Shawville Walking Tour

Shawville is blessed with large deposits of clay which turned out to be perfect for brickmaking. Samuel Armstrong’s brickyard at the east end of town and Ralph Hodgins’ similar establishment on the Heath Road provided bricks for a growing town in the late nineteenth century. The coming of the railway in the 1880s sparked a period of prosperity in town that was reflected in a surge of building with brick. The east end of town illustrates the wealth of the merchants and professionals of the area. Comparing the present homes to pictures taken at the turn of the century reveals how well they have weathered one hundred years.

Memorial Park stands as a lasting reminder of the sacrifice of local people who served their nation in war and especially those who died in that service. It is a sombre, yet tranquil place where we give thanks for the freedoms they fought to preserve.

In the north east corner of the park stands a remnant of the industrial past of the town. The millstone here ground untold tons of grain into feed for both humans and livestock in the mid nineteenth century. The stone was in the mill of James Hodgins which once stood at our next destination, Mill Dam Park.