The Municipality of Brooke-Alvinston is acknowledging its 25th anniversary on January 1, 2026.
Mayor David Ferguson said the Township of Brooke and Village of Alvinston amalgamated in 2001.
"I think across Ontario, you'll find a lot of municipalities did the same thing," said Ferguson. "It's kind of history repeating itself. If I go back to 1881... it was all one Brooke-Alvinston, but about 1881 they were separated out to be separate entities. So, it took 120 some odd years for it to come back together."
Ferguson recalls the provincial government "nudging" communities to merge for economic reasons.
"I don't believe the economy of scale actually happened, but what it did do is increase office capacities," he said. "When you're integrated as closely as you are in the small towns of a rural area, it's very good for everybody to have everybody on the same page and doing the same thing. Even though you're in town, we are small rural towns. They're quite dependent on the people from half a mile away, up to 10 miles away on business and doing any recreation. So, it really is one entity."
Since amalgamation, Ferguson said the rural areas have helped cover the cost of the small towns.
"It's helped increase the tax base to keep the services in place," he said. "We've got 60 new residences here in the last number of years. People are finding it's a nice town, it's a quiet town, [there are] phenomenal service clubs in place to help keep activities going for all age groups. With 60 residences, that means you have a doctors office, which we have, [and] we had a pharmacy come in a few years ago, we're getting some of the smaller businesses back in that were missing for a few years."
Ferguson said people find the affordability and drivability attractive.
"If I go to a larger centre, the older people don't like the traffic on the streets, they do like what Alvinston has for traffic. They can get around with their car and they can get up town and it's conducive to them," he said.
Ferguson said keeping things affordable is a priority for future growth.
"To get more people here, to help utilize the services we have, is critical to us," he said. "We do have two subdivisions waiting in the wings to develop and move along. We have a number of small duplexes going into town, infilling, which is phenomenal to have empty lots in town filled with duplexes and see families coming in. Brooke Central [Public] School has increased to over 300 pupils in it. So, we are seeing an increase in young people, which is phenomenal for the area."
Ferguson said people who come to Brooke-Alvinston like it and don't look for a lot of change, but they do like to have progress on a "steady, continual basis."
