Mitchell, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Mitchell is a community in Perth County, Ontario
, Canada
. Mitchell is located at the intersection of Highways 8
and 23
, 20 km west (and a little north) of Stratford
, and 60 km north of London
, in the municipality of West Perth
.
Canada (the former Stacey Brothers creamery), a producer of dairy products, and Cooper Standard Automotive, the Canadian centre for the company's automotive parts research and development program. Mitchell is an agricultural service centre, surrounded by high quality farm land.
, a junior hockey team that plays in the Southern Ontario Junior Hockey League
.
Mitchell is the birth place of professional ice hockey
player, Howie Morenz
.
Upper Thames Elementary School is a school from J.K. to 8. This school was built in 1970 to serve the rural population (from the former Townships of Logan, Fullarton, and Hibbert), and replaced numerous one and two room schoolhouses in the rural areas. It is a school that has many activities and fundraisers. In recent years, grade 7 and 8 children from the former Town of Mitchell started attending Upper Thames, with all town children now attending since the closure of Mitchell Public School in 2010.
Mitchell District High School
, otherwise known as MDHS, is a secondary school serving grades 9-12. The building, constructed in the late 1950s, is shaped as a square with an open courtyard in the middle, and is one level; there are no stairs which makes it wheelchair accessible. The building replaced a building on St. David's Street which now serves as the municipal office for the Municipality of West Perth. Although a small high school, it has a good range of programs, including music, sports and mechanics, and many extra-curricular activities.
, Red Fox
, Striped Skunk
, eastern gray squirrel
, Eastern Cottontail
, and the white-tailed deer
. The Thames River is home to many varieties of fish life these include but are not limited to, common carp
, mirror carp
, chub
, rock bass
, redeye bass
, perch
, suckers
, crayfish
, clam
s, and minnow
s. The dam in the Thames River is known as the best fishing spot in Mitchell, as it has a 5–6 feet deep pool at the bottom where the majority of the carp are seen and caught. Once caught some fishers will release the carp into the open river, therefore extending the range in the Thames that have carp. Raccoons have been and are a minor problem in Mitchell, while they normally are seen near the older subdivisions some can be seen periodically in the new subdivisions or even uptown. They pose a problem of rabies
and when nursing young, have a tendency to attack.
Perth County, Ontario
Perth County is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is Stratford and is located in Southwestern Ontario, west of Toronto. It encompasses , 90% of which is classified as prime agricultural land...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Mitchell is located at the intersection of Highways 8
Highway 8 (Ontario)
Provincial Highway 8 is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its total length is 138.5 km, though it was once much longer, running farther east from Hamilton to Niagara Falls, before the Queen Elizabeth Way replaced its role.- History :Highway 8 is one of the...
and 23
Highway 23 (Ontario)
King's Highway 23, commonly referred to as Highway 23, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The route travels from Highway 7 east of Elginfield north to Highway 9 in Harriston...
, 20 km west (and a little north) of Stratford
Stratford, Ontario
Stratford is a city on the Avon River in Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada with a population of 32,000.When the area was first settled by Europeans in 1832, the townsite and the river were named after Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It is the seat of Perth County. Stratford was...
, and 60 km north of London
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
, in the municipality of West Perth
West Perth, Ontario
West Perth is a municipality in Ontario, Canada, situated in Western Perth County, just west of the city of Stratford.Mitchell is the largest community within the municipality and all of the municipal offices, administration, and services are based there. Smaller communities include Bornholm,...
.
History
Mitchell was founded in 1836 by William Johnston, who laid out a town plot and local tavern, and John Hicks, one of the first settlers of the area, who erected a new hotel near the Thames River, where the historic Hicks House Hotel building (now restored with stores and apartments) in downtown Mitchell stands. A sawmill was built in 1842, as well as new stores and businesses, contributing to the town's growth. In 1857, Mitchell was incorporated as a village, and in 1874, was incorporated as a town with a population of 2,000. On January 1, 1998, the town amalgamated with the neighbouring Townships of Logan, Fullarton, and Hibbert to form the new Municipality of West Perth. As of 2001, the former town of Mitchell has a population of 4,022.Employment
The town's major employers include ParmalatParmalat
Parmalat SpA is a multinational Italian dairy and food corporation. Having become the leading global company in the production of ultra high temperature milk, the company collapsed in 2003 with a €14 billion hole in its accounts in what remains Europe's biggest bankruptcy...
Canada (the former Stacey Brothers creamery), a producer of dairy products, and Cooper Standard Automotive, the Canadian centre for the company's automotive parts research and development program. Mitchell is an agricultural service centre, surrounded by high quality farm land.
Sports
A sports-oriented town, Mitchell has a number of hockey, baseball, and ringette teams, and is home to the Mitchell HawksMitchell Hawks
The Mitchell Hawks are a Junior ice hockey team based in Mitchell, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western Ontario Junior C Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association.-History:...
, a junior hockey team that plays in the Southern Ontario Junior Hockey League
Southern Ontario Junior Hockey League
The Southern Ontario Junior Hockey League is a Junior level ice hockey league sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association based out of Southwestern Ontario....
.
Mitchell is the birth place of professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player, Howie Morenz
Howie Morenz
Howard William Morenz was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played centre for three National Hockey League teams: the Montreal Canadiens , the Chicago Black Hawks, and the New York Rangers...
.
Education
In the educational sector, Mitchell has two schools, Upper Thames Elementary and Mitchell District High School.Upper Thames Elementary School is a school from J.K. to 8. This school was built in 1970 to serve the rural population (from the former Townships of Logan, Fullarton, and Hibbert), and replaced numerous one and two room schoolhouses in the rural areas. It is a school that has many activities and fundraisers. In recent years, grade 7 and 8 children from the former Town of Mitchell started attending Upper Thames, with all town children now attending since the closure of Mitchell Public School in 2010.
Mitchell District High School
Mitchell District High School
Mitchell District High School is a high school in Mitchell, Ontario, Canada. It is operated by the Avon Maitland District School Board. According to their website, the school has approximately 450 students.- External links :*...
, otherwise known as MDHS, is a secondary school serving grades 9-12. The building, constructed in the late 1950s, is shaped as a square with an open courtyard in the middle, and is one level; there are no stairs which makes it wheelchair accessible. The building replaced a building on St. David's Street which now serves as the municipal office for the Municipality of West Perth. Although a small high school, it has a good range of programs, including music, sports and mechanics, and many extra-curricular activities.
Wildlife
Mitchell Ontario is located in southwestern Ontario which has many small rivers and forests patched throughout the landscape. Mitchell also has these features, for instance, the Thames River runs through the heart of Mitchell. dense brush and forests run along the northern and southern edge of the town. the brush and forest contain commonly seen animals such as, Bufo fowleriBufo fowleri
Fowler's Toad is a species of toad in the Bufonidae family found in North America. It was previously considered a subspecies of Woodhouse's Toad.-Physical Description:...
, Red Fox
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
, Striped Skunk
Striped Skunk
The striped skunk, Mephitis mephitis, is an omnivorous mammal of the skunk family Mephitidae. Found over most of the North American continent north of Mexico, it is one of the best-known mammals in Canada and the United States.-Description:...
, eastern gray squirrel
Eastern Gray Squirrel
The eastern gray squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus native to the eastern and midwestern United States, and to the southerly portions of the eastern provinces of Canada...
, Eastern Cottontail
Eastern Cottontail
The eastern cottontail is a New World cottontail rabbit, a member of the family Leporidae. It is one of the most common rabbit species in North America.-Distribution:...
, and the white-tailed deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
. The Thames River is home to many varieties of fish life these include but are not limited to, common carp
Common carp
The Common carp is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The wild populations are considered vulnerable to extinction, but the species has also been domesticated and introduced into environments worldwide, and is often considered an invasive...
, mirror carp
Mirror carp
Mirror carp are a type of fish, commonly found in the United Kingdom and Europe. The name "Mirror Carp" originates from their scales' resemblance to mirrors. They can grow in excess of 60lb - the last few British record fish have all been mirror carp....
, chub
Chub
The European chub , sometimes called the round chub, fat chub, chevin, pollard or simply "the" chub, is a freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae...
, rock bass
Rock bass
The rock bass , also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, or red eye is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. They are similar in appearance to smallmouth bass but are usually quite a bit smaller...
, redeye bass
Redeye bass
The Redeye bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. One of the black basses, it is native to only a few rivers in western South Carolina, southwestern North Carolina, northern middle and eastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, and portions of Georgia,...
, perch
Perch
Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...
, suckers
Catostomidae
Catostomidae is the sucker family of the order Cypriniformes. There are 80 species in this family of freshwater fishes. Catostomidae are found in North America, east central China, and eastern Siberia...
, crayfish
Crayfish
Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads – members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea – are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related...
, clam
Clam
The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...
s, and minnow
Minnow
Minnow is a general term used to refer to small freshwater and saltwater fish, especially those used as bait fish or for fishing bait. More specifically, it refers to small freshwater fish of the carp family.-True minnows:...
s. The dam in the Thames River is known as the best fishing spot in Mitchell, as it has a 5–6 feet deep pool at the bottom where the majority of the carp are seen and caught. Once caught some fishers will release the carp into the open river, therefore extending the range in the Thames that have carp. Raccoons have been and are a minor problem in Mitchell, while they normally are seen near the older subdivisions some can be seen periodically in the new subdivisions or even uptown. They pose a problem of rabies
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
and when nursing young, have a tendency to attack.
Places of worship
- Bethel Free Reformed Church (Free Reformed Churches of North AmericaFree Reformed Churches of North AmericaThe Free Reformed Churches of North America is a theologically conservative federation of churches in the Dutch Calvinist tradition with congregations in the United States and Canada. It officially adopted its current name in 1974...
) - St. Vincent De Paul Roman Catholic Church
- Trinity Anglican Church (Rev. Karine Farmer)
- Upper Thames Missionary Church (Rev. Ralph VanOostveen)
- Knox Presbyterian Church (Rev. Robert Adams)
- Main Street United Church
April 15, 2010 fire
Around 9:30 pm a fire broke out in what appears to be the basement of dollar haven. Fire fighters from the region came to assist the Mitchell fire fighters in battling the blaze. The Mitchell Advocate, reported the incident on their website. the following is what is on their website "West Perth Firefighters, along with assistance from Monkton and Sebringville detachments, battle a blaze which has engulfed the Dollar Haven store in downtown Mitchell Thursday night, April 15. The call came around 9:30 p.m., and it is believed that the fire began in the basement of the store, located at 74 Ontario Road. There were no reports of injuries. Mitchell's main street has been closed off and is expected to remain closed well into Friday morning as firefighters work to prevent the fire from spreading to neighbouring buildings." -Mitchell AdvocateExternal links
- Municipality of West Perth
- Mitchell Advocate, the community's weekly newspaper
- Mitchell, ON Weather, from The Weather Network.
- History of Mitchell, Ontario William Johnston; History of Perth County 1825-1902 Chapter XXV, Stratford 1903
- Downtown blaze in Mitchell, article on the fire of April 15, 2010