The first rink was built in the 1870's by James Coxworth.  It was situated east of his Queen Street hotel.  It was destroyed by a fire.  A second rink was built and fortunately was deserted when the roof caved in during a heavy snow storm.  Skaters depended on frozen ponds from then until 1896 when J. Ellis and F. Smallacombe built a rink on Richmond North which served the community for the next twenty years until its sale in 1916.  An open air rink on queen Street remained operational from 1931 to 1937 when a larger ice surface was made as a donation to the village by William Moir.

        The above pictured building was erected during the latter part of 1948.  It was officially opened Nov 14, 1949.  The centre provided a standard sized ice surface for community hockey and skating.  It also contained meeting rooms for Boy Scouts/Girl Guides and also rural organizations.  The salary of the manager/caretaker was set at $30.00 per week.  In February of 1954, it was decided to install an artificial ice surface.  This arena served the Hensall area until 1977, when it was demolished during July - November of that year.
 

The present day community centre was opened Nov 1, 1978.  March of 1977 saw a fund-raising committee formed and given the responsibility to raise $175,000 by public subscription.  Other sources of capital were from a Wintario Grant of $350,000, Provincial Capital Grant of $150,000, donated labour and equipment of $25,000.  Several other fund-raising activities took place. In September of 1977, the contract to build a new arena was awarded to Logan Construction of Stratford, Ont for a price of $694,000.  The arena has a regulation ice surface measuring 185 feet by 85 feet, has a seating capacity for 450 people, and standing room accommodation for 1,000 people.  An innovative feature is a heated room that allows the elderly and handicapped to view the on-ice happenings from a comfortable surrounding..  A good view of the ice surface can be seen from the spacious conference room upstairs.  Also located upstairs is the press room and announcer's booth.  Players and officials of the many hockey games expected to be played here have not been forgotten.  Officials have their own change room, and the hockey players have the choice of four fully equipped dressing rooms.  The auditorium to the west of the arena can accommodate over 400 people.  It has a fully equipped kitchen plus two separate bar facilities.  This new centre is being looked after by Rolly Vanstone and Don Reid, two well-known and respected Hensall residents. The information and photos for this article were gleaned from the following sources: The Times Advocate - "Hensall and District Community Centre Edition" dated Thursday, October 26, 1978. "The Village of Hensall"  - a booklet of the history of the Village of Hensall. Thanks to the Hensall Public Library for providing this historical item.