Pelham, Ontario

P elham, Ontario, a town of approximately 17,000, is nestled between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in the heart of the province’s Niagara Region. Part of Welland County since the late 1780s, the Town of Pelham was established in 1970 and is comprised of five unique and historic villages: Effingham, Fenwick, Fonthill, North Pelham, and Ridgeville. Ideally located between the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and the U.S. border, it is said that, on a clear day, it is possible to see Toronto, Hamilton, and western New York State from the top of Fonthill Kame Delta hill, the highest point of land in the region. Among the attractions in this picturesque, rural bedroom community is the 1,200-acre Short Hills Provincial Park located along the town’s northern border, and the Comfort Maple Tree, named after the Comfort family on whose land the tree is located, and at 500 years old, estimated to be Canada’s oldest surviving sugar maple. Tourists and residents alike take advantage of Pelham’s many hills, or kames, formed by retreating glaciers at the end of the last ice age, some 13,000 years ago, for biking and hiking, as well as the fresh fruits and vegetables grown in surrounding orchards and farms. Agriculture is the town’s biggest employer and over the last few years, several large cannabis operations have come to Pelham, as well, employing several hundred people. Pelham, Ontario