History of the Town

In the year 1810 on the corner of a river amongst the shrubs and alders, stood four houses and a lowly store - alone, unknown, and hardly wanted.

As the years passed lots were bought up at a slow and steady pace - to be drained and inhabited as new homes were being built. The word spread of the nice little area in the middle of the valley and it didn’t take long for the Pearce Hotel to go up. Travelers and locals wanted to be entertained and here the hospitality was more than plentiful.

Two railways soon followed - the Windsor/Annapolis Railroad and the Nova Scotia Central Railroad. Now the Town was ready to grow and expand into the business marketplace. The Windsor/Annapolis Railroad line constructed a handsome two-story station which was the finest on the route and ensured the area as a destination.

Opportunity called and two new hotels arrived on the scene shortly after. They were the Hatfield House and American House. With three hotels now in the area the soon to be Town of Middleton became quite a talked-about hotspot for travelers and area dwellers. Before the turn of the century Middleton had become the finest first class luxury point outside of Halifax.

It didn't take long for the residents to see a need for infrastructure so a water reservoir on the North Mountain was created for a mere $25,000. By then the Town boasted to have the best educational institute in the County and people were definitely paying attention.

In 1893 two churches congregations had a central gathering place - The Episcopal Church (modern style building cost of $5,000) and the Baptist (costing $7,000). The latter became the foremost for the County of Annapolis.

The Migration of new residents was continuous as the Valley Telephone Co. opened up the area and the Commercial Bank came to town. The area had unquestionably become the best fruit growing region in Canada - all this by 1895. In that original short span of 15 years the pace for our popular modern day Town of Middleton was started.