The Founding of Spencerville
By 1821 Peleg Spencer was operating a grist-mill and sawmill on the South Nation River on a Clergy Lot he had leased in 1817, having previously owned a sawmill on the site from 1811 till 1814. David Spencer, son of Peleg, took over the mills in 1822 and patented the mill lot in 1831. By 1828 an Inn was located near "Spencer's Mills" and a settlement developed. David Spencer had a village plot surveyed in the 1840's and a post-office, called "Spencerville", had been opened by October, 1846. In 1851 the village numbered some 250 inhabitants with a tannery and other industries, as well as Spencer's mills, which were later rebuilt in stone across the river.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Ontario Plaques. Full page here.