The Rural Voice, 1987-09, Page 98HISTORICAL GREY
F
rom a gold rush to discoveries of oil, Grey County has had
a colourful and varied past. The history of the county has
largely been shaped by its natural resources and location.
The face of the county has changed gradually since the mid -1800s.
It is likely that few people would recognize the county as it once
existed and it is doubtful that many would want to be faced with the
hardships that the pioneers endured.
The beginnings of agriculture in
Grey County were necessarily prim-
itive and developed from the days
when a tree was made into a "wagon"
for drawing in the crops. A tree would
be cut down and the branches trimmed
off to construct a lattice by tying the
branches with vines or strips of bass-
wood bark. Oxen were hitched to the
stump and the load drawn to a stack,
or a barn if there was one. This meth-
od of hauling hay or grain was crude,
but innovative too, for those were the
years of discovery and invention. It
was a time of "Doors with wooden
pings, harrows with wooden teeth,
plows with wooden teeth, harness
made of basswood bark."
Timber was plentiful in the county
and the huge virgin tracts of forest
were the source of a major lumber
industry. The number of sawmills
grew rapidly in the mid -1800s, and the
coming of the railway and steamers
increased shipments of wood and
lumber. Furniture factories came in
the wake of the sawmills, and Grey
County is still noted for the manufac-
turing of quality furniture.
A potash industry also followed
the lumber trade. Trees were burned
and the ashes gathered carefully into a
hollow log through which water was
run. This leaching process distilled a
watery mixture from the ashes, which
was boiled down until a blue flame
could be seen. Potash was made from
the resulting lye, and lye was sold for
cash, something that was seldom seen
in the early settlement years. Ash
gatherers become a common sight as
they collected ash for the large
leacheries that sprang up.
Ship building evolved from a
combination of the timber trade and
the location of Owen Sound on
Georgian Bay. In 1846, the Ann
McKenzie was probably the largest
vessel built in Owen Sound. The ship,
100 feet in length with a 24 -foot
beam, was considered quite impres-
sive at the time. The ship builders
were fine craftsmen and built ships
that withstood the test of the often
violent seas. After being buffeted by
many storms on Georgian Bay, the
Ann McKenzie was sent to Toronto,
loaded with lumber for Quebec, and
sent across the Atlantic to a British
port and on to Rio de Janeiro. A line
of steamers was established between
Collingwood and Chicago following
the completion of a railroad to
Collingwood in 1855.
So much has changed since
Captain William Fitzwilliam Owen,
in 1815, sailed into what is now
Georgian Bay. When the early set -
12 GREY COUNTY PLOWING MATCH EDITION