is located on Grey Road 4, east of Durham and southwest of Flesherton. The village is very attractive due to the rolling topography, the meandering Saugeen River and the well preserved and restored old buildings.
History
Settlement of the village site began about 1850 by Gaelic speaking Scottish people(1). If you stroll through the pioneer cemetery, you will see that nearly all of the early residents were of Scottish origin.
For a small village, Priceville has many amenities. There is a park on the Saugeen river with a picnic area, swimming and fishing opportunities and a good place to launch a canoe or kayak for a trip down the river. The village also has a great toboggan hill, a sports park, an outdoor skating rink and a children's playground. Events include a biennial Santa Claus parade with 40 floats or more, an annual antique car and tractor show and a July 1 Canada Day Celebration with a musical concert and fireworks that attract thousands of visitors each year. Priceville also has what has been called the prettiest post office in Ontario.
Black history
Before development started in Priceville, African Americans had already established a small settlement along Old Durham Road (now Durham Road B) east of the village. Here they built a log school, a log church and established a cemetery (2,3). Many of these early settlers later moved to Collingwood, Oro, or Owen Sound. All that remains to commemorate this community is a cairn and refurbished grave site at the intersection of County Road 14 and Durham Road B some three kilometers east of Priceville.
The discovery and refurbishment of this cemetery is documented in the 2000 National Film Board of Canada film, Speakers for the Dead, co-directed by Jennifer Holness and David Sutherland (now Sudz Sutherland).[1][2]
References
- Priceville and Its Root/Routes (page 164), Priceville (and Area) Historical Society
- ISBN 0-9696807-0-8
- Interview with Mrs. J. MacLachlan, a longtime resident of Priceville with an African American great grandfather.
- Split Rail Country, A History of Artemesia Township (pages 437-445) ISBN 978-0-9692578-0-6. This publication includes the registration of lots in Aretemesia Twp., now part of Grey Highlands. The locations of the African American school, the church and the cemetery are listed as well as lots registered to African American settlers.
- ↑ Jennifer Holness and David Sutherland (co-directors) (2000). "Speakers for the Dead" (requires Adobe Flash). NFB.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ↑ L. Brown, DeNeen. "Writers, film makers probe hidden history of black Canadians". Washington Post. Retrieved 2 August 2012.