Harriston, located in Wellington County, Ontario was a thriving town when it amalgamated with Palmerston and Clifford to form Minto.
The community does have their own Public School as well as several shops and restaurants. The original community received its name from Archibald Harrison, a Toronto farmer who was granted land along the Maitland River where it met the Elora and Saugeen Road in 1854. He, along with his brothers Joshua and George built several mills in the area and the community soon grew.
By about 1867, with a population of about 150, the village contained many businesses, including blacksmith shops and wagonworks. The construction of the Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway, completed to Harriston in 1871, spurred the community's growth as a prosperous commercial and farm-implement manufacturing centre.
