The early history of Georgetown is dominated by two families; the Kennedy family and the Barber family. There were five Kennedy brothers who established the first settlement in the area  Charles Kennedy surveyed the area for settlement in 1819. He was followed by brother George Kennedy (after whom Georgetown is named) who in 1823, established a successful mill on the banks of Silver Creek a tributary of the the Credit River. The Kennedy’s operated a complex of mills in Georgetown including, a grist mill, saw mill, and a wooden mill. In the 1830s George Kennedy turned his attention towards farming and sold his mill to the four Barber brothers. By the 1850s the Barber Paper Mill was the largest producer of wallpaper in Ontario. In the 1880s the innovative Barber brothers are credited with being the first mill operation in North America to harness hydro electric power. By this time they were considered the largest wallpaper manufacturer in North America. The Barber Paper Mill remained in operation until 1991. Georgetown’s greatest period of growth coincided with the arrival of the railway in 1856. By this time Georgetown had earned a reputation as one of the most prolific manufacturing centres in Ontario. Successful manufacturers in Georgetown in the later part of the 1800s included an envelope factory, a knitting machine company, a shoe manufacturer and a wagon and carriage works. Georgetown prospered and the population grew, In 1864 it incorporated as a village and by 1922 the population was large enough to incorporate as a town.