Fonthill, Ontario

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Fonthill is a small community in the town of Pelham, Ontario, Canada. It is mainly a residential area with a few small industries, fruit orchards, and nature trails. Many residents commute to nearby cities like Welland and St. Catharines, and some travel farther to Buffalo, Hamilton, or Toronto for work.

The name Fonthill comes from the Fonthill Kame, a geological feature in the area. In its early days, the place had several names—Osborne’s Corners, Temperanceville—before being officially called Fonthill around 1848. The post office opened in 1856, and Fonthill became an incorporated village in 1922.

Two historic businesses shaped the town: Fonthill Nurseries (1837–1968), once spanning about 1,000 acres and employing around 250 people, and the Fonthill Canning Factory (1912–1958), which canned local tomatoes and fruit and employed about 260 people.

In 2006, Fonthill celebrated 150 years with a bandstand replica and various historical displays. In 1996, a tornado damaged the Can-View Drive In, which sparked a widely told urban legend about the movie Twister—though the story is not true.

Fonthill is about 15 minutes south of St. Catharines, five minutes northwest of Welland, and about 20 minutes from Niagara Falls and Port Colborne. The main road is Highway 20 (also known as Canboro Road). The town serves as Pelham’s commercial center, offering basic shopping, municipal offices, and retirement homes, along with ample greenspace and trails.

Public spaces include the Steve Bauer trails, Harold Black Park (host to Canada Day celebrations), and a park named for golf legend Marlene Stewart Streit, featuring a skate park, a large outdoor pool, and nature trails. The area promotes smart growth, balancing development with natural resources.

Economically, Pelham is known for orchards (cherries, apples, peaches), vineyards, a greenhouse industry, and a quarry on the Fonthill Kame, with quarry sites typically rehabilitated after use. The community also has several elementary schools and a high school, along with other local educational resources.