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[The township derives its
name from one of the titles of Lord Elgin, the Governor-General at the
time the township was surveyed. Among his many titles was that of Baron
Bruce, of Kinloss.]
Extract from the Report of
County Valuators, 1901.
"This township runs largely
to extremes, some portions being extra good, while other portions are very
hilly and swampy. Interspersed with small lakes and being well watered, it
is well calculated for mixed farming. No scarcity of timber in this
township and the roads are excellent, gravel being plentiful. Portions of
Kinloss are greatly improved since the last valuation. The rate per acre
is $31.15, including village property, which equals $1.78 per acre for the
whole township.''
As pointed out in Chapter
II. the first lands within the county surveyed into farm lots were those
on the first concession of Kinloss. This survey was made in 1847 by Alex.
Wilkinson, P.L.S. Two years later, in 1849, the Durham Road and the
adjacent "Free Grant" lots were surveyed by A. P. Brough, P.L.S. [Mr.
Brough, in his report, gives the Indian names of the two lakes near the
Black Horse, now called Silver Lakes ; translated, the names are Otter and
Mud Turtle Lake respectively, for the north and south lake.] Three years
after this, in 1852, the residue of the township was surveyed by E. E.
Jones, P.L.S.
The "Free Grant" lands were
opened for settlement in June, 1849, and Ranges Three, North, and South,
of the Durham Road, were offered for sale at the same time. The remaining
portion of the township came into the market at the "big" land sale, [See
Appendix K.] held September 27th, 1854. The price at which the lots on the
first concession were sold—it being classed as School lands—was ten
shillings ($2.00) per acre. Concessions 2 to 12 are Crown lands, and the
price at which they were sold was seven shillings and six pence ($1.50)
per acre.
The first settlers in the
township settled on the "Free Grants" in 1850. Among them were Joel Eli
Stauffer, John and Wm. Shelton, Thomas Hodgins and Mankin Meredith. These
pioneers of the township deserve credit for having located on lands that
were far from a base of supplies, Kincardine being the nearest point at
which purchases of provisions and other needed articles could be made.
During the summer and fall of 1851 most of the settlers were able to earn
a little money by working at the government job of opening the Durham
Road, either as contractors or as axemen. [Particulars of the Kinloss,
Durham Road contracts, let July 11th, 1851: Samuel Colwell, to chop out
road in front of lots 1 to 4, at rate of £22 per mile and 10s. per rod for
causewaying. J. Eli Stauffer, to chop out road in front of lots 5 to 8, at
rate of £22 per mile, and 12s. 6d. per rod for causewaying. John Smith, to
chop out road in front of lots 9 to 12, at rate of £24 per mile, and 8s.
9d. per rod for causewaying. Mankin Meredith, to chop out road in front of
lots 13 to town line, at rate of £24 per mile. The total amount of all
these contracts was £155 2s. 6d. On completion of the work payment was
made October 28th and December 13th, 1851.] This public work was indeed a
fortunate thing for these early settlers, as it performed the double
purposes of providing them with a road and also with supplying them with
much-needed cash. A tedious delay occurred in opening the other main roads
in Kinloss. The tenth side-road from Lucknow to the Black Horse was
opened, under the direction of David Gibson, P.L.S., by the Bureau of
Agriculture in 1858, [In 1854 the United Counties Council gave a grant of
£50 to open this road, an offer having been received from Thos. Hodgins
and others to give a roadway through their lands to avoid Silver Lake. The
expenditure of this grant seems to have been the extent of work done on
this road prior to letting of the Government contracts in 1858.] which
also in 1859-60 opened the county boundary line between Bruce and Huron.
The lack of roads in the early days had a decided retarding effect upon
the development of the township. The first to take up land and settle in
the southern part of the township are said to have been Norman Nicholson,
Duncan and Alexander McKenzie, Martin McInnes, John McDonald, R. Gollan,
William, David and James Henderson, Wm. Bryce, Peter Reid, James, John,
Thomas and David Falconer, Wm. and J. Tiffin, Andrew McManus. All of these
and others also had squatted on their lots before they were opened for
sale. The year of the "big" land sale witnessed a great inflow of
settlers, who took up the choicest of the remaining lots. Among those who
came there about this time may be mentioned Alex. Graham, Thomas Harris,
[Thomas Harris' name appears elsewhere in this History in connection with
the settlement of Kincardine and also with Ripley post-office. He was for
some time the only Justice of the Peace in Kinloss.] Robert Purves,
[Robert Purves was one of the prominent men of Bruce for many years. A
native of Berwickshire, he came to Canada in 1850, at the age of eighteen,
and settled in the township of Wawanosh. In 1854 he took up the farm lots
in the first concession of Kinloss, on which he lived during the remainder
of his life. In 1865 Mr. Purves was elected reeve of Kinloss, an office
held, excepting during the year 1868, until the end of 1883. After a
retirement from municipal honors, he again, during the years 1893, '94,
'95, was elected as the chief officer of the township. The County Council
also elected him as warden of the county three times in succession, for
the years 1880, '81, '82. The repeated municipal honors bestowed on Mr.
Purves emphasized the appreciation in which he was held as a man of sound
judgment and prudence. His death occurred July 20th, 1902.] S. A. Ferrie,
Patrick, John and Peter Corrigan.
In 1852 Kinloss, in common
with the other townships in the county was united to the township of
Kincardine for municipal purposes. At the session of the United Council
held June, 1854, a petition from the ratepayers of Kinloss was. presented
asking that; that township be made a separate municipality. The report of
the special committee appointed to consider the petition is here given, as
being a reliable statement showing the development of the township at that
date. It is as follows: "Our committee cannot recommend that the prayer of
the petition of Mankin Meredith and others be granted. The assessment of
this township is the least of any in the counties, save one, it being only
£1,170, and the expense of a reeve sent from said township would be equal
to two pence farthing in the pound on the gross assessment for the year
1853, upon which assessment your Council are now obliged to base their
taxations for . the purpose of raising funds which may be available up to
1855. Further, that we had no reliable document before us upon which to
arrive at a satisfactory conclusion that this township has the number of
names on its assessment roll which are requisite to enable it to obtain a
set-off." At the September session following, the question of municipal
separation came up again, and on the casting vote of the warden the.
prayer of the petition was granted and the necessary by-law passed. The
by-law appointed Wm. Shelton as returning officer, and directed that "the
election be holden at the house of Wm. Meredith on the sixth concession."
The Council elected were: Boyer Paul, Murdoch McKenzie, Murdoch McDonald,
Thomas Harris and Wm. Shelton. This Council elected Boyer Paul [Boyer Paul
had negro blood in his veins. On his presenting his certificate of
election as reeve of Kinloss at the first meeting of the United Counties
Council at Goderich, some members took objection to his taking his seat at
the council on account of his color, holding that he was non-eligible, and
expressed curiosity to know if the majority of the electors in Kinloss
were colored. After some discussion he was allowed to take his seat.] as
reeve, [List giving the names of the reeves of the township of Kinloss
from 1855 to 1906 : Boyer Paul, 1855; John Purvis, 1856 to 1863; Malcolm
Campbell, part 1864, 1868; Chester Chapman, part of 1864; Robert Purves,
1865, '66, '67, '69, 1870 to 1883, 1893; James Grant, 1884 to 1891; George
Mcintosh, 1892; Alex. Nicholson, 1896; J. Johnston, 1897, '98; G. Moffatt,
1899; Frank Henry, 1900 to 1904; Dan. McDonald, 1905, '06.] and appointed
as its clerk Wm. Herndon. He held the office for only one year, when he
was succeeded in the clerkship by Peter Reid, [Peter Reid was a native of
Glasgow, where he was born in 1819. He settled in Kinloss in 1854, where
he followed farming. His family had the pleasure of celebrating the golden
wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Reid two years before his death, which occurred in
1900.] who faithfully performed his duties for forty-four years, namely,
from 1856 to 1899 inclusive. The office of the township treasurer was held
during the first nine years of the municipality by the following: Thomas
Hodgins, 1856; Peter Reid, 1857; Murdoch McKenzie, 1858-62, and John McRae
for part of 1863. On the 19th October, 1863, Peter Corrigan was appointed
the township treasurer, and has held the office ever since to the
satisfaction of all.
The lot of the pioneers of
Kinloss had certain features which added to the usual hardships that faced
a backwoods settler. Being located far back in the bush they had to make
long journeys to obtain the most ordinary necessaries. Then the almost
total absence of water privileges large enough to drive a good grist mill
was a drawback, so that until the grist mill at Lucknow was running in
1859, a trip to Walkerton, Kincardine or Dungannon was necessary whenever
a few bags of wheat had to be ground. Sawmills were in operation in
Kinloss as early as 1854. The first one built was erected by J. Eli
Stauffer at the "Black Horse." It was at this point in the township that
the first effort was made to develop a village, which began to form around
the post-office, known as "Kinloss," which was opened in 1853-4, with
Thomas Hodgins as the postmaster. To him also belongs the credit of having
opened the first store there. About the same time, in 1854-5, a tavern was
opened by Wm. Shelton. This was called the "Black Horse," a name that was
extended until it became that by which the village was and has continued
to be known. The first school in the township was also opened at this
point. The house put up for its use was, as were most of those at this
time, only a log one. The earliest public religious services in the
township were held here, the first of which was conducted by the Rev.
Thomas Hadwin, a Methodist minister, at the house of Mr. Thomas Hodgins.
After the school-house was built these services were held in it, and then,
at a later date, in the Orange Hall. About 1857, Presbyterian church
services were held, the Rev. Walter Inglis, of Riversdale, officiating. He
succeeded in forming the nucleus of the congregation now known as that of
North Kinloss. His successor was the Rev. A. G. Forbes. In 1874 a brick
church was built by the united efforts of the Presbyterians and the
Methodists, still in use by the latter denomination. The Silver Lakes,
situated close to the Black Horse, have attracted to them for a number of
years parties of campers-out and picnickers from Lucknow, Kincardine and
Walkerton. Certainly as long as the groves on their banks are preserved
these parties are likely to seek recreation at this delightfully
picturesque spot.
Kinlough, two miles and a
half south of Kinloss P. O., is the larger village of the two. It began to
take form in 1857, when John Scott opened a store there. Shortly
afterwards Simon Corrigan helped to centralize business there by starting
a sawmill and also an hotel. On a post-office being established in 1864 he
was appointed postmaster. The village at present boasts of a handsome
school-house, lately erected, and three churches, a Presbyterian, a
Methodist and a Church of England.
Holyrood is situated two
miles and a half south of Kinlough. Its post-office was opened August 1st,
1856, William McKenzie being the first to have charge of it. Here a large
sawmill was built in 1864 and successfully operated for many years. The
Roman Catholic congregation at this place was organized about 1870. They
built a neat frame church, in which services are now conducted by the
priest from Teeswater.
The township of Kinloss has
been singularly free of indebtedness. The only debentures issued by the
municipality were for drainage purposes, in 1882. They amounted to only
$1,946, and were paid in ten years.
At the time (1871) the
railways were seeking bonuses to construct lines through the southern part
of the county to Kincardine, the people of Kinloss were urged to give a
bonus by each of the two railway companies, namely, the narrow gauge from
Teeswater or the wide gauge from Listowel, which ultimately was
constructed. A meeting was held (July, 1871) at the Black Horse at which a
resolution was passed asking the Township Council to submit a by-law to
grant a bonus of $15,000 to the road from Teeswater. This the Township
Council refused to do. Ultimately the township assumed its share
(according to equalized assessment) of the $51,000 sectional bonus given
to the Southern Extension Railroad by the townships of Huron, Kincardine
and Kinloss. When Lucknow became separated from Kinloss in 1874 it assumed
an annual payment of $130 as its share of the obligation of the township.
This chapter may fittingly
be closed by relating the history of the South Kinloss Presbyterian
Church, as given to the author by its pastor, the Rev. F. A. MacLennan:
"Early in the fifties this
district was thickly settled by immigrants, mostly from the north of
Scotland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, nearly all of whom were
Gaelic-speaking Presbyterians.
"In 1856 they built a log
church on the east side of the gravel road, about half a mile north of the
present church building. About that time the congregation held its first
communion services in the bush close to the log church, two ministerial
members of the Presbytery of London officiating. The late Mr. Hugh
Rutherford, of St. Helens (who had been ordained in Scotland before coming
to Canada), was the only elder present to officiate on the occasion. It
seems that there was not an ordained Free Church elder in the whole
district from Goderich to Culross at that date but himself. The late Mr.
John Gordon, of St. Helens, was the only English-speaking communicant
present on Sabbath. For his benefit an English table was served. The fact
that the collection taken during the five days of the services amounted to
$50, all coppers, not a single silver coin, shows that the attendance
would average 1,000 at least.
"Until 1863 the
congregation worshipped in the church regularly, receiving such supplies
as the Presbytery could send them. At that time the large church standing
in the cemetery, and which is still occupied, was built. The late Rev.
John Fraser, of Thamesford, formally opened it for public worship. Every
alternate Sunday the Rev. Adam McKay, of Teeswater, held service in this
church until, in 1867, the Rev. John McNabb was ordained and inducted to
this charge. Soon after the following were ordained elders and formed the
first Kirk-Session, viz., Messrs. Murdo Mackenzie, Peter Milne, Robert
Young, James Gordon, Thomas Falconer and Donald MacPherson. Mr. McNabb
resigned the charge in 1869 and was succeeded by the Rev. Duncan Cameron
in 1872. Mr. Cameron resigned in 1881 and was succeeded by the Rev.
Alexander MacKenzie in 1882. Mr. MacKenzie resigned in 1887, and was
succeeded by the present pastor, the Rev. F. A. MacLennan, translated from
the Presbytery of Glengarry in May, 1882. Services from the very first
have been held in this congregation in both English and Gaelic. Gaelic,
the language of the congregation fifty years ago, is approaching the
vanishing point. Still it dies hard." |
