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"Wiarton" received its
name, presumably, from the birthplace of Sir Edmund Walker Head.
Governor-General at the time of its survey, who was born (see Ency. Brit.)
at Wiarton Place, near Maidstone, Kent.
Extract from the Report of
County Valuators, 1901.
"We found the greatest
increase here of any town or village in the county. A hum of industry,
with their many large saw-mills, furniture, table and many other
factories, being pushed to their utmost limit. Their beautiful harbor, the
best on Lake Huron or Georgian Bay, affords admirable shipping facilities,
and stimulated by the large tract of timber lands on the north, causes a
hum of industry along the waterfront and is a general benefit to the
town.''
The beauty of the site on
which Wiarton is built places it in a unique position among the towns in
the county of Bruce, none other of which can compare with it in
picturesqueness. The view from the hill at the south of Wiarton charms
every visitor. At one's feet lies the busy town, with its numerous
factories and mills; further on, at the docks, are to be seen crafts of
all descriptions. Beyond, the view extends for miles down Colpoy's Bay,
with White Cloud and Hay Islands in the distance. The cultivated fields on
the Keppel side of the bay seem to set off the bold limestone cliffs,
commencing almost at the spectator's left hand and extending as far as the
eye can reach along the west shore. Beauty of scenery is, however, only
one of the natural advantages possessed by Wiarton. Its position at the
south end of the peninsula resulted in its being for years the sole market
town for all that stretch of country, and, dating from the entrance of the
railway, the shipping point as well for all the peninsula could produce
from its forests and fields. Large and predominating are now the interests
of Wiarton on Colpoy's Bay, but at first no evidence was given that such
was to be the case. Oxenden claims to have been the first place on the bay
to receive settlers. Shortly afterwards another group of settlers took up
land at or near where the post-office is which now bears the name of "Colpoy's
Bay." These settlements date back to 1856, whereas Wiarton town lots [The
original price of these lots was $6, subsequently raised to $10, and again
to $40.] were not offered for sale until 1868. In evidence of the total
absence of settlement at Wiarton as late as 1866, the author gives an
experience of Mr. B. B. Miller [2] as related by him. In company with
William McLaughlan, at that time tax collector in Amabel, Mr. Miller
started on foot from "Colpoy's," going southward. When in the town-plot of
Wiarton they missed the trail, owing to its being covered with fallen
leaves, and were compelled to spend the night in the bush.
[2 B. B. Miller is a man
who has been identified with Wiarton from its inception until the present
day. During these forty years of residence Mr. Miller has ever held a
leading position. He was Wiarton's first postmaster, the first Division
Court clerk, the first Indian lands agent, the first police magistrate,
the first mayor, and also was reeve when the municipality was a village.
Kircudbrightshire,
Scotland, is Mr. Miller's birthplace. There he was born, January 25th,
1836. When he was ten years of age his family emigrated to Canada and
settled at first in Toronto Township, and later in Bentinck. After
finishing his course at school, Mr. Miller served as a clerk in a store at
Durham. Being desirous of seeing more of the world, he visited and spent a
short time in the States. Returning to Canada, he qualified himself as a
schoolteacher, and subsequently taught for four years in Arran and
Elderslie. His next venture was that of storekeeping at Paisley. This
business he sold out in July, 1866, and opened a store at Oxenden. In 1867
he moved to Wiarton, and has been closely associated in every movement for
the welfare and development of the town since then.]
The claim of James- Lennox
[3] to be first settler at Wiarton is undisputed. The date of his arrival
was November 16th, 1866. His first work was to build a log shanty, this
being the first building erected for permanent habitation at Wiarton.
[3 "On Friday, November
16th, 1902, the grim reaper claimed Wiarton's oldest resident, in the
person of Mr. James Lennox, at the age of 87 years. Mr. Lennox was born in
Ireland in 1815, and came to America in 1822 with Ms parents, who settled
in New Jersey. The political troubles of the day soon induced the subject
of this sketch to again seek the protection of the British flag, and he
emigrated to Canada, settling at Guelph for a time, then removing to Mount
Forest, and finally, on November 16th 1866, to Wiarton—just thirty-six
years previous to the day of his death. Wiarton was practically a
wilderness when Mr. Lennox arrived; all was bush or scrub, and he built
the first house in the place, and founded what is to-day the most thriving
town in the whole county. He was a staunch Conservative all his life, and
espoused the Loyalist cause in the troubles of '37 and '38. He was a
quiet, highly-respected and law-loving citizen, and his demise is
generally regretted. He leaves an aged widow and two sons in Wiarton, in
comfortable circumstances." —Extract from the Wiarton Canadian.]
The absence of anything in
the way of a wharf or facilities for shipping in the early days, resulted
in the nucleus of the town being established on top of the hill, the
business centre being at the corner where Gould Street is crossed by
Division Street. There, in 1868, B. B. Miller built an hotel and opened
the post-office, just established. There also John Hodgins and, some
months later, David Dinsmore started storekeeping. After the wharves were
constructed and mills had been erected below the hill, the places of
business moved to Berford Street, and by 1879 Gould Street became what it
is now, largely a residential street.
The first start Wiarton
received was derived from a grant of $300, made by the Indian Department
towards the building of a wharf. In 1868 a steamer owned at Collingwood,
named the Hero, called once or twice a week. This service was improved
upon in 1869, when the steamer Champion, Captain Monk, owned by John
Hodgins, above mentioned, made daily trips to Owen Sound, thus connecting
the little settlement with the world at large. It was not long after the
dock was built that a storehouse followed close at hand, the owner being
B. C. Jones: this gave the neighboring farmers an opportunity to market
their grain without travelling a long distance. Among the business men of
Wiarton in the sixties, besides those already mentioned, should be named
R. Greenlees, merchant, and J. Paterson, druggist; also Thomas Gilpin and
Dr. A. Williams, who erected the first saw-mill. In a Directory of
Ontario, that claimed to be revised to January, 1870, is to be found a
description of Wiarton, somewhat as follows: "Population about 200, grain
and lumber form the principal trade here. It has a mail four times a week"
(brought from Owen Sound via Presqu' Isle, Big Bay and Oxenden). Other
names of residents to be found in this Directory besides those previously
mentioned in this chapter are, Miss Martha Gilpin, school-teacher, Rev. J.
C. Collins and Rev. Geo. Smith, ministers, both of the Bible Christian
denomination. There were two hotels, kept by Joseph Crandon and Mrs.
Currie.
A Directory of a later
date, published in April, 1876, has the following items regarding Wiarton:
"Population about 400. A steamboat makes daily trips to Owen Sound. A
tri-weekly stage runs to Owen Sound carrying the mails, but after May 1st
there is to be a daily stage. There is an office of the telegraph company
and a grist mill lately been opened and run by W. H. Heberden." From the
same authority we learn that there were two steam saw-mills, owned by John
Ashcroft and A. Jones, respectively, also a planing mill run by F. Lickman
and a tannery by D. G. Millar. There were four churches, of which the
oldest was that of the Church of England, erected in 1871. This building
was seated for 160, and cost about $600. Rev. T. S. Campbell was the
minister in charge. The Bible Christians had a larger church, a frame
building that cost about $1,400. The Congregationalists had a church
erected in 1875, costing $900. The fourth church was a frame building
erected by the Methodists in 1876, seated for 200, and costing $600.
The prospect of a railway
reaching Wiarton caused the population to increase rapidly. An increase of
population called for an increase of school accommodation. With
commendable enterprise, a commodious stone school-house was built in 1877
at a cost of $2,200. In the same year church buildings were erected by the
Presbyterians and the Disciples; the latter edifice was of brick, the
other was frame. These two buildings gave a total of six churches in a
village which two years later, in 1879, only claimed to have a population
of 752. Denominationalism was certainly a feature in Wiarton at that time.
Before passing to another topic, it might be as well to state that in 1891
the two congregations, Presbyterians and Congregationalists, united and so
formed a large body. Up to 1883 the Wiarton Presbyterians were included in
the home mission work of the Presbyterian Church, but when the Rev. E. B.
Millard was inducted as minister, June 25th of that year, the charge was
erected to the status of a self-sustained congregation.
Wiarton became an
incorporated village by special Act of Parliament, [43 Vic. Chap. 46.]
assented to 5th March, 1880. The reason a special Act of incorporation was
necessary arose from the fact that there was not in the original town plot
of Wiarton a population sufficient in number to comply with the
requirements of the Municipal Act, [A Population of over 750, within 500
acres, was what the ''Municipal Act," R. S. O., 1877, gave as the
requirements for the incorporation of a village.] but the number could be
made up by taking in that part of the village lying in the county of Grey.
So the Act omitted from the area of the village Ranges 3, 4, 5 and 6 of
park lots to the west of the town in the original survey, while it added
thereto all now in the town plot east of the county line (Berford street),
most of which was in the original survey of the township of Keppel. The
population at the time of incorporation was given as 752.
["To secure the special Act
to incorporate the village, it was necessary that $125 should be deposited
with the Government, $100 of which the Legislature held and $25 of which
went to draw up the bill of incorporation. The settlers never at any time
had too much money, so in order to raise the amount twenty-five persons
went on a joint note for $5 each— Messrs. Adam Doupe, J. W. Jermyn, J. J.
Jermyn, James McNeill, Henry Trout, Neil Langford, John Ashcroft, G.
Bingham, and others whose names have not been learned. Messrs. Doupe and
Jermyn were instructed to negotiate the loan, which necessitated their
travelling on foot to Owen Sound as no conveyance was available. They
secured the money. Shortly after this some farmers in the vicinity of the
contemplated village opposed the proposed incorporation and a public
meeting was called, the hat was passed around and $12 collected to support
the opposition movement, which failed to have any effect. Messrs. Bingham,
Ashcroft and J. W. Jermyn were appointed a deputation to proceed to
Toronto to lobby the bill through. They went via Own Sound, on the old
narrow-gauge railway. The trip took one whole day. The bill was given in
charge of Donald Sinclair, the then member of this riding for the local
Legislature.
''When Wiarton threw off
its swaddling clothes there was not a cent in the treasury. The minutes of
the first council meeting were written on paper and with pen and ink
purchased by Messrs. Millar and Jermyn, each giving five cents! That's the
way the village of Wiarton was started off."—Extract from Wiarton Canadian
Souvenir.]
James Grier was appointed
by the Act of incorporation to be the returning officer to hold the first
nomination and election of a reeve and four councillors. The Agricultural
Hall was where the nomination was held, and there, too, the village
council held its first meeting on March 22nd, 1880. The members of the
first Council were: David Dinsmore, reeve; Hiram Brown, James McKim, D. G.
Miller and J. W. Jermyn, councillors; Thomas D. Galloway, clerk; Neil
McMillan, treasurer. In the following December the wardens of Bruce and
Grey met with the village reeve, and it was decided that the county of
Bruce should assume the proportion of indebtedness that the Keppel part of
Wiarton owed the county of Grey. The amount was fixed at $400. The County
Council of Bruce in the following January confirmed this by by-law (No.
173), and the money was promptly paid over to the county of Grey. On
becoming a separate municipality the financial claims of the two
townships, in which the village had developed, for debts incurred had to
be provided for. In settling with the township of Keppel, Wiarton assumed
one-eleventh of the $30,000 bonus to the railway, and $1,410 of the $2,000
subsequent bonus, and $399 of Keppel's county rates; total about $4,500.
The basis of settlement with the township of Amabel was one-tenth of the
railway bonus of $40,000 and two-thirds of the similar bonus of $3,000,
making a total of $6,000. In addition to the amounts so assumed from
Keppel and Amabel, Wiarton had an indebtedness of over $2,000 for the new
school-house, so that Wiarton on entering into existence as a separate
municipality, did so with a debt of $13,000, a large financial burden for
an infant municipality. But the inhabitants of Wiarton have never been
backward in assuming such burdens if there was a prospect of the
betterment of the town thereby. This optimistic spirit has induced what
many of Wiarton's people think the assuming of a burden of debt too large,
considering the size of the place. Certainly it resulted in the town
having to ask the Legislative Assembly in 1894 to pass an Act to
consolidate the debt of the town and extend the payment over thirty years.
This relief, so asked for, was obtained. [67 Vic. Chap. 86.] The preamble
of the Act passed states the debenture debt to be, at that date, $43,199,
with no sinking fund, and also a floating debt of $5,149. The lesson of
the past was not taken to heart by the sanguine-spirited people of
Wiarton, and long ere the next decade had passed the debenture debt of
Wiarton had passed into six figures. [On December 31st, 1905, the
debenture indebtedness was $147 735.16.] The chief cause of this increase
of indebtedness was the financial assistance given by the town to the beet
sugar refinery, of which more will be said later on.
The prospect of the railway
reaching the village was one long kept dangling before the eyes of its
inhabitants. The Stratford and Lake Huron Railway (originally chartered in
1855) lacked capital from the very first; then, after the construction of
the railway began, for some reason the government withheld the bonus which
was expected and calculated upon to help to build the road. Some
townships, Carrick for instance, refused to grant a bonus. So the company
had to ask those municipalities that had manifested a willingness to grant
financial assistance for an additional bonus. It was not until the Grand
Trunk Railway leased the road, May, 1880, that it seemed assured that the
railway would be completed. To comply with the time limit, and so obtain
the promised bonuses, the track layers pushed on their work and reached
Wiarton November 29th, 1881. Without loss of time a locomotive and some
flat cars entered the village, crossing Frank street about 6 p.m. of that
day, having on board J. C. Boyd, of Simcoe, Superintendent of
Construction. The conductor was William Cook and the engineer Joshua
Wilson. After success to the enterprise had been drunk in lager beer, the
train departed south, and work on the line ceased for the season. At this
time, and for a number of months, Chesley was the northern terminus of the
line, the road not being opened for traffic to Wiarton until August 1st,
1882. This line of railway has proved one of the most profitable branches
in the Grand Trunk Railway System. It has also done much to make Wiarton
what it is, the commercial entrepot for the peninsula.
That the newly opened
railway might obtain its share of the lake traffic enlarged wharfage
accommodation was needed. Pressure was brought to bear on the Dominion
Government, with the result that a grant of $35,000 was made. This the
village supplemented with $7,500 from the sale of debentures. Work on the
new wharf was commenced in 1882, and completed in August of the following
year. The new wharf had a frontage of 1,040 feet, a breadth of 18 to 25
feet, and extended into the water so as to give 18 to 25 feet depth of
water along the front. It is said that the total cost was upward of
$60,000. By how much the government supplemented its original grant the
author cannot say. The increase of wharfage accommodation resulted in an
increase of shipping, followed by Wiarton being erected into an Out-post
of Customs, under the survey of the Collector at Stratford. This was done
September 26th, 1882.
With such a large number of
frame buildings it is surprising that Wiarton has not suffered severely
from fires. Possibly the narrowest escape it had was on August 31st, 1881.
The preceding summer had been very dry. The smoke of destructive bush
fires was to be seen in every direction. "Urged on by a strong wind the
fires approached the village. The air was filled with smoke so dense as to
be almost suffocating. Nearer and nearer the flames came, until the
villagers in self-preservation had to turn out and fight them. In this
they were partially successful, but one house, that of E. C. Jones, was
burned down. Fortunately the wind blew in . such a direction that the saw
and grist mills were not seriously imperilled, but much of the beautiful
growth of timber below and on top of the cliff was burnt, a loss that will
take many years to repair, as over considerable areas nearly all the soil
was also burned away, and for lack of it the trees and verdure can never
be the same.
As a measure conducive to
the public health, as well as for fire protection, it was decided in 1887
to construct a system of waterworks for the town. The system was installed
shortly afterwards, and has been largely extended as the town enlarged and
the need for pure water and adequate fire protection became more generally
recognized. The plan decided upon provided for water being pumped direct
from the bay into the mains, the engine automatically maintaining the
requisite pressure. In 1904 further improvements were made in the system
by the construction of a reservoir and by placing the pumps further down
the bay, so as to be certain of obtaining pure water. The cost had been
heavy, but the citizens have acted wisely in inaugurating a system which
gives them abundance of that necessity of life, good water.
Wiarton's first newspaper
was The Echo, published by George Bingham and Colin P. Campbell. Its
initial number bears date of 4th July, 1879. The ownership of The Echo has
changed hands several times during the vicissitudes and struggles a local
newspaper encounters in its limited field. In 1885 S. W. Cross became the
sole proprietor and successfully conducted the paper for ten years. At
present The Echo is edited and published by A. Logan. The Encore was the
name of the next journal published at Wiarton. It had an existence of
about three years, but failing to attain the success of The Echo, it
ceased publication in October, 1892. About the same time as The Encore was
issued a paper called The News was published by H. T. Butler; this journal
also failed to obtain patronage sufficient to warrant the publication of
it being continued. The Wiarton Canadian dates back to 1893. Its founder
was A. Megraw, who for a number of years previous had met with good
success as the publisher of the Paisley Advocate. The north riding of
Bruce being largely Conservative in politics, and as the new paper
advocated in an able manner Conservative principles, it met with success,
and continues to flourish, W. J. Whitlock being the publisher at present.
For many years the sole
banking business of Wiarton was con-ducted by G. W. Ames & Co., private
bankers, first established in June, 1880. The need of a chartered bank
being much felt, application was made to several of the large banking
institutions of the country to establish a branch at Wiarton, but with no
success until 1892, when the Union Bank opened a branch with E. W. Burinot
as manager. Ten years later the Canadian Bank of Commerce also decided to
open a branch and at the same time to advertise itself by erecting a
handsome building. A central position on Berford Street was obtained, and
a building erected that is an ornament to the town.
Owing to the continued
growth of population an enlarged accommodation for the pupils attending
the school was necessary, and the School Board in 1885 asked the village
Council to raise $2,000 for this purpose. This the Council of that year
refused to do. The clash of these representative bodies created quite a
little excitement at the time. The Council of the following year was more
amenable to the educational interests of the town than its predecessor,
and raised the necessary amount. The public school building of Wiarton
to-day, one of eight rooms, is certainly a very handsome structure, and a
credit to the town. In 1891 Wiarton was set apart by the County Council as
a high school district; this was after a very close contest with Paisley.
The old public school building, an excellent stone structure and much
enlarged, is now occupied as the high school. The following gentlemen
composed the first Board of High School Trustees: D. G. Millar, R. M.
Fisher, M.D., Rev. T. S. Campbell, J. Paterson, J. Walmsley and A. M.
Tyson. The first head master of the high school was T. H. Farrell,
succeeded October 1st, 1892, by Henry De La Mater.
In 1893 the inhabitants of
Wiarton found they were numerous enough to take unto themselves the
privileges and honor of a town. The preliminary proceedings were taken
that year, [The Lieutenant-Governor's proclamation of incorporation bears
date 14th December, 1893. It came into effect on 1st January, 1894.] with
the result that since the 1st January, 1894, Wiarton has been numbered
among the towns of the province. In a footnote [2] are to be found the
names of the heads of the municipality, whether as reeve or as mayor, from
its first incorporation as a municipality to 1906.
[2 Reeves—David Dinsmore,
1880, '81, '82; Hiram Brown, 1883; A. M. Tyson, 1884, '85; C. V. Parke,
1886, '87; Hiram Wigle, 1888, '89; B. B. Millar, 1890; D. M. Jermyn, 1891,
'92; James Hunter, 1893, '94, '95; James Symon, 1896.
Mayors—B .B. Millar, 1894; D. M. Jermyn, 1895, '96; James Hunter, 1897 and
1905; Charles Reckin, 1898; 8. A. Perry, 1899; James Symon, 1900; G.
Kastner, 1901; William Bernie, 1902; G. S. Sinclair, 1903, '04; S. J.
Cameron, 1906.]
At the time of the opening
of the railway an issue of The Echo gives a paragraph of Wiarton's wants.
Among them are the following: a village hall, a town bell, and mails to be
carried by the railway. These have all been supplied. In December, 1888,
the municipality bought the back part of lot 13, west of Berford and south
of Division Streets, on which they erected a building to contain the
fire-fighting apparatus, a tower for a bell, and a hall in which the
village Council could meet. This building did service for the above
purposes for a number of years. In 1899 the front part of the same lot, on
which stood a building known as "The Robinson Hall," was thrown on the
market. The opportunity offered was seized, and for a very moderate sum
the town bought the building, which is one exceedingly well suited for a
town hall. An addition was built in which there is a handsome council
chamber on the second storey, while underneath is a lock-up and fire hall.
The present town bell was put into position in August, 1900. It cost
something like $412, weighs 832 pounds, and hangs in a tower 75 feet high,
adjoining the hall.
Among the important
industries of Wiarton is that of the manufacture of furniture, several
large factories being in constant operation. We have to look back to 1879
to find the pioneer firm of this industry, Messrs. Falk, Morlock &
Wegenert, who in that year started Wiarton's first furniture factory.
Another industry was started the same year, namely the "Wiarton Woollen
Mill," William Turner being the owner of the same. In 1880 or 1881 the
Vulcan Foundry, owned by George S. Sinclair, added another to the
successful industries of the town.
The Dominion Fish Co. has
its central packing plant located at Wiarton. Here are frozen and packed
all the fish taken at some ten stations operated by the company, scattered
around the Georgian Bay and the Manitoulin Island. As the stations have
from two to three tugs each, engaged in setting and lifting nets, it can
easily be credited that about 120,000 pounds of fish per week are received
at Wiarton. A visit to this large establishment is most interesting.
"The Wiarton Beet Sugar
Manufacturing Company, Limited" [The original charter was in the name of
"The Owen Sound Sugar Manufacturing Company.''] was incorporated 21st
October, 1896, with a capital of $150,000, increased to $500,000 by
letters patent on 10th October, 1901. After the obtaining of a charter it
took several years to thoroughly convince the public of the feasibility of
the undertaking, to show that beets grown in the vicinity gave an
exceptionally high percentage of sugar; that owing to the facilities for
shipping by water the area from which beets could be shipped, with profit
to the grower, was of great extent. These advantages decided many to take
stock in the company. Of these a large number were farmers, who were asked
to pay only 5 per cent. of amount of stock subscribed for in cash, the
balance to be paid in beets. The Colonial Construction Company of Detroit
undertook to erect and equip the factory. Ground for building operations
was broken in October, 1901, and in the following spring the walls were
being built. On June 5th, 1902, the cornerstone was laid by James Mills,
President of the Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph. The principal
buildings erected are of stone, the main building being four stories in
height, two hundred and forty feet long, and one hundred and twenty feet
wide, sixty-six of this being four stories in height, and fifty-four being
of one and two stories. To the north of the main building is the sugar
storage warehouse, also of stone, one storey high, two hundred feet long
by seventy-five feet wide. On the south side of the main building are
located the beet store-houses, having a capacity of six thousand tons.
Besides these huge structures, there is a cooper-house, an office, and
other necessary buildings. There is also a wharf and a railway switch, so
that everything was provided for the economical handling and receiving of
supplies, and for the shipping of the finished product. The factory was
also fitted throughout with the best machinery known to the trade. A large
acreage of beets was secured in 1902, and great were the hopes for the
success of the enterprise. Unfortunately, the contract with the Colonial
Construction Co. called upon them to run the factory for the first season.
What was the result? Because of the improper installing of the machinery,
and because of the manager not understanding the business, less than half
of the quantity of sugar was obtained from the beets that might have been
secured if he had been competent. It is said that fully $50,000 worth of
juice and beets was carried by the sewers into the bay. At the end of the
first season the board of directors faced a loss of over $63,000. What was
to be done? The town, which had given at the outset of the undertaking a
bonus of $25,000, was now asked to grant a loan of $25,000, which it did.
To supply needed capital, private individuals entered into bonds for
$110,000 in addition. A new superintendent was secured, and the season of
1903 was entered upon with the hope that at last success was in sight, but
alas! the enterprise seemed to have some fatality attached to it, and the
season ended as unfortunately as the previous one. The bondmen were called
upon to make good the bonds entered upon. January 12th, 1904, was the date
fixed by the Union Bank to pay up. To the credit of these gentlemen, it is
to be recorded that not one of them failed to respond, although the
amounts were large, $4,000, $9,000, $10,000 and $12,000 being paid by
different individuals, the smallest amount being $750. It is questionable
if any town of its size in the province has ever received such a financial
blow. The loss amounted to about $200,000, made up as follows: The town
bonus $25,000, the town loan, $25,000, the bondsmen $110,000, and the
balance in stock subscribed. The courts decided in 1905 that the farmers
who had taken stock, 95 per cent. of which was to be paid in beets, must
make up in cash what had not already been covered by cash and beets. This
seems hard, as it was not their fault that they could not, owing to the
closing of the factory, pay up according to the original agreement.
Unlike most localities in
the county of Bruce, Wiarton has connected with it an Indian legend
entitled "The Spirit Rock." An excellent recital of the old legend is to
be found in the Wiarton Canadian Souvenir, which the author takes the
liberty of transposing to these pages. It is as follows:
"Situated between Wiarton
and Whicher's Point, the Spirit Rock can be seen quite distinctly from the
bay. On the face of the cliff, standing out in bold relief, the crevices
and stains have depicted a woman's face, above which there is a blasted
pine. There is a tradition in connection with the rock. A squaw, the
daughter of a chief of one of the tribes whose hunting ground was in the
immediate vicinity of Colpoy's Bay, of whom now only a few relics remain,
was carried off by an Eastern tribe, who bore her miles away and condemned
to a life of drudgery this daughter of a hated foe. The Eastern chieftain
passed one day while she was singing a sad, plaintive song. The song, the
youthfulness and attractiveness of the maiden, wakened in the chieftain's
breast feelings of admiration and love. He released her from her bondage,
and with simple rites the chief and maid were wed. The warriors of the
tribe were angered at this union and plotted so effectively that dire
disaster met the bride and her consort. Her warrior chief was stricken
from her side, but she escaped and wandered back to her tribe, arriving
weary and footsore, but only to be refused admittance into the band, as
she by becoming the willing bride of their deadly foe had brought dishonor
on herself.
"For hours she stood upon
that rocky height,
Till night's dark curtain had shut out the light
And hid the cruel rocks from sight.
Then, with a cry like a lost soul in woe,
She sprang to her death and her grave below,
While moaning winds murmured a funeral strain,
And sighing waves echoed a sad refrain."
Colpoy's Bay has had its
share of marine casualties. Probably the one best remembered and spoken of
is that of the loss of the Jane Miller, which occurred November 25th,
1881. The propeller Jane Miller (built in 1879, classed A 2 1-2 of 150
tons burden) was a Wiarton boat, owned by Captain A. Port. She left Big
Bay for Wiarton at 8.30 p.m. on the above date, a heavy gale blowing at
the time. Her cargo was a large one, and was stowed principally on the
main deck, making her top-heavy. Her lights were seen when she was in the
vicinity of Cameron's dock, but that was the last known of her. All on
board perished, twenty-eight souls in all. Hardly any traces of her have
been picked up and the spot where she foundered is unknown.
Another well-remembered
fatality on the bay occurred 27th July, 1892. It was associated with a
tornado that struck the town and bay on the evening of that day. The town
suffered severely, every smoke stack but two being blown down. William
Young's saw-mill was unroofed, the skating rink and some stables were
demolished, and the large public bath and boat house, owned by Ralph Eby,
with its contents, were destroyed. The loss of property would be as
nothing if no lives had been lost. Just before the storm broke a sail-boat
was seen a short distance down the bay. In the boat were George Stevens,
of Chesley, his wife and two sisters, Mrs. L. Currie and daughter, of
Wiarton, John Savage, of Chesley, a man named J. Lembke and an Indian.
Seeing the storm coming the sail was lowered and the boat headed to the
wind, but the instant the tornado struck it everyone on board found
themselves in the water. The six whose names are first given in the above
list were carried away and drowned; the other three clung on to the
bow-sprit until gallantly rescued by John and Henry Dance and a young man
named Wyburn, who put out in a small, leaky skiff. Braving the storm and
the heavy sea, they reached the shipwrecked men in time to rescue them.
The boat was too small to take any on board, but by holding on to the
gunwale they were towed to shore, reaching it in a much exhausted
condition.
It is said that the
gentlemen who surveyed the town plot of Wiarton named many of the streets
after themselves and their wives. Certainly the names of Frank Berford and
George Gould, who were in the surveying party, are to be found in four of
the streets of the town. Brown Street bears the name of a man who worked
in the surveying party, and who subsequently settled a short distance
south of the town on the county line. Gleason Street preserves the name of
one of the first settlers on Colpoy's Bay. Beyond these six names the
author cannot venture a suggestion.
Wiarton has made more rapid
progress than any other village or town in the county of Bruce. True, it
has had its setbacks, such as occurred when the Grand Trunk Railway opened
the Owen Sound branch and made that point its principal northern terminus,
and again when the sugar refinery failed. Still, it is the busiest town in
the county, and the townspeople are hopeful and confident of continued and
prolonged prosperity. We trust that these fond hopes may be fully
realized. |
