The Founding of Actinolite
In 1853 Billa Flint (1805-94) a lumberman, member of the legislative assembly and later of the senate, built sawmills here on the Skootamatta River. A village, at first named Troy but soon renamed Bridgewater, was laid out the same year. Extensive marble deposits were subsequently discovered here and this church, erected 1864-66 is believed to be the only one in Canada constructed of that material. The first resident minister's son, the eminent gynaecological surgeon, Thomas Stephen Cullen (1868-1953) was born in the adjacent parsonage. In 1883 the mining of actinolite, a mineral used in the manufacture of roofing material, was began nearby, and about 1895 the village received its present name.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Ontario Plaques. Full page here.