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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1954-06-09, Page 6PAGE SIX I THE LUCKNOW SENTINEL, LUCKNOW, ONTARIO .. . . • ' ............. . ..............................■ . ■■■ - 6 .i' « f (By Mrs. Walter MacKenzie) acres annually for each 100 acres, during the first five years. A dwelling house 16’xl8’! was to be erected, and the timber reserved until land was paid for and pat­ ented and subject to any general timber tax thereafter. Not more than "200 acres was granted to any one person on these terms. . During the week of the sale more than 3,000 persons were in Southampton* Mr._MacNabb stood, at a wihdoiw ip his oiffiee and in two days upwards of $50^000 n cash and $8,000 in drafts were handed in. He had no time to count it, so threw it into a large clothes basket and threw a Cover over it. At the end of two days he was exhausted -and had to take time oUt to rest. About this time Alex Graham, Thos. Harris, Mur-r dock MacKenzie, Peter, John and Patrick Corrigan, and many more whose names are familiar, came to this part of the Township. In 1852, KinloSs,. in common with the other • townships in "Bruce’Countyrwas^united to-Nib— car-dine Township for municipal purposes. In June of- 1854 a pe­ tition was presented to the Un­ ited-Counties Council asking that Kinloss be made a separate mun­ icipality. This yjas not granted but in September * of that year the petition was granted and the necessary by-law passed. William Shelton as returning officer, dir-^ ected that the election be held at the house of Wm, Meredith, SH. Lot 11, Con. 6, Kinloss, on which 50 acres Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Fras­ er of Zorra Township later lived, for many years and raised a fam- ily of four sons and seven dau- ghters.~* (This, is the farm from which the six brides which I mentioned last year had large Weddings and left for their new homes with Well - filled hope chests,)' Mrs, Sam Chadwick and her son John now live on this farni. ; Boyer Paul Was First Reeve The . first council elected were Boyer Paul, Murdoch MacKenzie, Murdoch MacDonald, Thos. Har­ ris and Wm. Shelton, with Boyer Paul being elected reeve at their first meeting, Boyer Paul had Negro blood in his veins and some objection was made to his taking his. seat at County Coun­ cil in Goderich, cussion he was his seat. The township lets and one village—Lucknow. Mr:Jas.-Somerville-h^dLots~57, 58, 59 and 60 on Con. 1, Kinloss, surveyed into village lots in 1858. In 1863 a petition was submitted to the United Counties Council to have Lucknow, incorporated as a village. In! :June of 1873 it was incorporated as a Village, and in June 1874 after much see-saw­ ing as to whether it should be attached to Bruce County in which three-fifths of. its territory lay arid froin which it derived most of' its trade in grain, live­ stock, etc., -or * to Huron County, in which the other two4ifths Of its territory lay, a proclamation from the Lieut.-Gov. was issued attaching it to Bruce County. 0 \ The five hamlets, Kinloss or “Black Horse”; Kinlotigh, two & a half miles south of Kinloss; Holyrood, two and a half miles south of that and Larigside and !‘Whitechurch, have remained-ftriT^ ly static over the years, each ser­ ving a useful purpose in -its im­ mediate Com m-U ri i t y\ with churches, schools, post' offices, stores, blacksmith shops and gar­ ages;- and lumber and chopping mills. In the early d^yS all boast­ ed, one or more hotels. Lucknow' at one time had nine hotels and •two liquor stores. First Post Off ice on’ Hughes Farm The ffrst Post office in the township is said to have been ’ . When asked to prepare a short “Sketch of the .2 History of -the Township of .Kinloss”, I realized . that these history’. assignments must indicate that in some way my Institute colleagues, associate with the earliest settlers. Al­ though I have lived almost my Whole life in jthis Township, I found my knowledge of the subr jeCt was* very sketchy indeed, but a study Of Norman Robertson’s “iiistory; of-the County of Bruce’’ gives accurate information for the firsi fifty-six years, — the later history/1 have gleaned from var­ ious sources. . A history of the Township must contain some County references, as the Township and County are. inseparable in some respects/“To the lands of this Province, acquir­ ed by conquest, the British Crown has invariably waived its'right until what the Crown has been pleased to recognize as the Ind­ ian Title has been extinguished bv a treatv of surrender’’.. The Treaty by which the Indian title ■was surrendered to that tract of • land comprising the original Co: of Bruce, namely,* the townships of Saugeen, Arran, BrUce, Elder- slie, Kincardine,, Greenock, Hur­ on, Brant, Kihloss, .Culross and Carrick, was coiicluded by Sir 1 Francis Bond Head, at Manito- wariing, On August. 9th, 1836, the consideration given the treating ~”tribesJ ;being~“twelve hundred-and . fifty pounds per annum, as long as grass grows or water runs”. In return the Indians were asked to repair to fhe Manitoulin Is­ lands of the Bruce Peninsula and —e- <«ROyial--Deed~ of—Deolaratioh-- dated June 29th, 1847, provided . that the said Ojibway Indians andtheir‘posterity forever, shduld posses and enjoy i the .said Bruce Peninsula—or the proceeds of the ’ sale thereof—for the use and ben­ efit of the said Ojibway Indians land their posterity”. At the ul­ timate sale of the peninsula, the* proceeds of the sale were funded ’ and the interest paid to the In­ dians instead Of a fftced annuity. The Township of Kinloss is a triangular shaped area, bounded pn the- west by the Townships of Huron and Kincardine, on the . south by the Totvn^tiips of Ash- field and Wawanosh, and on the triangular side by the Townships of Culross and Greenock. KinlOss Township derives its name from one of the many titles of the Gov- / emor General at that time, the -__Earl^ of - Elgin and Kincardine, Baron Bruce of KinlOss. Portions of the township .are rolling and « fertile while other parts are very hilly and swampy; It is inter­ spersed with several sriiall lakes, ‘ the largest being the Silver Lakes near Kihloss Village, the Indian names for which were Otter and .Mud Turtle Lake. Being well "watered this township is ideal for ‘ mixed tf arming. , Kinloss enjoys the distinction of -being the first township in /Bruce County in which a survey of farm lots was made. This was on the first concession from the - easterly boundary of the town­ ship, 144 mil6s east of' White­ church, to the boundary between Huron and Kinloss. This same survey made by Alex Wilkinson, P.L.S., in 1847, continued on the first concession of Huron to the ----lake—ahd-ralong—the—lake—shord. nbrth to Kincardine. In this. sur­ vey the’,’Jots .are narrower and longer than anywhere else in the township, each containing 100 acres, and extending. from ■ one • concession' to another, each 100 acres being known for instance as S.H.. of Lot 10, Cori. 1, facing pri No. 86 Highway and' N.H. Of : Lot 10,"Cori^ 1, facing Concession . 2. (Thd reason, assigned for this , shape, of lot.-was that the settlers —--would--dwe4L.&l©sei^togetheruiand. be able to render mutual aid'in i-—Gase-afremergency>ar-trouble>W4.thL the Indians, a ,contingency Which never arose;) These lots were known as School Lands and sold ’fot" 10 shillings per acre, while ™ ----------- --Mwere emc the ldts on Concessions -2 to 12- equal instalments’ with' interest residents »ih that year, and the pf'which sold for 7 sh» 6d. and-were known The first instalment was payable1 earliest survey was that made On ■ P.L.S. Three years later in 1852 the residue of the township was surveyed by E. R. Jones, P.L.S. The rapidity with which the townships of the County of Bruce were settled may largely be at­ tributed to the Government of­ fering a “Free .Graht” of fifty acres on either side of the first two concessions on the, Durham Road* This was accompanied by the promise that this road, would be cleared and opehed up by the Government. Eight hundred and six lots in all were offered free in the townships bordering on the Durham Road. The conditions, stipulated before a patent from the Crown: was issued were as follows: The settler had to go to Hanover to t^e office of Mr. George Jackson, Crown Land Agent. ? He was given a list of available lots, which he inspected and returned to the agent’s of­ fice to register his selection. From one to three months’ grace were allowed before commencing to Tulfn^ms^contracti^'Which—stipu^- lated continuous residence, the clearing of 12 acres of land in not less than four years, arid the erection of a dwellings not less thap 18’x24’ in size. Not Until these terms were fulfilled was a patent issued by the Crown. (I may state here that the Durham Road at that time constituted a blaze on the trees and the pros^ -pective settler hadn to follow this trail, ford numerous rivers,’ or if unable to do so, find a log jam on which he crossed, so his jour­ ney to the land office at Hanover was not uneventful.) The . first settlers in Kinloss settled bn the “Free Grants” in 1850. Among these were Eli Stauffer, who was credited with being the first settler in the township; John and Wm. Shel­ ton, I hos. Hodgins and Mankin Meredith. These pioneers deserve great., credit for having located on lands that were far'from a base of Supplies, Kincardine be­ ing the ; nearest point gt Which supplies could be obtained. In July J851 the Durham Road con­ tracts were let' and most of the settlers were able to earn much needed money as contractors 'or working as axemen^ on this road. An example of the rate Of pay for this work would be 22 pounds per mile for chopping out a 66- Toot roadway, arid 12sh. 6d. per rod for causewaying. A tedious delay occurred in op- eriing up the other main roads in Kinloss. The 10th sideroad or Gravel Road as we have known it for years, was not opened till 1858 and the Huron-Kinloss bouri- daFy first to take up .land and settle in the southern part of the town­ ship are said to have been Nor­ man Nicholsdri, Duncan and Alexander MacKenzie, Martin Madnnes. John MacDonald, R. prillan, Wm., David and> James Henderson, Robert .Purges, Wm. .and, J*. Tiffin ahd Andrew Mac- Manus. All of these had squatted on their land before the lots Were opened up for sale. During 1852 and 53 a great many settlers came into the towrishjp ’ ihostly from the north of Scotland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The majority of . these were Gaelic speaking Presbyterians, so were not long establishing a place, of worship. / ‘Squatters’ had to Register Claim The residue of Crown .and School lands in the county were offered for sale at -ri. big land sale at Southampton on Sept. 29; 1854. Many, of these lots had been surveyed for two or three years, many had4 been squatted (ion ■ and- to make good their claim it was necessary for the settlers, to have - ^-heii^iames^^o^ered^as-piii^has^ ers, make a first payment and-.. ~ ^obtriifcu»a^lidehsa.^nfLLncctipaUrt h Murdo&H,Ma.diKeh2ie’s house on from Alex MacNabb,^ Crown ” ~ Lands Agent at Southampton. The terms of the sale were^-10 After some -dis­ allowed to take iboasted 5 ham- L°‘ 11 Con. 5, the farm McKinnon house owned by • Allister Hughes. This L . . ___ might have been as early as 1852' shillings per acre, payable irf ten • as ’the census Showed forty-seven as Crown Lands. Two years later' on receiving authority .toenter Cori. I in the southern par t of, A *4* Which in 1849, the Durham Road and the land, with occupation to be the township. By 1861, nine yea’rs ! the adjacent.“Free Grants” were immediate arid Continuous. The later, the township boasted l,842i^J? nearly twenty pupils survey®4 by Allan Park Brough, land .was to be cleared at‘ two residents, In 1853 or 54 a pbSt hv fl >st»hiute by .bus to Lucknow schoois. $ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9th, 1954 T Bonused Railroad In 1871 the narrow gauge rail­ way from Teeswater and , the wide gauge from Listowel were seeking ibpnuses to construct lines <■ through the southern part of the county to Kincardine. At a meet- in July 1871, a resolution was passed asking the Township Council to.. grant a bonus of $15,000 to the narrow gauge raiL way from Teeswater. This Was J refused~and .ultimately the town­ ship assumed its share, according . • to equalized assessment of the,, $51,000 bonus given to the Well­ ington, Grey and Bruce extension from Listowel. This later became the G.T.R. and is now known as the Canadian. National Railway. When Lucknow became separat­ ed from Kinloss in 1874, it as-* sumed its share, an annual pay­ ment of $130.00. Telephones in’• 1998 In 1908 the Lucknow arid Kin­ loss Telephone by-law was pass­ ed,- this being the first telephone company—in-Kinloss.Inl909 the__ North' Huron, Telephone Co. by­ law was passed and in 1911 the South Bruce Telephone Co. by-, law was passed, giving, service to the eastern part, of the town­ ship; On March 11, 1912, the Hui< on and Kinloss Telephone Co. by­ law was passed. These four com­ panies gave the township almost complete coverage; the subscrib­ ers on the North Huron were taken oyer iby the Bell Co. some years ago. In 1912 a Local Option vote -was taken which carried by a vote of 321 to 135. This was be- fore—women’s suffrage which would likely have . Swelled the majority. During the four years bf World War I—1915 to 1918 inclusive— the Township Council granted $1,500 per year to the Red Cross. In 1924 statute labor, the pro­ cedure iby which roads were kept gravelled and; repaired by the ratepayers on. the concessions, was abolished and Jacob Miller was appointed road Supt. under the Highway Act. ; Hydro Came'In 1921 < In 192! hydro wias installed at John Purvis’ . store at Holyrood, and in. 1923 Ernie and Aylmer Ackert had it installed at their farms. There were no more in­ stallations. till 1936 and 1937, and in 1947. and 1948 a great’ many' farms installed it. It is now geny eral . practically throughout the years earlier in nzie’s house. Kin- office was opened at Kinloss with Thos. Hodgins as postmaster. HolyrOpd post office was opened in 1856cwiith Wm. Mackenzie as postmasteh ’This post office was probably t^e successor of the one opened so --i— — Murdoch M..... lough post office was opened m 1864 with Simon Corrigan as post master. L^ngside and White­ church post offices Were opened later, and Lucknow post office opened in Malcolm Campbell’s store with Mr. Campbell as post masted in . 1859. The only ones now operating are Holyrood and Whitechurch; . Rural mail goes out from Lucknow to the other areas arid three rural routes are served, from Holyrood. , Many Churches in Township / The township, has boasted a re­ cord numiber-of churches, all but four I believe are still active. There were three at Kinloss, 3 at Kinlough, two at Holyrood, 2 at Langsde, two at Whitechurch, oheriFSbuthTKirilbss^ririd^ourn^n^ Lucknow. South Kinloss had a strong Gaelic speaking . congregation ,W4hich erected a log church on the north half >of Lot T.l, Con. 2, ih 1856. Previous to" that they held communion services in the bush on this farm, arid met in homes in the* community for prayer meetings; Murdoch Mac­ Kenzie, the first settler on Lot Tl; Cori. 5, was the moving .spirit in erecting the first log church and did m&h of the work him­ self, arid the church became known as .Murdoch MricKenzie’s church.Hewasalsooneofthe first elders. At one five-day com­ munion in “the bush” the icol- iection -amounted to over $50, all in coppers. The.^ congregation probably “squatted” bn this pro­ per ty, as when Murdoch. Mac­ Kenzie learned that a tavern was proposed for the corner of the lot where the present South Kin­ lOss Church now L stands, he or- ganized the church “fathers” and between them they made up the 10 percent initial payment and he and some others walked thru the dense woods to Southampton, a distance of over 50 miles, to register their claim to the lot. A large log church built with hewn timbers was erected on the pro­ posed tavern site in 1863, and the fine brick church erected in 1911, and standing in the 100 year old cemetery is directly east of where - 4he-old~church-stood.-Services~in both - Gaelic and English were conducted, by this congregation for 'over 80 years and the con­ gregation is still strong and act­ ive after 98 years. John “Sandy” MacDonald acted as precentor in this church for sixty?one .years. First School in *56 In the early fifties Schools were established where the population warranted. One of the first* Or perhaps the very first, was a small shanty roofed 'log. school, built on tfro sidetoad, at the junc­ tion :6f Jris. Little’s and Wm. Mc­ Donald’s farms on Cons/ 3 and 2. Iij 1856 or 57 a munch larger school, -also ’built of logs, was- erected on the corner of Janies Little’s farm, Lot 6, Con. 3, and this .served the Settlers^ west of township overi lorig periods, by the gravbl road bn Con. 2, 4 and g number of men in this immed* toWnship?:■ ’’ ' ' . ~~ In the late 20’s the Gravel Road was widened and built up. This continued over a period of years ■and during the 30’S heavy rriech-- arnzed "equifttftent was used, .and when hard surfaced a few years later , this highway, running from Kinloss village to Lucknow, com; pares, favorably with- most Co. roads in the province. Concession roads are kept gravelled and in fair condition by letting highway contracts cjeared by snowplows during heavy snowfalls. Served Three Times as Warden “ This history of Kinloss cannot ■ be concluded Without drawing at­ tention to the long and faithful, civic service rendered to' the and all roads are J^tmtiLLSTJ^and^o.ver one hun- 4a-te-4oca-l^t^-John.Purvis served dred pupils attended Here at one time, Anqther' of the very early, schools Was* on .Dot 16, Con. 6, Kinloss* the farm owned by Michael Kenny,, arid the farm bn, which Dennis Kenny ®was born. This ‘was replaced by what is now Langside school at the cor­ ner of Con. 6 and Langside side-, road. There was another, of these log schools Ori Cori. 8* near the Jiuron and Kinloss boundary I* ■Mike./Boland’s farm pn Cori, 2* east*- the farni on which the old • -----!' Was burned last ear. There may have, been others. In .1874 ten .new schools ^ere greeted in the triWnship, all stiR in opefatinn except No,’ 6 oh Con, 4, whidh as reeve from 1858 to. 1863,. both- dates inclusive, a period of eight years, during which time he ser* ved. two terms as warden of the County. Robert ’Purvis, served, a-y reeve from 1865 to 1883—(except fof 1868) — a 'period of cigh- teen years.'He again served as . reeve during the years, 1893. ’94, ; and ’95, a period : of twenty •■‘One, years, in all and during’ this UW served as warden during 1880, be4ie^e.-JFhere--A¥a&™also—one-^n44881^'-and~1882T^I^v5^s-4xnlyL_Jl *K:7N. Tr-iaii^<1.^,. •'♦- £&... ■ .&. \ ... ....* Fiatwhen first elected. He died m 1902■-at-:-4hev---age-“-oT.---7-0-----^'4V.^._ “Black’1 Dari MacDonald, as he. was affectionately called, scry cd as reeve for fifteen years Was Warden of the County in 1912. Richard MlliOtt yserved. as , reeve from 1035 to 1946, both dates inclusive, a period of U years. During nine years of thps time, he was bnthe highway (Continued on page 7) •/ i1