The Huron Expositor, 1979-04-26, Page 23•
•
°
WV,
, ..4771=arfaaw.,...pryadwaaMa.,,,lar
•
4
• SRA.1,.0RITtONTARQ THUR$DAY APRL 26, 1979 Isco issctIon Pgis Aoo.,„8A
• •
•1
•
a
4
r
7 •,• ;:, ;t4
' •
•
Staffa.General Store and Post Office ,owned by John Sadler and
(Staffa isnorth-east of Exeter).
••
. •
• Cromarty's stone Presbyterieh Church; built in 1864
and still standing.
• ..
CdOor's note: This is the -first of two numbers 109 members and is Increasing
articles outlining the history a some ofth ei,ery night. This is perhaps the largest for
"post villages' in Tuckersmith, Usborne„ a country place in Canada,"
Hibbert, LMcKillop, Grey, Morris And
Hullett Townships. A number of 'these
.villages have disappeared over the years),
the businesses have closed and some of the
place names are only a memory today.
Elaine Townshend has researched the
Rodgerville didn't
get a frain station
• history of • a number of these "post
villages" but if you know of some villages
that have been everlookedplease call us at
The Expositor office.
BY ELAINE TONVNSHEND
In the early 1800's, the Huron Road was
Chopped through the woods from Stratford
to Goderich, and hardy settlers folloWed,
Some stopped on the main road; others
struck out new trails pushing deeper into
Districts of Huron and Perth4
Because. transportation was slow and
hazardous, the settlers had to establiSh
their own necessities for survival. Wher-
ever a few farmers took up residence,
crossroads communities sprang up, 'Mest
of them contained a store, blacksmith shop
and a mill and almost all of them included
°n 'post ofrlecj, lied:411Se communication with
the outside world depended on the mail.
• TUCKERSIVI1TH
Rodgerville straddled the London
Road fifighway #4), just one mile south of
Henson. Originally named Warrensville for.
the nearby Warren Creek it was settled in
1834 by William Elder. In 1852, . a post
office was •established and the name was
changed to Rodgerville to honour one of
the, early settlers. Matthew Rodger. Sev-
eral different spellings are shown in
historical acconnts, but Rodgerville seems
most prevalent,
Eity 1863, the hamlet boasted three.
general Stores run by James Bonthron.
- John Back, ' and, Peter Morrison, three
blacksmith shops owned by Hislop, Porter
and McLeod, a tannery operated by Hadley
Doan, a hotel owned by Matthew Rodger
and several artisansshops: A ft-anie
Presbyterian Church. was built in 1851 to
i serve a wide arca; the first` minister was
Rev. John Logiel.- By 1886, the congreg-
ation had grown to more than 100 members
and was leading the Temperance struggle
in the community.
The Hiiron Expositor reported on Oct.
14. 1870: "The Rodgerville Band of Hope
1 11
. 4.:
Staffa, view of main street, which blends newer hotpes with older
buildings, including a cement blacksmith shOpi ,
PlOd(rtreVilie (Hwy. #4, I% mites south or Hensel!) houses and barns close
to the highway mark the probablespot where Rodgerville was founded
a
By the 1870's railv..ay surveyors for
• London, Huron and Bruce Railway were
working in the district. Rodgerville's
failure to attract a station was probably the
beginning of its deMise, The Petty Bros,
James and George, owned land' and mills
approximately 11/2 miles north of Rodger-
ville and in 1876, a station opened near the
nulis- the beginning of FlenSall. •
One by one Rodgerville businesses
relocated in Herman; Bonthron's store and,.
McLeod's blacksmith shop were the last to
leave, Redger's hotel stood empty for
many years In 1886 the church congreg-
ation disbanded with many members
moving to Hensall, By .1890, Rodgerville's.
population had dropped to 45 people,
In 1899, the post office closed, and
finally in 1910, the empty church was
dismantled leaving only mounds of dirt
where the ence-thriving hamlet of Rodger-
ville stood. In 1979, a cluster of fur or five
houses and barng.on Highway #4 mark the
probable Rodgerville site,.
LATTA'S CORNERS
At the south east corny of Tuckerstnith,
on the Tuckersrhith/Htbbert line, was
Latta's Corners. A post office' was opened
• in 1875 and the namewas changed to
Chiselhurst, for Chiselhurst in England
Where the ex.emperor Napoleon 111 of
France died. The community contained
Only 'a few houses, two churches, a
•biacksmith shon and the store in which the
post office .was kept. William More was
the first storekeeper to assume the extra
duties of postmaster ; the store burned in
1936. •
usBoRsiE
Although small in size,•11sborue had first
class mail aecomodations in the 1870's with
no less than seven post "villages" within
itsboundaries Elimville, near the centre;
Kirktori on the south-east boundary mid
way between Exeter and St. Marys,
Winchelsea on, the same road; Woodham
near Kirkton; Rodgerville on the northwest
boundary, partly in' Usborne and partly in.
Ttickerstnith; Farquhar six.rniles north
east of Exeter; and Lumley near ,the 'north
border. • , •
Of these,' Elimville was the "mtinicipal
eapital" with approximately 100 residents:,
and a hotel two stores, a number of °
mechanics' shops Of various kinds, two
churches and a brick ,building erected by
subscription as a Union Sunday School:
The town hall Was a commodious brick
structure that cost over $1,200 to build.
, •
•
Farquhar, or Taunton
hotel and
a cheese factory
Parquhar was first called Taunton with
the name change coming in -1862 The fi t
• • rs
postmaster was William Edmond, a gen-
eral merchant and the township clerk. The
only other business in the early years was a . .
hotel run by David, Crawford. A cheese
factory opened in the1860's east of the L e c
village.
r ' •
, ossroa s
In 1876, the first casualty insUrance ' ' ii •
company to be formed in Huron County -
USborne and Hibbert Mutual Art Insur- ' 4
.,,
Parmihar. The first president was Robert Comm u it ,-. our early
ance Company - was established in
Gardiner; the agent appointed for Hibbert
was John Carmichael and for Usborne J,J. rik e t
Clark Directors served without remuner- 40047 villages
S93.10 leaving a balance of S62.15, ,
ri
ation, Total expenses for the first year Were r
The first loss Occurred in 1877 and forced 5 OM e a MOST
the company to borrow from , Molson's
Bank in Exeter to pay it, To Sustain the
•Britt through that •difficult period, an
assessment of Se for every $100 of
• insurance was Made on all polio holder,
Five Miles south of Dublin 011 the
Hibbert Centre Road in Perth •County,
Springhill was fnunded in 1854. When the
tesiderits applied for a -pest office, they
learhed of another Spiinghill in that part of
the provinee and thanked the name of' their
•hamlet to Skaffa. Thomas Dunn was the
first' postmaster; Mail arrived daily from
Dublin in later years. •
• By the 1$70's, Staffa had a population of
about 100 people and as the capital of the
township with a fratnetoWn hapi that cost
$700 to erect,
William Moffat began to build the first
grist mill in 1861; it was completed five
years later by Robert Webb Sr The
structure burned in 1923 and was not
rebuilt, Frank O'Brien operated another
grist mill fora few years after the fire.
James Hill of Mitehell Opened the first
village store in 1856 and ran it as a branch
of his Mitchell store with Thomas Dunn,
Clerk of Hibbefrt- Township, as his man
ager. Staffa had two butchers in the 1890's
. Bill Rivers and Bill Craigford. In 1861,
James Hamilton started a boot and shoe
shop in his hoilise, From the early 1880's
until 1900, William Oliver used the
building for a harness shop,
In .1856, John Butler built the first
blacksmith shop; and by 1859, another one
had been established by John Pellow, The
latter structure also contained a Woodwork
and wagon shop in which Williatrz iPellow,
son of John, and Bill Day did carpentry
work which included making coffins
•
approximat4ly 70 bleeds sorne newer
homes with ,a few older buildings,' includ-
ing Harvey Haeley's blacksmith shop and a
post office andgeneral. store owned by
John Sadler and Son. Rainbow Auto Body'
is housed, in the former creamery and
hotel. Staffa also has a United Chureh, and
the Women's Institute • meets in the
Township Hall,
•
•
Crorriarty hotel had
on excellent reputation
L CROMARTY -
The only other inland village, in Hibbert
in 1879 was Cromarty, 11/4 miles south of
Staffa. The hamlet had an impressive stone
Presbyterian church, which was built in
1864 and is still standing, and,'a hotel, that
won an excellent reputation among the
travelling men of the 1800"s. Founded in
1853 by John Ferguson of1Craigfarrock,
,
Scotland the hamlet was named after the
birthplace of author Hugh Miller 'John
McLaren, son-in-law of John Ferguson,
was the first postmaster and storekeeper in
1856.
No ticks,here was
motto of Staffa hotel
John Pelow also built the first log hotel
in 1859 and in the early 1870's he
constructed and impressive, brick hotel.
The last hotel, proprietor, Frank Carlin,
. added a few attractions, such as a unique
bar with water from the spring flowing '
•
Walker's hall had
open air dances
continually through the building & making
ice cold drinks always available, a windmill
outside kept in Motion by the running
water, clock in a prominent place on the
wall and a sign bea'ri4 the hotel's motto
"no ticks here .
• In 1932, the Old brick hotel, housed the
Hibbert Co-operative Dairy Association
Ltd. In 1890, a butter factory had been built
by James Delmar Walker. , It burned in
1900 and until the Co-operative Creamery
was established, no butter factory was'
located near the Village
i •
B.O. McDonald , ran an egg grading •
station from 1945 to1952, and cold storage
service was added in 1949.
The first reliable'"doctor in the district
was reported to be Dr. A. MacTavish,. who
arrived in 1868. Sin se 1911. Staffa has not
had a permanent doctor. Veterinarians -
Wattie Shillinglaw, ' Bill Bell and Tom ,
. Drown - served the hamlet at various times
in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Around 1875, John Sadler built a
mill
planning and cider mill. By that time,
everyone had orchards and began making
apple butter to suffice when other fruit was
scarce. They held paring bees, to prepare
'.the apples, and Alex Ferguson's fifty
..gallon copper -lined kettle, . in which the
apple buttcr was boiled, went from horneto
home during the apple butter season.
John Sadler also built a sawmill in 1884,
which was taken over by his son, William,
in the 1890s; the structure burned and was
rebuilt in 1913. After William Sadier's
death in 1939, the mill was idle until
bought by Ernest R. Allen in 1945.
In 1979. Staffa with a population of
After 1921, Oswald Walker built a house
and store with a community hall above, He
added an outdoor platform on which
open-air dances were held. The first
meeting of the Loyal Orange Lodge was
held in June, 1875.
The first cobbler shop was built by
Wattie McNicol in the early 1850 s, In the
same building his son, Walter, who was'
regarded as somewhat of a genius,
, ,
invented things, such as a grain binder.
Unfortunately he didn't receive the credit
he deserved forlis endeavours,
Other shoemakers were Edward Seigel,
James Millair and John Mellwraith, but, •
when handmade gaiters and long boots for
men went out of style in the early 1900 s,
the cobblers left Cromarty.
The first blacksmith shop was built in the
early 1860's by Jim Allen. Fred Hunkin
took over in 1875 with his assistant, Jack
Richardson. In later years, the building
was used.as a Chopping mill, and for a few
years; dances and teas were held upstairs.
In 1875, J oe Hoggarth, a carpenter, and
Fred Hunkin, a blacksmith, joined in
partnership under the name Hunkin and
HOggarth A er a fire in 1879 neighbours
helped Hoggarth to build a new wagon and'
carriage shop; Eventually Sittion Miller
turned the building into a com ned
carriage shop, barber shop and dance hall.
In the 1880% George Miller made
coffins, bureaus and other furniture in his
carpentry shop. On March 21, 1913, the
"Good Friday Cyclone" destroyed many
of the buildings in Croinarty, Hydro was
installed in the spring of 1952, and the two
streets were lit. - •
forotteri.•
• by Elaine Townshend
(