A Town named Almonte

An interesting story about how the small town next to the town I grew up in came to be named Almonte

An Unlikely Name

In a region where the early settlers' Irish, English and Scottish origins are prominent in the names of the communities they founded -- Lanark, Corkery, Glen Isle, Scotch Corners, Tatlock and the like -- it seems more than a little odd that our town should be named for a now-forgotten Mexican general.

American invasions of Canada around 1812 didn't help matters, nor did US military incursions into Mexico during the 1840s. Which is where General Juan Almonte enters the picture. The border skirmishes between Mexcio and America during this time were seen by Mexcians as a naked and unprovoked land-grab, and by worried Canadians as a cautionary tale -- proof positive that the American republic was ready and willing to use force against its neighbours to achieve its territorial aims.

So in the political climate of the day, the loyal British citizens of our town apparently felt General Almonte was an admirable public figure, and agreed upon the new name of Almonte -- which we pronounce "AL-mont" rather than the Spanish "al-MON-tay." And thus it remains 140 years later.