Next stop on the Ontario Euro road trip: Brussels

Brussels calls itself Ontario’s Prettiest Village. It’s right there on the sign. If you ask the locals, there’s a toughness too. 

“It’s a resilient place that’s still keeping up,” said Paul Nichol, who has lived in Brussels his entire life. 

Nichol works on Turnberry Street, the main drag through the village which is about 100 kilometres north of London, and a perfect setting for one of his many stories. 

“The story goes, there was a guy up the road that had a horse called Berry, and he’d take the horse up to the highway and say ‘Turn Berry’. That’s how it got its name,” he said. 

Nichol’s just getting started. How about the name of the village itself? 

“That’s a little bit of a bone to pick for me. The community was actually founded by an Englishman called William Ainley in 1854. The guy put his heart and soul into this community. It would not be here without him,” Nichol said.

Ainley named the village Ainleyville. Why didn’t it stick?

“Fast-forward about 20 years, the railway comes to town, and they decide they’re going to call it Brussels. They weren’t even from the area. Apparently, it was the guys laying the track. And so Brussels stuck, and hardly anybody remembers poor old Ainley,” Nichol said. 

On the bright side, if it wasn’t called Brussels we wouldn’t be writing about it this summer. CBC London is visiting southwestern Ontario cities, towns and villages named after bigger cities in Europe. We’re calling it the Great Ontario Euro Road Trip. 

Brussels today

Brussels was hit hard by the Covid pandemic. Shops on Turnberry Street closed, and several storefronts are still sitting empty. But it’s starting to come back, and there are signs of a next generation. 

Evelyn Riddell, from the big city of Toronto, moved to Brussels about a year ago. 

“Love brought me to Brussels, and I plan on staying,” she said. “I love it here. I really love the community that I sensed immediately. I felt like I was really welcomed to the town.”

Community and belonging is nice, but Brussels also has the essentials. A place to buy groceries and hardware and booze. There’s a new cafe on the corner and a wedding barn that’s become a big draw for out-of-towners. 

“I’m really hopeful for the future of Brussels. Myself being a newcomer, I hope I can be a part of the next generation,” Riddell said.

Nichol shares that optimism, in his even-keeled way.

“As a long-timer, I’ve seen what were called the good old days and I’ve seen the hardest of times. And of course, the hardest of times weren’t as hard as we think, the good old days maybe weren’t as good as they are. The big thing for me is it’s still here,” Nichol said.