Ariss

Ariss is a small village in the farm country north-west of Guelph, with homes set among the fields along Ariss Valley Road and Ariss Glen Drive. The old Canadian Pacific line from Guelph to Goderich runs through the village and is now the Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail, for walking and cycling. The Ariss Valley Golf and Country Club lies just south of the village. Downtown Guelph is about 14 km away by road, and Elora and Fergus are a short drive north.

By 1900 the crossroads had a hotel, a blacksmith shop and a few houses. The Canadian Pacific Railway built its line from Guelph to Goderich through the settlement in 1907, and when the post office opened it was named Ariss, after Mrs. Ariss, the oldest resident; the railway named its station Ariss too. Frank Hasenfratz founded the auto parts maker Linamar in his basement in Ariss in 1964. Passenger trains stopped in 1955, and the rail bed became a recreational trail in 1998.

The census gives no figures for Ariss on its own, so these are the figures for the countryside of Guelph/Eramosa, which includes Ariss, Eden Mills and the hamlets. The 2021 census counted about 5,000 homes in Guelph/Eramosa. Leaving out Rockwood, the countryside had about 2,950 homes, and about 19 in 20 of them are single detached houses. About a quarter were built in 1960 or earlier and about a third between 1961 and 1980. More than a quarter were built between 1981 and 2000, and about one in eight in 2001 or later.

Downtown Guelph is about 14 km away by road, a drive of about 16 minutes, by way of Highway 6. Wellington roads lead north to Elora and Fergus. The trail on the old rail line runs west from Ariss toward Elmira and east into Guelph.

The Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail through the village is open for walking and cycling. The Ariss Valley Golf and Country Club is just south of the village. Marden Park, a short drive east at 7368 Wellington Road 30, has ponds, trails, two picnic shelters, a lit ball diamond, the Marian Brennan Enabling Gardens and the Marden branch of the Wellington County Library. The shops and services of Guelph and Elora are close by.

• Ponsonby Public School — JK to Grade 6. The public school for Ariss, on Wellington Road 7 in Centre Wellington.
• Elora Public School — Grades 7 and 8. The middle school for Ariss, in Elora.
• James McQueen Public School — JK to Grade 2. The French immersion school for Ariss, in Fergus.
• J.D. Hogarth Public School — Grades 3 to 8. The French immersion school for Ariss from Grade 3, in Fergus.
• Centre Wellington District High School — Grades 9 to 12. The public secondary school for Ariss, in Fergus, with French immersion.
• St. Mary Catholic School — JK to Grade 8. The Catholic elementary school for Ariss, in Elora.
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic High School — Grades 9 to 12. The Catholic secondary school, in Guelph.