Harrington

David Demorest, originally from Sophiasburgh Township in Prince Edward County, Ontario, was Harrington's founder, and he was the pioneer who dammed Trout Creek to form the Mill Pond and built the Grist Mill. His house was located south and east of Cornelia Street.  In the earliest days, about 1843, the settlement was known as Demorestville. 

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For a short period, it was also known as Springfield because of all the springs in the area. Its formal name became Harrington West when the first post office was opened on April 1, 1854. The addition of West to the name was because there was already a village in Quebec called Harrington. David was the first postmaster and served from 1854 to 1866. By 1872, Demorest had sold his property in Harrington, and he and his family had moved to Aurora, Illinois.

 

By 1875, Harrington had a population of 200. It boasted two hotels, two tailors, a sawmill, a flour and grist mill, a general store, a cabinet maker and upholsterer, two wagon-makers, a tin shop, a cheese factory, and oatmeal mill, harness-makers, boot and shoe makers, a community hall, two churches and a school. Harrington might have continued as a commercial centre, except for the fact that it was never served by a railway. Instead it became a mostly residential hamlet.