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The Citizen, 1999-12-29, Page 14PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN MILLENNIUM ISSUE, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1999. Township of Morris Township springs up around village of illy th Taylor family century arm, RR3, Walton (former Blyth post office) Pictured, from left: Christina Bain Taylor, J.B. Taylor, Robert Taylor, Ann Taylor (Ashdown), Ena Taylor, Isabella Taylor, Margaret Taylor, Charles K. Taylor and Bessie Taylor (MasonO First settled in 1851 on the south­ west comer where Blyth now, sits, Morris Twp. was part of Crown Land known as Queen’s Bush. A group of four families followed the next year, settling along Cone. .4/5 (Brandon Rd.) near what is now Belgrave. The township name was derived from a well-respected Canadian politician, the Honorable William Morris. Morris bank Where Maitland Manor Nursery now stands on County Rd. 86, the small community of Morrisbarik once was home to settlers in the 1850s. Situated around Lots 51 and 52, North Half Conc.l of Morris Twp., the area was first settled in 1853 by John R. Miller, William Miller and Margaret Miller. Soon Robert and George Moffatt, John Messer, Christopher Hamilton and his daugh­ ter Agnes arrived. The first post office was run by the Hamiltons. Less than 20 years later, the post office v/as moved to Wright’s Comers of the Tumberry Twp. side where a general store and hotel had been established to serve travellors along the Seaforth-Wroxeter trail. By the eariy 1880s, Morrisbank as a business centre was dying as the community turned to Bluevale and Jamestown for goods. The post office closed in 1883. Morrisdale The community of Morrisdale, at Lot 30, Cone. 9 (Moncieff Rd.), had a very short life. There are records which indicate there was a post office with David Scott as the postmaster. However, it closed in 1865. Some historical accounts show the White Ox Hotel located at Lot 1, Cone. 16 of Grey Twp. and several shops at the intersection. By 1879, the land was being farmed. Sunshine Located at Lot 10, Cone. 6, Morris Twp., the centrepiece of Sunshine was the Methodist Church which sat at the comer. Folks attended from neighbouring farms as well as from Bodmin, the next concession over. Sunshine (Providence), founded in 1868 by Alfred Brown, was reliant on the sawmill. The supply of logs was steady as the fertile land was stripped of its trees. It soon boasted saw and grist mills. Crittenden Store, Webb’s blacksmith shop, Rogerson's chair factory and a small church and cemetery across the road. In 1877, when the hamlet became known as Sunshine, the sawmill was converted to steam power and a chair factory was built by the owner, Isaac Rogerson. The post office arrived in 1874 with W.F. Cornell as postmaster. One of the earliest Orange Lodges was built at Sunshine. The houses stood in line with shops between the bridge and the fifth concession. The hamlet began to decline when the supply of logs dwindled and the Bethel Cemetery near Bodmin We celebrated 25 years of producing Canadian Theatre in 1999! GO ^structuring alters identities Perhaps the biggest change facing local communities as they approach the new millennium is that of identi­ ty. During the past few years of the 20th century municipal governments have been in the process of restruc­ turing. Though few politicians at the local level believe there will be monetary benefits, the move has been instigated by the provincial Tones as a cost-saving measure and municipalities have been forced to comply. As January approaches most com­ munities have submitted proposals to Huron County council for approval. Locally, if things proceed as suggest- railroad bypassed them. Huge bush fires in 1879 worsened the situation. The demise of Sunshine began in the 1870s when the Great Western rail line from London to Wingham, to which Morris Twp. had con­ tributed $10,000, bypassed the ham­ let. Businesses gradually began to move to other communities where rail access was available. In the decade before the tum of the century, the post office moved to the home of Mrs. Baines, where it remained until rural delivery took over in 1923. Milton Watson was the last postmaster. The last service at the Methodist ed the Village of Brussels and Twps. of Grey and McKillop will be joined with the Town of Seaforth and Twp. of Tuckersmith to form a new munic­ ipality. At the end of 1999 the Village of Blyth and Twp. of East Wawanosh are discussimg amalgamation with Wingham. \^est Wawanosh Twp. is looking at a merger with the Twps. of Ashfield and Colbome, while Hullett Twp. is working with the Town of Clinton and the Twp. of Goderich. Morris Twp., after having pulled out of discussions with Tumberry Twp. resumed talks in December for amalgamating. Church was held on Aug. 21, 1927. Only the hilltop cemetery remains, the last resting place of Morris Twp.’s first reeve Charles Parker, and his wife. Bushfield Bushfield was the site of the first Roman Catholic Church in Morris Twp. James Holland was the first post­ master. Service began in 1866 and continued until 1891. There was also a general store and hotel. John Kelly and his family settled on South Half Lot 12, Cone. 7 (St. Michaels Rd.) in 1852. His first task was to set aside land for the log church where masses would soon be held. Rev. Father Wassereaii offered guidance to families from Blyth to Walton. At one time, there was a store, Catholic Church and Holland's Hotel. After a burglary at the general store in 1875, owner C. Hamilton sold out and moved to the larger community of Blyth. The post office closed in 1891. The old log church was used until 1878 and eventually tom down. Only St. Michael’s Cemetery remains as a marker to Bushfield’s existence. Founder John Kelly’s son, Patrick would serve for many years as the township reeve and was also instru­ mental in bringing the Great Western SS No 5 Morris students a KH J PQ In its first 25 years the Blyth Festival produced: H 120 plays including ►► 83 premieres of which ►► over 54% have received at least one other professional production following its debut in Blyth. Ranging from musicals to drama and comedies to revues, all have been Canadian and have featured the best in Canadian performers and directors. With your help we can do more in the next 25 years! Railroad north from London, through Blyth and on to Wingham. He also served as reeve of Blyth for several terms. Bodmin Located on the Maitland River in Morris Twp., Bodmin was once a thriving mill village, but lost its pur­ pose when the railway passed it by. Founded in 1853 by William Harris, Bodmin was. located at Lot 9, Cone.5 (Brandon Rd.). The first businesses were a grist mill and sawmill. The residents soon also had the services of a shoemaker, store and cabinet factory. Harris served as the postmaster from 1855 to 1866 and was the first police magistrate for Morris. The Bodmin Lime Works, which boasted “one of the best white limes” in Canada was very successful. A third kiln was built in 1889. It con­ tinued until around 1910. The hamlet of Bodmin did not sur­ vive through to the 20th century. It died quickly when the London- Huron and Bruce Railway was con­ structed through Blyth to Wingham. There was little left on the landscape after 1890. The Procter family now owns the land where Bodmin once stood and has used the name for the farm cor­ poration. () Proposed road names