Arran-Elderslie is a rural municipality featuring great canoeing and kayaking along the Saugeen River, the beautiful outdoor murals of the Paisley Art Tour, and the Chesley Heritage Trail that follows the former rail line along the North Saugeen River.
The three largest communities in Arran-Elderslie are Chesley, Paisley, and Tara.
Chesley
Known as “The Nicest Town Around,” Chesley is home to the municipal office and the head office for the Bluewater District School Board. “Big Bruce,” a 15-foot-tall Hereford steer representing the cattle industry in Bruce County, stands proudly at the north end of town. Family fun is available at Chesley Heritage Trail, Chesley Community Park (splash pad and skate park), and Krug Memorial Park.
Paisley
Paisley is known as the “Artistic River Village.” Situated at the junction of the Saugeen and Teeswater rivers, it’s a creative community offering an art tour, the Paisley Path barn quilt tour, a heritage tour, and the Paisley Turtle Hunt. There is canoeing and kayaking on the Saugeen River, a fish wall at Mary Cumming Park, the Treasure Chest Museum, and Paisley Riverside Park.
Tara
The village of Tara is named after a town in County Meath, Ireland, which served as the seat of Irish royalty. Ontario’s Tara began in 1851 when Richard Berford and John Hamilton were the first European settlers to move into the area. In 1852, the opening of the road from Southampton to Owen Sound helped the early growth of the community. This lead to the establishment of a hotel, a post office, a local newspaper (The Tara Leader), a railroad, a sawmill, a grist mill, a large foundry, an agricultural implement works, a wagon works, a tannery, a steam sawmill, a woollen mill, and a potash factory.
Today, the Arran-Tara Agricultural Society holds an annual fair, the Arran-Tara Fall Fair, and the Tara Santa Claus Parade is held the first weekend of December.
