The Huron Expositor, 1978-06-29, Page 55Congratulations
to the
People of Dublin
On the occasion of the
100th Anniversary of the
founding ofthe Village,
We look forward to
continuing to cooperate
with our many friends•
in the community
in the years to come.
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Tuckey
PEPS
everages
Exeter Ontario
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32 THE HURON EXPOSITOR, JUNE 29, 1978
Dublin settled
HIBBERT CENTENNIAL PARADE -- Rev. Bert Daynard, Staffp,
United Church, shares the front seat,of fife Salvation' Wagon in the
Hibbert C6htennial Parade pt Dublin, 'with Mother Michael St.
David of St. Patrick's School. Father R. Durand of St. Patrick's
Roman Catholic Church is in the rear seat (left) with an unidentified
parade visitor in 1967. (Expositor Photo)
• (Continued from Page 9)
a railway, and was closely associated with
that work during the greater part of his life.
`Ele was fireman on the first engine that
ever ran, this being the hiStoric engine
designed by George • Stephenson,: which
made its first run in, England by George
Stephenson; which made its first rtin • in
England • on the Stockton and Darlington
Railroad from Manchester to Liverpoel, on
September'27, 1825. He also had the honor
of taking the first engine into Manitoba in
1878. For many years he was a resident of
Clinton., Ont., and its first reeve, an office
which he held for ,ten years. At
Confederation in 1867 he was elected to
Parliament and represented North Huron
for five years. 'He was three times married,
and' each time. hei- married a wife quite .a
number ofleiirs..you.n.gcr, than his former
one.. He sprvived by_mtire:than-a-year-his-
third, wife. On March 1.2,1894, he died in .
Clinton at the age of 80 years...' •
Uzzicl Clark Lee, who married Mary.
Pyin, opened the first general store in
Carronbrook in 1849. on the M.cKillop side
of the village. He was appointed the first
postmaster in 1853 or 4, an office which he
held until 1872. Nothing more is known of
Lee.
J.W. Cull
J. W,. Cull was' another early store-
keeper'. He was a• chemist, but added -
general wares to his-store here. He left in
1864 for Mitchell, where he owned a .drug
' store for many years. Ctill was born . in
• Addington County in 1839, and learned the
druggiSt trade- in Kingston, Ont. .
The name of Kidd and •CarrenOvOk was•
closely associated .for .many years, John
Kidd, who came from Athlone,. Ont., was
the first of the Kidds to arrive, here. .His -
wile was a Miss Murphy. Not liking the
place, he returned to Athlone and made
sonic agreement with his brother, Joseph,
to take over his interests in 'Carronbrook,
but not all the deeds at this time were
transferred to Joseph's name,' which-led to
some contusion 'in later years.
• Joseph Kidd 'was born in Dublin,'
Ireland.. in 1825, and came to Charleston,
north of Brockville. around 1844; where the
Kidd family lived for one year. Three years
were spent at 'Mono Mills, then. Joseph.
sUirted'in business for hirriscICHe founded
the village of. Athlone, in Simcoe County,
.and started in the mercantile business.
there, 'Which he carried on about ten years.
.before he. came to Carronbrook. Joe .Was
one of those up-and-go young men who,
from the time he arrived in the 50's, went
..finin one enterprise to another until the
tiny hamlet became in a few years. a
thriving village, with a population .of
around 750. Today. the population is 500
leSs than it , was at that time.
Soon after Joseph arrived he, builta large
frame building on the east side of 'Mill
Street. now known as Main .Street; and in
1868 s' .a brick store on- the west side of thi
same street. A sawmill was . his next
venture. Be later owned three. In 'the
Dominion election of 1872, while he polled
an- exceptionally large Conservataive vote
in the South Perth campaign, he was
defeated by James Trow, the Liberal
candidate.
•
By July 1, 1875, the Joseph Kidd Sc Sons
Salt Works were in operation. Before the
"block" reached its height of production,
several obstacles had to be overcome.
Weak brine in the first well sunk made it
necessary ,to sink. another well five miles
away, near Seaforth, Ont. This brine of
higher quality was carried th rough wooden
pipes, which soon gave way under the use
of the heavy steam pressure necessary .to
force it to its destination. But nothing
daunted, he at once replaced the wooden
piping with iron tubing, at a cost of $1,000
per,tnile, which proved more sotisfacxtory
than he had anticipated, as the heat from
the sun in summer raised the' temperature
of the brine to such a degree that only
about half the amount of fire was necessary
to bring about the evaporation. The pan
used, the largest in Canada, measured 13.0
x 30 feet. This was 30 feet longer than the
standard size. This plant had a capacity of
producing about '200 barrels of salt each
day, which was the • largest 'producing
"block" in the Dominion, except the
International at Goderich. Four thousand
cords of wood were consumed annually in
the. production of the salt. The sawmill,
stave factory and cooperage shop provided
'barrels. for the shipment of their product.
These buildings were built over the stream
- one block west of Prendergast's. Hotel and1.,„
a little south from that corner. The salt
block was south and west of these - west of
the bridge, back of Kidd's brick store, In
the 90's all these buildings, one by one,
_,_.•clisappeared ,- d the plot-was--th en -
frequently spoken of as the "commons."
, • 3,000 acres
Kidd was the owner of 3,000 acres or
more of farm land, some in the community,
but much of it timbei land in the Georgian
Bay area. This land provided most of the
lumber and wood needed for his inter- •
prises in the'village. Kidd employed, at the
height of his popularity, around fifty, men.
• As his -business prospered' and expanded,
he became quite wealthy: then as the 70'S
wore on, one backs.et after ,another beset
rum. 'the first was.the sinking of a shipload
of Inniber in Lake Huron. Much money had
been spent on a dock at Goderich which,
one night during a storm, was blown away
and completely destroyed. About this time
one of his houses burned, and a few years
later the cooperage shop was destroyed by
fire. Kidd was also the heaviest financial
loser in the fire'of May, 1879, as he owned
several of the buildings burned which were
occupied by others. He lost a storeroom, as
well, which housed a"large quantity of his
hardware. This loss' wasanother blow to
his business.
In the late 80's circumstances were such
that he assigned all to his creditors, and
crossed the border to Chicago, Illinois, and
lived there till he died on May 3, 1890, at
the age • of 65 years. His remains, were
brought back and buried beside his' wife
Sarah, who had died on May 16, 1872, aged
44 years. A tall white marble monument in
St.Columban -Cemetery marks his last,
resting place. Today the name of Kidd is as
seldom heard as is that of Carronbrook.
Oldest
On June 25, 1878, at a gala celebration,
Carronbrook had its name changed to
Dublin, in honor of Joseph Kidd's
birthplace in Ireland. The streets ' were,
gaily decorated for the occasion. In the
procession, Mrs.William Carpenter, riding
in a decorated carriage with her son, James•
represented the oldest inhabitants, and in
another carriage, drawn by four beautiful
grey horses, were nine little girls dressed
, in pure white, eight of whom represented
the Provinces of the Dominion, and the
other the young City of Dublin. These were
escorted by a mounted guard, dressed in
' scarlet, with drawn swords' and lances. At
the entrace to the picnic grounds the
Captain of the Guard, after demanding
whosought admittance, presented the key
to Dublin to fairy queen, Miss Mary
McConnell, who was crowned during the
ceremony which followed.• The celebration
lasted all day and long into the,night.
The one fatality that •marred the
proceedings of the day was the death bf
Daniel Geary, a Hibbert'Township farmer.
Opposite Tom King's store, spanning the
street, was a magnificently designed arch,
made of Salt Barrels.Mr.Geary when
driving down the 'street struck the arch,
and the toppling barrels frightened his
spirited team of horses. In the runaway
that followed, he was dragged from the
railroad track to wItere the church now
stands, and when help reached him life
was extinct.
Weak brine
The Council and Citizens of the
TOWNSHIP OF LOGAN
Congratulate Dublin
On its
100th Anniversary