London, Ontario, is rich in history and has many great neighbourhoods. One of them is called Byron, which is located on the west side of London.

Byron was originally called Westminster, then renamed Hall's Mills in 1845, and then finally Byron in 1857. The Byron area was first settled in 1800 and became a village in 1804. The village of Byron was annexed by the City of London www.london.ca in 1961.

To this day, many long-time residents of Byron refuse to call it anything but Byron, Ontario, but most people use the term as a point of reference within the City of London.

The current boundaries of Byron are generally regarded to be the land south of the Thames River and west of Colonel Talbot Road. Historically, Byron also consisted of some land north of the Thames River in the area known today as Oakridge Park, including the Byron Bog (now called the Sifton Bog).

Byron is home to Springbank Park (London's largest park), Storybook Gardens www.storybook.london.ca which is a popular tourist attraction, and Boler Mountain www.bolermountain.com (Canada's most southerly ski facility).

Here are some of the important dates in Byron’s history. For those who know Byron well, you will notice that many streets were named after the original settlers.

1800 - John Wells took allegiance to the British Crown and was granted 200 acres in the area called Westminster (now known as Byron). In 1806, he was appointed local Constable.

1809 - Archibald McMillan settled on Lot 45. In 1810, he opened McMillan’s Tavern on the NW corner of Commissioners and Boler.

1813 - British General Proctor spent the night at the McMillan Tavern following a skirmish with American troops near Reservoir Hill.

1819 - Charles Montague and J. Cornell settled.

1836 - Cyrenius Hall and David McEwen settled. Hall bought a local mill, built a distillery and tannery. Hall was appointed Justice of the Peace.

1842 - John Montague settled on Lot 42.

1845 - Locals began calling the village Hall’s Mills in honour of Cy Hall. With a population of 200, Hall’s Mills had a Post Office (mail twice weekly), grist mill, carding machine and cloth factory, tavern, tannery, fanning mill, tailor, shoemaker, distillery, general store and blacksmith.

1852 - Robert Flint built a school. Among the students were children from the Dawson, Griffith, Montague and Wells families.

1853 - Westminster officially renamed Hall’s Mills. St. Anne’s Church was constructed.

1856 - J. & S. Reynolds purchased Cobblestone Hotel.

1857 - Hall’s Mills officially renamed Byron by Sir Henry Niles after a village near London, England. (Nilestown was named after Sir Henry.)

1861 - J. M. Dufton erected Spring Valley Woollen Mill on Lot 42 (near site of boat dock in Springbank Park). The mill sold cloth for 12½¢ per yard. Products were shipped as far as Montreal, Boston and New York.

1862 - Kains family bought a farm on the western edge of Byron and named it Riverbow Farm. They raised prize Ayrshire cattle.

1863 - Byron Stone School was built. Public school children had 3 weeks summer vacation.

1864 - John and William Griffith’s woollen mill was destroyed by fire. Until rebuilt, 14 employees were out of work.

1868 - L. Herrington owned the general store, William Martin was a boot and shoemaker, J. B. Wells was a carpenter, Bart Wells was a farmer.

1870 - Wallace Merriam took over the cobblestone hotel on the SW corner of Commissioners and Boler, converted it into a blacksmith shop which he ran until 1915. It was a hub of village activity until the building was demolished in 1917.

1882 - J. Wells built a church shed with materials donated by the Kains brothers, Wes Meriam, Meredith Ormond, Walter Boler, Henry Wickerson, Robert McEwen, Burley Janes and John Stevens.

1883 - A severe flood on July 12 washed away the Byron Bridge and badly damaged the grist mill, hame factory and distillery. A new wooden bridge was built by J. Wells.

1885 - The McMillan Hotel lost its liquour licence. Byron Methodist Church was built by Mr. Woodhull.

1887 - Byron Temperance Hall was located on the southwest corner of Commissioners and North St.

1888 - The population of Byron was 175 people.

1895 - Another wooden bridge was built to replace the bridge of 1883. It was used until 1904 when it was condemned. It fell into the Thames River.

1896 - Springbank Park officially opened.

1897 - Horse-drawn Byron street cars began operating.

1900 - Griffith woollen mill was sold for lumber.

As a resident of Byron for 30 years, I find the history of London's neighbourhoods fascinating. More to come about the history of London on my website. www.budloughlin.ca or www.realestatewiser.com

Source: 160 Years of Westminster, Hall’s Mills, Byron History