Harrington and Area Community Association

In the Beginning

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Our history dates back to 1979, when the Harrington Optimist Club was chartered.

In 1983, the group became the Harrington & District Men’s Club. Throughout the 1980s and into the mid-1990s, the club raised funds through activities like working the Stratford and Woodstock BINGOS. These funds went toward hosting Christmas skating parties, free movie nights, and fishing derbies at the Harrington Mill Pond & Mel McKay’s Pond.

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Investing in Community Spaces

 

The Club contributed significantly to the community – installing horseshoe pits, a swing set, basketball net, cement block storage shed, signage, fencing and bleachers at the ball park. They bought uniforms and equipment for local baseball teams and hosted bike rodeos, Halloween and Christmas parties. The Club also purchased computer equipment for Zorra Highland Park school and began sponsoring a science and technology award for a graduating student – an award we’ve proudly continued for over 30 years.

 

A New Chapter

 

By the mid-1990s, the Men’s Club saw a decline in membership. That’s when Harry Jongerden, who remains an active member today, proposed the idea of re-establishing a library in Harrington – something the community had been without for nearly a decade. Around the same time, John Hiuser suggested opening Club membership to women.

 

Soon after, Harry, along with Cher Sprague, Kathy Eastman and Verna Lester, brought the vision to life. They established the library in the basement of Broadview United Church (now Harrington Hall), with help from Sam Coghlan, then Chief Librarian of the Oxford County library system, and Ernie Hunt, the County facility manager. The library’s first 3,000 books were donated by the County.

 

A New Club is Formed

 

In March 1997, the Harrington Community Club was officially formed, welcoming both male and female members. Its mission: “To foster community pride and well-being in the community of Harrington and area, and to provide services to support thereof, in particular to youth.” Its incorporated name is The Harrington Community Historical & Preservation Club Inc.

 

The new club supported the library with an annual $1,500 contribution, covering phone and rental costs. Over a dozen club and community members served as volunteer librarians. A grant from the Community Access Program enabled the library to offer high-speed wireless internet. The Club continued this support until 2002, when the library officially rejoined the Oxford County library system. Ed Fisher and Kathy Eastman were the first county-paid librarians.

 

Preserving Our Heritage: The Grist Mill

 

Since 1999, members of the Harrington & Area Community Association – our current name – have worked tirelessly to preserve the Harrington Grist Mill and its surrounding Mill Pond. You can read more about this in the section on this website called: “................”

 

A Home for the Community

 

In 2001, when Broadview Church closed, the congregation sold the building to the Township of Zorra for $1 and donated $25,000 to make it more accessible to the community. The Township took over most of the operational costs, while the Club committed to the day-to-day upkeep. Club members and community volunteers stepped up to renovate the church’s interior.

One of our great fundraising traditions was the annual Pork BBQ, held from 2001 to 2016. In 2008 and 2009, funds from the former church were used to install wheelchair lifts and make the washroom accessible.

 

We host a variety of events each year, including the Community Christmas Potluck, concerts, and informative sessions on topics of interest to community members, such as policing, speed zone enforcement, internet safety, gardening, and more. During election years, we proudly host a candidates’ forum for the Zorra area. 

 

Harrington 150 Heritage Festival

 

In 2017, thanks to a Community Celebration grant from the Province of Ontario, we held the Harrington 150 Heritage Festival, which drew more than 1,500 visitors to our hamlet. Historical signs were placed throughout the village to mark the historic homes, churches and businesses that existed in our village 100 to 150 years ago. Guests enjoyed family history displays, antique farm equipment, demonstrations in quilting, spinning, blacksmithing, Highland and square dancing, music played on the hand saw accompanied by guitar, First Nations Storytelling, bagpiping, and more.

 

They explored miniature and life-sized heritage exhibits, including a century farm in miniature, a nineteenth-century home display, tours of the restored Grist Mill, and the Harrington Community Centre, formerly SS #4 Harrington School, for a taste of what it was like to attend a one-room school. Transportation around the village included horse-and-buggy rides and antique tractor wagons. Traditional treats included baked beans cooked over a wood fire and 5-cent ice cream cones served at Knox Presbyterian Church. HACA members and others dressed in period costumes. Informative talks covered topics such as the Gardens of Yesteryear, Traditional Barn Building, the history of SS #4 Harrington School, the Purpose of Heritage Designation, and stories of local heroes, including Ralph Connor, Dr. Gordon Murray, and Eddie McKay. The festivities wrapped with a Trent Severn concert and a Sunday non-denominational service.

 

Recent Highlights

 

In 2022, HACA partnered with retired teacher Kendra Martin to help realize her vision of an outdoor school in Harrington. Today, Coyote Nature School offers programs twice a week using the natural beauty of the Harrington Conservation Area, the Grist Mill, and Harrington Hall.

 

Since 2020, our annual Online Auction, in partnership with Knox Presbyterian Church, has become a popular and effective fundraiser. And since 2018 (with the exception of 2020 and 2021), we’ve hosted the Harrington Holiday Market, a vibrant event where every product is handmade or locally produced.