Norval, Ontario

Norval is an unincorporated community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada. Situated on the Credit River, it is located approximately 55 km west of Toronto and is part of the Regional Municipality of Halton.Norval is believed to take its name from the Scottish play Douglas by poet John Home.HistoryAround 1820 James McNab and his family arrived; McNab was a United Empire Loyalist and had fought in the War of 1812. The family raised sheep and built a grist and a saw mill on the Credit River. Some of their wood was shipped to England for use as masts on naval ships. Flour mills also opened in this area; the largest one operated until 1930 when it was destroyed in a fire.In 1836 the Post Office was established. Previously, the settlement had been called McNabsville and McNab's Mill. In 1838, the mills were sold to Peter Adamson. In 1851, the Guelph Plank Road passed through this area and by 1856 the Grand Trunk Railroad had arrived. The latter was useful for shipping goods from this area.In 1846, the settlement had a population of about 200 inhabitants, served by two churches, various tradesmen, a grist mill, an oatmeal mill, a distillery, two stores and a tavern.Norval became a thriving village, complete with a broom factory, ashery, bakery, woollen and flax mills, carriage works, a blacksmith and harness shops, brass foundry, general stores, several hotels, a Mechanics' Institute and an Orange Lodge. It was a main stop on the stagecoach ride from Guelph to Toronto.