On a recent trip to visit family in London Ontario I took the opportunity to tour some of the small towns and villages in southern Ontario. What impressed me most were the many yellow brick buildings.

Yellow Bricks

I was also reminded of how much I love the butter yellow brick that is so prevalent in southern Ontario architecture. The yellow colour is the result of the local clay having less iron than most clay - it is iron that gives bricks their more traditional red colour.

Mason Lodge in Mitchell, now called West Perth.

Fun Surprises

There were two things that struck me most as being different from Alberta’s small towns and rural roads.

First was how clean and tidy the southern Ontario farm sites are. They are like mini parks, the grass was manicured and the trees nicely pruned. Often there were signs at the entrance to the driveway with the family name and the year the farm was established - definitely a pride of ownership. There was none of the old farm equipment and rusty old vehicles scattered around homestead as is often the case in Alberta. I regret I didn’t stop and take any photos.

The second observation was all of the small towns had at least one, often many, significant brick or stone buildings on their Main Street. Often there was a historic hotel, church and town hall still standing and in use. I was impressed at how many still have an attractive Main Street - Clinton, Exeter, Godrich, Listowel, Lucan and Mitchell.

As with any road trip, there may be some downtime when you want to enjoy the best online casinos in Ontario while you wait for the others to return from their exploring.

Main Street Goderich is a fun place to explore both for its architecture and shops.

The Clinton Raceway Casino is an off-the-beaten path hidden gem for those would like to stop for a little fun while on a road trip. I was also surprised to learn how many online iGaming options there are in Ontario like PlayOJO Canada.

The Palmerston Surprise

The most pleasant surprise was in Palmerston where the old railway yards have been redeveloped into a park that still has the old railway station, some tracks and an amazing pedestrian bridge that used to span the yards.

Postcards

Here are some fun postcards from Southern Ontario’s yellow brick road.

I was impressed by how many of the small towns had new banners along their main streets remembering those who have served our country.

Many of the historic homes still have ornamental wooden front doors.

At first I thought this was some sort of public art, but turns out it is a long range surveillance radar that was used as part of the North American Air Defence System.

Who knew Clinton was home to the first radar training school in North America. Also note the purple and yellow door in this traffic island - turns out there were colourful doors scattered throughout the downtown. It created a nice sense of fun. I expect people use them to take selfies.

Clinton was home to Alice Munro. This fun memorial is appropriately in front of the library.

Clinton historic town hall with Alice Munro memorial and note the banner honouring those who have served our country.

I love public drinking fountains, sometimes called “bubblers.” (Clinton)

I wonder what they were examining in the old town hall in Goderich.

Not all of the buildings were in good repair.

I will have to return to Lucan for their Baconfest which happens the second Saturday in July every year.

Love this flying bike rack in Goderich.

Old school along Goderich’s Main Street.

The thrift stores in small towns are great fun.

Culbert’s Pastry shop in Goderich is a must stop.

As is Bartliff’s in Clinton.

There was public art in almost every small town.

It seems every small town in Southern Ontario has/had a lawn bowling club.

Love the small town water towers in Southern Ontario. Reminds me of home i.e. Calgary Tower.

Hicks House built in the 1870s as a hotel, now has commercial uses on the main floor and residential above.

The Hotel Bedford in Goderich is just one a several historic buildings along its unique circular Main Street.

Ornamentation

One of the other things I loved about exploring the towns of Southern Ontario was the decorative brickwork elements of the early 20th century buildings and the wooden ornamentation.