Text from the Plaque
In October 1817, John Van Patter, an emigrant from New York State, obtained 200 acres of land and became the first settler on the site of Aylmer. During the 1830's a general store was opened and village lots sold. Originally called Troy, in 1835 it was renamed Aylmer after Lord Aylmer, then Governor-in-Chief of British North America. By 1851 local enterprises included sawmills and flour-mills powered by water from Catfish Creek. Aided by easy access to Lake Erie, Aylmer became by the mid 1860's the marketing centre for a rich agricultural and timber producing area. Benefitting greatly from the construction of the 145-mile Canada Air Line Railway from Glencoe to Fort Erie, Aylmer became an incorporated village in 1872.
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