Kirkton Ontario is a community in the municipality of South Huron. Today all that remains of the community are a few homes at the intersection of Highway 23 (Road 164) and County Line 8. However, this tiny hamlet community was the destination of a young Irish emigrant named Timothy Eaton. Born in Northern Ireland in 1834, Timothy Eaton emigrated to Canada around 1854. He and his brother James opened a general mercantile store of log construction in the vicinity of the hamlet of Kirkton. Eventually the brothers moved their business to nearby St. Mary’s, and eventually to Toronto where they opened a nation-wide dry goods business that carried their name. The Eaton brothers were astute businessmen, and pioneered many aspects of retail merchandising in Canada. Today a plaque, just outside the hamlet of Kirkton commemorates Timothy Eaton.