Travelling south on Highway 10 out of Grey County, one of the first places you pass through is the Town of Shelburne. It’s Fiddle Town, a gracious community of genteel homes, a busy main street, and home to the best darn musical contest in Ontario. The Explorer, on his way to the “Big Smoke,” often stops in Shelburne for a look around and some of the best homemade pie and coffee available along the old Toronto-Sydenham Road.
According to Nicola Ross’s new book, Dufferin County, Shelburne owes it founding to a man named William Jelly. In 1864, William left the village of Jellyby in Augusta Township for a spot along the Toronto-Sydenham Road. There, he built a tavern, naming it the British Canadian Hotel. Setting up a post office in his hotel, William became the first postmaster of Jelly’s Corners as the future town of Shelburne was first known. As the community grew, its mostly Irish citizens wanted to give it a new name, Tanderagee, honouring William Jelly’s hometown in northern Ireland.
But the Canadian postal service had another idea. Since the Earl of Shelburne had helped end the War of 1812 between Great Britain, the United States and Canada, Shelburne it became. And when the Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway connected Owen Sound on Georgian Bay with Lake Ontario, it made Shelburne one of its stops along the way. Incorporated in 1879, Shelburne elected its first reeve. Who was – no surprise – William Jelly. Except for one term, Jelly would hold his elected post until the dawn of the 20th century.
Shelburne had a bright future – in spite of the fires that often struck the town. In 1884, the Royal Hotel, only a few months old, burned to the ground. Rebuilt, fire wiped it out again two years later. Amazingly, the Royal rose from the ashes once more. More elegant than ever, it survived until 1920 when it was torn down. Today, Shelburne is home to the half century-old, world-famous Canadian Open Old Time Championship Fiddle Contest
Originally aired September 10th 2016
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