Stone Mills - Communities

Communities

Centreville is bisected by Lennox and Addington County Road 4, with the only commercial venture, a general store and gas station- both of which are no longer open, located on this main thoroughfare. The Centreville Public School educates roughly 150 students in kindergarten to grade 8. A public fairgrounds, complete with a park and grandstand, showcases the annual Centreville Fair. The fair opens on the Friday of the Labour Day weekend, and closes by the next night. Centreville is also the location of the township's municipal offices.

Croydon is a farming community known for its friendly residents, rich history, beautiful scenery, and small-town charm. In the early and mid 1900s, Croydon was a well-developed farming community that featured several hotels, a general store, a church, a post office, a schoolhouse, and a gristmill. Although business and industry are currently non-existent in Croydon, many of the original buildings have been renovated and are serving as family homes. The main attraction is the beautiful Salmon River, which runs through the heart of Croydon. The river is used for swimming, fishing, canoeing, and kayaking.

Erinsville is located on Highway 41. It was founded by Irish settlers in the late 1800s. Its proximity to Beaver Lake (actually two lakes, Beaver Lake North and South) makes it an ideal summer home, and is host to several small cottage communities. The Erinsville area has both the natural beauty of forests and lakes, and is also surrounded by several family-operated farms. Largely due to its low population, Erinsville has only a few commercial business in operation. These include the Erinsville General Store, the Beaver Lake General Store and Gas Bar, the Lakeview Tavern and Restaurant, and to a lesser extent the Chip Truck. Several residents also run small businesses from home, such as bait shops. Erinsville also is the site of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Roman Catholic parish.

Newburgh, formerly an incorporated village, retains the status of a designated place in the Canadian census data. It is situated on the Napanee River, and was first founded in 1822 by Benjamin Files and Wm. V. P. Detlor. It quickly became a thriving community and home to numerous mills. Two saw mills were first built along the river in 1822 and 1825, followed by a grist mill in 1828, two flour mills in 1840, an oatmeal mill in 1861, two carding mills and a woollen mill in 1864. Other businesses such as a tannery, two axe factories, a sash, blind and door factory, a hub and rake factory, three carriage and wagon shops and two cabinet factories were also established.

By 1865, Newburgh had a population of 1,200, but that population quickly declined. Railway lines bypassed the village and manufacturers were unable to move goods efficiently to and from Newburgh. The village did not get the Napanee, Tamworth and Quebec Railway line until 1884. Also, contributing to this decline were several major fires, the worst which happened in 1887 and destroyed eighty-four buildings in the centre of the village.

In the Canada 2011 Census, Newburgh had a population of 696, down from 725 in the 2006 census.

Tamworth is home to the first Irish Language speaking area, or Gaeltacht, to be announced outside of Ireland. This is an important symbol of hope for the struggling minority language. See main article Permanent North American Gaeltacht. Tamworth had a Senior A amateur team from 2003 to 2005. The Braves played in the Eastern Ontario Senior Hockey League. A Tier II Junior "A" team operated in 2007-2009 known as the Tamworth Cyclones in the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League. Tamworth is the largest community in the former Sheffield Township of less than 1600 people.

Other larger hamlets in the township include Camden East, Colebrook, Enterprise, Moscow and Yarker, while communities such Ballahack, Chippewa, Clareview, Curie Station, Desmond, Gull Creek, Hinch, Ingle, McGuire Settlement, Milsap, Petworth, Varty Lake and Wesley are known best by their local residents.