HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1986-07-16, Page 51The two rooms most characteristic of
the times and of the occupants were the
dining room and kitchen. Gairbraid was
the centre of Colborne life, a home, a
meeting place, and.a. refuge for all comers �.
— "Have you had your dinnerh?". was the
Doctor's unfailing greeting to all
passersby. And "Will you tak' a drink - no
man must go from my house!either hungry
or dry."
As described by the Lizar sisters, in the
Days of the Canada Company, a huge •
llqµ. oos-stand made,_ of mahogany, brass
bound, with large brass handles stood in
the centre hollow of the sideboard. ;It
measured seventeen and one-half inches
high by thirtylthree in length and twenty-
three in width. It was simply a monster
"traveller" on wheels, built to hold twelve
gallons of liquid,containing a dozen large
bottles from a converted military chest,
each carrying a new label and measuring
a good sixteen inches by nine, with a half -
pound stopper, in itself a handful. These
were termed by the irreverent Doctor the
"Twelve Apostles"; the brandy bottle was
Paul, and Peter held the whisky, and,they
went the rounds of the room in pilgrimages
suitable to,the disposition of the company.
It was not only a homestead which the
Doctor arid the Captain wished to found.
There was also to be a village of Gairbraid.
The Crown and Anchor was the village inn.
It was at this inn that the first meeting,
January 4, 1836, was held to elect the first
local governing body of Colborne
Township in the form of commissioners.
The first schooling of Colborne children
took place at Gairbraid. The first Christian . L
church services were held at Gairbraid.
Gairbraid was also the site of the first
Marriage in Colborne Township. The story
goes thus: Between 1833 and 1834, Louisa ,
McColl, a dairy woman was sent out from
the Dumbartonshire Gairbraid to manage
the Canadian household.
She cared for the Captain and the Doctor
community was, simple as were the ways
of that primitive society, Mrs. Grundy had
arrived and it was demanded that the •
Highland lassie should be let go. The Doc-
tor gravely told his brother that there was
but one way out of the difficulty, viz, for
one of them to marry her; he was willing to
decide which of them it should be, by three
tosses of a penny — he provided the coin.
Three tosses were solemnly given with a
double -headed penny, and the unsuspec-
ting Captain became a candidate for
matrimony.
Gairbraid remained a popular meeting
piace,but never fulfilled the dream of
becoming a town site. Today, the historical
Dunlop Tomb is the only reminder of Col-
borne's first settlement.
Paq• 30
41 ammismininim
NAPPY BIRTHDAY CO BORNE!
4/VOLELIGii,G
IZICSTAURANT r & TAVERN
ERN
Please Phone...524,7711 For Reservations
1 a .
from your neighbours
in the Municipality of the
TOWNSHIP OF ASH.FIEL
An early barn raising in Colborne Township
Dunlop set up Gairbraid
n®rth , of the Maitland
Gairbraid
In 1832 settlers were arriving at a rapid
pace. "Tiger" Dunlop, Warden of the
Forests vacated -the Castle and took up a
block of land bordering the de Tuyle Ridge
property and established Gairbraid — the
name copied his mother's old home in
Dumbartonshire.
Gairbraid was built of solid oak logs, the
house formed the letter H. It contained
eight or nine roomy apartments compris-
ing of a series of -house, lean-to, •por
and passages. Thezview,up the valley of
the Minnesetung, has not often been
equalled.
Best Wishes
to our many good friends
in ColborneTOWflShIP
DUSST FARM CENTS
We at Durst Farm Centre
are proudto play a role
in forming the agricultural
history -of Colborne Township.
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Bryan
DURST FARM CENTRE
Len
Tony
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Highway No. 8 West Clinton
-482-7706
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