In the 1860s, the
Canadian Land and Emigration Company of
London,
England purchased in this part of Ontario for settlement purposes. The development was named after company chairman Judge
Thomas Haliburton, a politician and the author of the
Sam Slick stories. According to the historical book, "Fragments of a Dream: Pioneering in Dysart Township and Haliburton Village" by Leopolda z L. Dobrzensky, the first European settlers began arriving in Haliburton village in 1864. Key settlers included Captain John Lucas (1824–1874). Lucas co-established the first saw/grist mill and was later elected the first Reeve of Dysart. Captain Lucas, originally a native of Long Preston, Yorkshire, England, also established the first hotel in town that later became the Grand Central Hotel. Other important settlers included W. Ritchie, Alexander Niven, James Holland, John Erskine, the Heard family and Willet Austin. Haliburton was the northern terminus of the
Victoria Railway (ex
Canadian National Railway Haliburton subdivision) from
Lindsay. The first railway train to arrive in Haliburton was on November 26, 1878, with John Albert Lucas (1860–1945) as the train engineer. The railway was abandoned and the rails lifted in 1980. The station remains and is now home to Rails End Gallery and Arts Centre.
Fire tower history The former Dysart
fire tower was erected in 1956 on a hill by the east side of the village just off of
Ontario Highway 118. Its frame still stands, but the cupola has since been removed. It was erected by Ontario's former
Department of Lands and Forests (now the
Ministry of Natural Resources) as an early detection to protect the local forests from fire. This tower was put out of use in the late 1960s when aerial detection systems were put in place. It was one of the County of Haliburton's many towers that were part of the former
Lindsay Forest Fire District. Other towers included: Harburn, Eyre, Glamorgan (Green's Mountain), Harvey, Cardiff, Digby, Lutterworth, Sherboure (St. Nora), Dorset and Bruton. There were
Department of Lands and Forests offices stationed in
Minden, Ontario, Dorset and at St. Nora Lake (now the Leslie Frost Centre). ==Demographics==