The old Acton arena, once located in Prospect Park, is still considered to be one of the largest “Christmas presents” that the community has ever received.
Starting in April 1928, a proposal was brought forward to Acton Village Council that would see an ice-covered rink for the use of skating, hockey, and curling at a cost of $15,000.
Prior to an indoor rink, all winter sports were played outdoors either on Henderson’s Pond, under the Maria Street bridge or out on Fairy Lake, mostly being at the mercy of less-than-ideal weather conditions.
After more than a year of planning and final approval, from both council and the province, construction for the arena commenced in September 1929, starting with the clearing and levelling of land on the site where the arena would sit in Prospect Park.
A group of men and teams of horses would be used to help with this process. Construction for the arena moved rather quickly, as the concrete floor as poured and the walls were up by mid-October.
Despite being built at the beginning of the Great Depression, the construction of a steel-framed arena that housed a 70 by 175-foot rink, 1,500 seats, and three curling rinks was quite an impressive feat.
Community support for the arena was very strong - so much so that Beardmore & Co agreed to pay up to $200 per year during a 10-year period if net revenues fell below $1,000 a year.
To supplement this, most Acton property owners agreed to pay $5 per year after Beardmore’s $200 per year. This was all in addition to the Village’s annual payment of $1,200 to pay off construction costs for the next 20 years.
By early December, before the arena was opened for public use, final preparations were underway. It was on Christmas Day when the official opening took place and the residents of Acton were given their present of a new arena.
Despite the main skating rink being ready for use, the curling rink would not open until three weeks later, on January 16th.
Throughout the arena’s existence, it would be host to many hockey games during the winter and other activities throughout the summer and fall, such as lacrosse and the Acton Fall Fair exhibits. It was even used for three years during the Second World War to store wool.
While all was running smoothly for the arena, tragedy would eventually strike on March 20th, 1960, when a heavy snowfall caused the roof of the curling rink to collapse.
Eventually, through a community-led campaign, $66,000 was raised to build a new curling rink and community centre on the front of the arena.
The arena would see continual use for another 30 years until the 1990s, when the Town of Halton Hills looked at replacing the aging facility.
After much discussion and, even heated debate, it was decided to construct a new arena on Queen Street East and demolish the old arena at Prospect Park.
By February 1st, 1998, the new $5.1-million arena opened on Queen Street and the old arena was razed in December of that year.
The site of the former arena sat empty until 2007 when the Dufferin Rural Heritage Centre was constructed, a home for both indoor soccer and the Acton Agricultural Society’s Fall Fair Homecrafts exhibits.
Article written by Scott Brooks, with information from Dills Collection / Acton Free Press / The New Tanner Archives.
