Walkerton, Ontario

Walkerton is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within and governed by the municipality of Brockton. It is the site of Brockton's municipal offices and the county seat of Bruce County. It is located on the Saugeen River, at the junction of King's Highway 9 and Route 4, and is 75 km southwest of Owen Sound.

The town was incorporated in 1871 and was named after Joseph Walker, who settled in this area in 1850. On January 1, 1999, it became part of the Municipality of Brockton.

The town is also rumored to have been placed in the Guinness World Records for having a church on each corner of the jail and courthouse complex. This is proven, and it has been covered by Ripley's Believe It or Not!^[1] The town is also home town to Laryssa Biesenthal who currently has six world championship medals, an Olympic silver medal as a member of the quad sculls crew in 1996 and the women's eights in 2000 where she received bronze. She also took part in Pan Am Games champion in double sculls. The town of Walkerton is home to a very successful Junior C hockey team, the Walkerton Hawks, and a Senior A hockey team, the Walkerton Capitals.

Walkerton has two high schools: Walkerton District Secondary School, and Sacred Heart High School.

2000 water contamination incident

In May 2000 the water system in Walkerton became contaminated with the highly dangerous O157:H7 strain of E. coli bacteria. Nearly half the population fell ill, and seven people died as a result.

Famous people From Walkerton

• Samuel Lewis Honey, VC, DCM, MM (9 February 1894 – 30 September 1918) was a soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest military award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces, during the First World War. Honey was a graduate of Walkerton District High School.
• David Milne, considered to be Canada's foremost painter, was a graduate of Walkerton District High School.
• Canadian National softball player and two-time Olympian Alison Bradley was almost a graduate of Walkerton District Secondary School.
• Singer-songwriter Esthero lived in Walkerton.
• Greg McNeish, wrestling analyst and critic, famous for his legendary thought-provoking appearances on shows such as The Friday Fishbowl and The Wrestleview International Desk
• Percy Roy Shannon, Lieutenant in the First World War, Physician, Royal Army Medical Corps
• Father Jason Charron, Sacred Heart High School's chaplain. Father of 6 female daughters. He is the only teacher to have been accused of sexual assault and not investigated, due to his outstanding contribution towards the religion department.

References

External links

• Town web site
• http://canadanews.about.com/cs/walkerton/
• Water Science and Technology article

Coordinates: 44°08′N 81°09′W / 44.133°N 81.15°W / 44.133; -81.15

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