Fonthill is a community in the town of Pelham, Ontario, Canada. It has a few small industries, but is primarily a residential suburb known for its fruit orchards, nature trails, and neighbourly attitude. As a bedroom community, most residents commute to Welland, St. Catharines and some as far as Buffalo, Hamilton and Toronto daily for work. Geography and geology Fonthill shares its name with the Fonthill Kame, on which it is located, formed by glacial deposits. Effingham Creek, a cold-water stream, originates in the glacial silts and sands of Short Hills area of the moraine, northwest of Fonthill. Effingham Creek is a tributary to Twelve-Mile Creek, which empties into Lake Ontario. For more about the geology of the town, see Fonthill Kame. History There is some debate about the early days of Fonthill and how it became named. First, there seems to be a record of settlement growing in 1829 and the area being called “Osborne’s Corners” around 1842; next it was “Temperanceville” and finally “Fonthill” after Fonthill Abbey in England. Henry Giles, an early settler wrote his brother in England in July 1843 "The principal man in the new village, a reformed drunkard, wishes to name it Temperanceville which I tell him is a vile name... I have proposed the name of Fonthill. Mount Albion has also been talked of, but no name is yet fixed upon. It was named Temperanceville but the name of Fonthill was made somewhat official by an 1848 bylaw. Both names were in use with Temperanceville remaining into use as a local name until the 1860s or 70s and persisting in names like the Temperanceville Hotel. The post office dates from 1856. Fonthill became an incorporated village in 1922. Fonthill grew and smaller businesses did well. One large business was Fonthill Nurseries. Started in 1837 the nursery, at its peak, rented or owned 1000 acres, employed 250 local people and shipped throughout Canada and abroad. The nursery closed in 1968. A second large business was the Fonthill Canning Factory. Opening in 1912 primarily for the local tomato crop, they also canned local fruit. They factory employed about 260 local people and closed in 1958. On June 10, 2006, Fonthill celebrated its 150th anniversary. The celebration was marked by the opening of the band stand (a replica of the original band stand the existed in the early 1900s), historical displays and a variety of musical