This farming town was founded by Colonel James Vrooman who was granted free land here in 1820 for his heroic service in the War of 1812.

In its heyday the village had the two mills- a sawmill and gristmill, set-up where they dammed up the local Vrooman Creek and made a large pond. There was a school (built 1868), 2 churches, a post office (postmasters: M. McPhaden and N. Bolster), a hotel, 3 stores, a carriage shop, blacksmiths and an Orange Hall. These existed after the town plan was made with a total of 6 streets named: King, Queen, Simcoe, Nelson, Victoria and Brock. At its height the population was about 200.




Unfortunately as the village prospered the railway lines did not come through. Instead, the lines came through at Sunderland in 1871. Sunderland was a smaller village at the time, but quickly became the hub of Brock Township, Ontario leaving Vroomanton to wither. Villagers moved away, buildings were torn down, until only the church, Orange Hall and school remained.






Some distance from here stands the original Methodist church which is still in use;








I heard my first Eastern Meadowlark of the spring here.
Then it was off to explore another section of the Beaver River Wetland Trail:









Some botany:
















NATURE POETRY
Everyone suddenly burst out singing;
And I was filled with such delight
As prisoned birds must find in freedom
Winging wildly across the white
Orchards and dark green fields; on; on; and out of sight. – Siegfried Sassoon (1886–1967)
Miles Hearn
Nice to see that you are still out there, finding sites, thanks for the history lesson….I like the Pincushion Moss,very attractive, thanks Miles. Rosemarie
Absolutely wonderful, all of it. I love seeing these small towns with their beautiful old architecture, and learning about them, as well as looking at glorious nature. I look forward to this every day! Once again, thank you, Miles!
I live here! So I love to read about my town.