The Rural Voice, 1987-09, Page 99tiers pushed north along the Garafraxa
Road from Fergus to Owen Sound in
the mid -1800s, five acres of land was
a large holding, and was cleared only
after a crudely constructed cabin, often
made of saplings, had been erected.
Despite many obstacles, small
farms often prospered, and one early
pioneer, Charles Grant, whose farm
was located near the sandy shores of
Georgian Bay in the easternmost part
of the county, earned a national repu-
tation as a good farmer. He won a
number of prizes for his grain at the
chief Canadian fairs, at the Philadel-
phia Exposition, and at the World Fair
in Chicago. He also won six medals at
the Paris Exposition.
The production of livestock was
slow, largely due to the prevalence of
wolves in the bush -covered county.
Cowbells strapped on the necks of
cows and sheep, however, helped to
keep the predators at bay. The
county's sheep industry was large.
Indeed, 1871 census figures indicate
that sheep outnumbered cattle. There
were 47,780 sheep, 44,033 cattle,
23,950 swine, and 14,156 horses. And
the farming community outnumbered
the townspeople; in 1871, there were
54,911 rural and 6,711 urban resi-
dents. Schools numbered 236 and
churches 178.
The large sheep population
encouraged cottage industries for the
preparation of the wool for weaving.
Wool was washed, carded, and spun
into yarn. Few people owned weaving
looms and weavers were eagerly
welcomed into the neighbourhood.
One Irish couple, weavers by trade,
were given a life-long lease of five
acres and had a log house and stable
built by neighbours.
Grey County had the distinction of
having one of a very small number of
successful co-operative flour mills in
the country. The Osprey Farmers
Milling Company was incorporated in
1899 when 320 shares at a cost of $25
each were purchased, raising $8,000,
enough to purchase a mill property at
Feversham. The mill was fitted with
new up to date roller machinery for
making flour and a chopper for grind-
ing grain. Almost immediately after
the renovations were completed, a
flume gave way, carrying downstream
with it a large part of the dam and
wheelhouse. Undaunted by this stroke
of bad luck, the company rebuilt the
dam and flume and the business
prospered. By 1904 the company had
paid back in dividends 80 per cent of
the price of the shares. Then fire
destroyed the mill and contents,
including grists that belonged to a
number of customers. After consider-
able discussion, the mill was rebuilt
and equipped with modern machinery.
In 1871, the farming
community outnumbered
the townspeople —
54,911 to 6,711.
In 1877, R. J. Doyle discovered
that chalk deposits found at Shallow
Lake produced a superior quality of
cement. He formed a company and
built the only cement -producing plant
in Canada. Its superior quality soon
became known from coast to coast and
the company became one of the best
money -making concerns in Grey. The
plant was destroyed by fire in 1892
but a larger, more efficient plant was
constructed and between 250 and 300
men were employed for many years.
The plant was eventually closed when
a new process was discovered
whereby cement could be manufac-
tured less expensively from rock
rather than marl.
A cement marl works was also
located at Wilders Lake near Durham
after it was discovered that the lake
contained marl to a depth of 50 feet.
In Durham, one of the best cement
works plants on the continent was
erected at Durham, and a railway line
was built to transport marl to the plant.
A steam sawmill cut the pine trees and
all valuable timber away from the
lake. By 1907, the mill had ceased to
operate — the marl deposits were ex-
hausted. Several other cement plants
were built throughout the county, but
they too ceased operation in the early
1900s.
An early enterprise, the Craigleith
Oil Works, was the only one of its
kind in the country, producing oil
from the rocks at the stone quarry. An
early experiment of filling a muzzle -
loading musket with rock and placing
it in a fire until oil dropped out the
nipple and burned with a bright clear
flame showed that oil could definitely
be extracted from the rock. Prospects
for the company were bright. Oil was
not being produced anywhere else in
Canada. The oil works operated for
two years and employed 100 men
before it bumed to the ground. The
discovery of petroleum oil wells in
southwestern Ontario made it imprac-
tical for the Craigleith oil works to
rebuild.
Early engineers saw the potential
of harnessing power from the 70 foot
drop of Eugenia Falls. Men and
horses carved out a 1,700 -acre storage
basin and built a wooden pipeline to
carry water to the edge of the Beaver
Valley escarpment. Eugenia was the
second power station built in Ontario
and provided power to Owen Sound
and environs when completed in 1915.
Eugenia was part of the Georgian Bay
system served by four separate gen-
erating stations, including stations on
the Severn and Muskoka Rivers. The
system served all of Grey, Bruce,
Dufferin, Simcoe, and Muskoka as
well as the northern portions of
counties to the south. A second
pipeline was built at Eugenia, but
hydro power from Niagara Falls later
became more economical and the
Eugenia plant ceased operation.
Visitors to Eugenia Falls in 1853
were attracted by more than the
natural beauty of the falls. They were
amazed to find gold sparkling among
the rocks. Although they tried to keep
it a secret, the word was soon out and
others quickly on the scene. Within
weeks, men had come from every
direction — the rush was on. It tumed
out, however, that the gold was only
of the fool's variety, and the excite-
ment subsided as quickly as it had
erupted.0
P7IA
Colourful 1
GREY��
COUNT /
0
SEPTEMBER 1987 13