Eden Mills

Eden Mills is a small village on the Eramosa River, on the eastern edge of Guelph/Eramosa where the township meets Halton Region. The river once powered its grist mill, oatmeal mill and sawmills. Eden Mills Memorial Park on Memorial Street has a ball diamond, a soccer field, a basketball court, a lighted outdoor rink, a toboggan hill and a playground. Each September the Eden Mills Writers' Festival, founded in 1989, brings some of Canada's best-known authors to read in the village. Rockwood is about 5 km to the north, and Guelph is a short drive west.

The Kribbs family built a mill on the Eramosa River in 1842, and the settlement was first called Kribbs Mill. It was renamed Eden Mills in 1846, when the new mill owner said the place was as beautiful as the Garden of Eden. The early village had a post office, a blacksmith, a hotel, a general store and several mills, and its community hall was built around 1893. From 1917 the Toronto Suburban Railway stopped here, and the village became a destination for day trips from Toronto.

The census gives no figures for Eden Mills on its own, so these are the figures for the countryside of Guelph/Eramosa, which includes Eden Mills, Ariss 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. About 350 people lived in Eden Mills in 2019.

Wellington Road 29 leads north from Eden Mills to Highway 7, and Guelph City Hall is about 13 km away by road, a drive of about 17 minutes. Rockwood is about 5 km to the north. The village has no bus service; the nearest train stations are Guelph Central and Acton.

Eden Mills Memorial Park at 19 Memorial Street is the village park, with a lit outdoor rink and toboggan hill in winter and a ball diamond, soccer field and basketball court in summer. The Eramosa River runs through the village. The Rockwood Conservation Area, with its cliffs, caves and beach, is about 5 km north, and the nearest library is the Rockwood branch of the Wellington County Library at 121 Rockmosa Drive. The Eden Mills Writers' Festival is held in the village each September.

• Rockwood Centennial Public School — JK to Grade 8. The public school for Eden Mills, in Rockwood, with French immersion from Grade 6 to Grade 8.
• École Harris Mill Public School — JK to Grade 5. The French immersion school for Eden Mills from JK to Grade 5, in Rockwood.
• John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute — Grades 9 to 12. The public secondary school, in Guelph, with French immersion.
• Sacred Heart Catholic School — JK to Grade 8. The Catholic elementary school, in Rockwood.
• St. James Catholic High School — Grades 9 to 12. The Catholic secondary school, in Guelph.