Along with a half dozen other men who had also fought with the British during the American Revolutionary War, Pierpoint was granted land in Garafraxa Township somewhere around what is now Scotland Street in Fergus.

However, in order to accommodate Irish settlers, Webster founded the town of Arthur (just north of Fergus) in 1840.

They and other Scots living in the settlement established a booming economy using the waterfalls on the Grand River to power local industry.

[7][13] In addition to Scots, the other settlers in this area were Irish or freed slaves from the U.S.[5] In 1858, the settlement, with a population of 1,000, was incorporated as a village called Fergus in honour one of its founders, Adam Fergusson.

Around this time the company began to transition to appliance manufacturing and away from its roots in farm equipment, taking advantage of the growing suburban consumer market of the mid-20th century.

With heavy competition from American manufacturers like Westinghouse, however, the company was ultimately taken over in successive mergers starting in the 1960s, which culminated in the final closure of the last remaining ex-Beatty plant in Fergus in 2013.

Over the years, approximately 1500 "deserving" poor, including those who were destitute, old and infirm or suffering from disabilities were housed here.

The sixty bed house for "inmates" was surrounded by a 30-acre "industrial" farm with a barn for livestock that produced some of the food for the 70 residents and the staff and also provided work for them.

According to a 2009 report by the Toronto Star, "pauperism was considered a moral failing that could be erased through order and hard work".

[20][21][22] A historic plaque was erected at the museum, indicating that the "government-supported poorhouse" was "the shelter of last resort for the homeless and destitute, who traded spartan accommodations for domestic or agricultural labour".

Fergus is a mostly residential community filled with streets lined with trees, many stone buildings, modern schools, and attractive parklands.

It is laid out on a rectangular grid, with the Grand River flowing through the downtown heritage centre, its limestone riverbanks surrounding it.

Centre Wellington is heavily agricultural but is also the home to industries, manufacturers, retailers, health care services and trades people.

[25] Data is not available for Fergus alone but at the time of the 2011 Census, 6.4% of the workforce of Centre Wellington was involved in agriculture and other resource-based industries/utilities, 24.8% in manufacturing and construction, 19.8% in health and education and 13.2% in wholesale and retail trade.

The major employers in the township include Jefferson Elora Corp., Nexans Canada, Polycorp Ltd., Groves Memorial Hospital, Wellington Terrace and PR Donnelly.

For example, parts of the Grand River in Elora and Fergus were the site for some of the scenes filmed for the 1994 movie Trapped in Paradise.

The organizers summarize the event as follows: "Celtic Music, crafts for the kids, heavy events championships, bagpipes, drums, author appearances, bands, Highland dancing, story telling, singing, clan information and heritage, beer tents, artisans and vendors ....

[9] St Andrew Street runs parallel to the Grand River (on its north side) and is the heart of downtown.

[36] Fergus and Centre Wellington have two major school boards that operate inside the municipality at a public level.

[37] Dr. Abraham Groves (1847-1935) was a pioneer of many forms of healthcare in Fergus, and was recognized for his skill and ability as a surgeon.

[citation needed] The Grand 101 FM CICW-FM is a not-for-profit community radio station that broadcasts a hot adult contemporary format with local news and specialty programming.