Drayton

A village with an opera house: the historic Drayton Festival Theatre launched one of Ontario's great theatre companies, and the farming town around it stays true to its roots. The theatre has 375 seats in the restored opera house of 1902, and its stage has hosted performers such as Beatrice Lillie. The Conestogo River runs past the village, and the Drayton walking trail follows it, with benches along the way. ABC Park on Andrews Drive has two playgrounds, a splash pad and a beach volleyball court, and the fairgrounds on John Street hold two ball diamonds, seven soccer fields and a skateboard park. In winter the PMD Arena fills with hockey and figure skating.

Drayton was part of Peel Township, and in 1851 it was named after Drayton Manor in Staffordshire, England, the home of the British prime minister Sir Robert Peel. Its opera house and town hall was built in 1902. The Drayton Festival Theatre opened its first season there on July 1, 1991, and has grown into Drayton Entertainment, with seven theatres. In 1999 Drayton joined Peel and Maryborough townships as the Township of Mapleton.

The 2021 census counted about 805 homes in Drayton. About seven in ten are single detached houses, about one in seven are semi-detached and about one in eight are in apartment buildings under five storeys. About one in seven homes were built in 1960 or earlier, and about one in eight between 1961 and 1980. About a third were built between 1981 and 2000, and about four in ten in 2001 or later.

Drayton sits at the corner of Wellington Road 8 and Wellington Road 11. Wellington Road 8 runs west to Moorefield, about 8 km away. Uptown Waterloo is about 46 km by road, a drive of about 40 minutes, by Floradale Road and Elmira, and Guelph is about 46 km, also about 40 minutes, by Wellington Roads 8 and 7. Palmerston is about 18 km north-west.

ABC Park at 81 Andrews Drive has two accessible playgrounds, a splash pad, a gazebo and a beach volleyball court. The ball diamonds, soccer pitch and fairgrounds at 56 John Street also have a playground, a basketball court and a skateboard park. Kinsmen Park on Elm Street has two playgrounds, Centennial Park on Wellington Street North has a picnic shelter, Riverside Park has a walking trail, and Memorial Park holds the cenotaph. The PMD Arena Complex has the township's ice. The Drayton branch of the Wellington County Library is at 106 Wellington Street South.

• Drayton Heights Public School — JK to Grade 8. The public school for the village, on Wellington Street South.
• Palmerston Public School — JK to Grade 8. The French immersion school for Mapleton, in Palmerston.
• Norwell District Secondary School — Grades 9 to 12. The public secondary school for Drayton, in Palmerston, with French immersion.
• St. John Catholic School — JK to Grade 8. The Catholic elementary school for Drayton, in Arthur.
• St. James Catholic High School — Grades 9 to 12. The Catholic secondary school for Drayton, in Guelph.
• Community Christian School — JK to Grade 8. An independent Christian elementary school on High Street in Drayton, formerly Calvin Christian School.