The progress of Settlement slow—Physical features and soil of Dumfries- -Remarkable Geological character of the rocks underlying Galt—Energetic efforts to attract Scottish settlers—The Ettrick Shepherd offered a farm in Dumfries—John Telfer visits Scotland as agent—Poverty of the first settlers—Log Houses chinked with clay— New buildings—Visit of John Galt, Esq., in 1827—Its object—How Galt obtained its name— Mr. Dickson removes from Niagara—A Highland acquaintance.

During the first half of the next decade (from 1820 to 1825), the settlement of Dumfries proceeded very gradually. The physical features of the country for many miles around Shade’s Mills were not very attractive in their uncleared state. The land was thickly timbered, hilly and rugged, in some places stoney, and with not a few small lakes and swamps scattered throughout. It was not the place for a man afraid of hard work, and consequently lost many a settler it might otherwise have had.

The soil, however, was excellent for the growth of wheat and other cereals, and when once cleared, was not easily surpassed for farming purposes generally. It varies in different localities, from a clay to a sandy loam, the depth of which is generally from one to three feet, although seven feet have been met with in exceptional cases. This rests upon a sub-soil of gravel and sand.

Although it is not generally known, the geological character of Galt and vicinity is somewhat remarkable. Its site was well chosen so far as economic minerals for building purposes are concerned. Besides having on the east side of the river boulders of granite and other chrystal-line rocks of every variety and in great profusion, there are also exhaustless quarries of limestone; this rocky formation, whilst forming a basis for the town within the valley, extends for miles up the river, forming bluffs of considerable elevation and beauty.

The limestone rocks underlying the town, and partially cropping out on the river’s banks, very early attracted the attention of scientific men. Before any Geological Commission was established for Canada, Professor Hall, one of the geologists of New York State, paid the locality a visit, and on the occasion gave names to several of the fossils which freely abound in the rocks. A large bivalve shell (or rather the fossil of it) received the name of Megalomus Canadensis, which has been retained by our Canadian Geologists. Some eighteen or twenty varieties or species of fossils were early discovered, and as these corresponded in a considerable degree with those found in the Niagara group of limestone, the formation was regarded for some years as one with the Niagara. The late Rev. Andrew Bell, of Dundas, who was well-informed on this subject, so regarded this formation. Later on, investigations were made by our Canadian Geologists, Messrs. Murray, Billings and Bell, who visited Galt and examined the locality on several occasions, many years ago, and their researches resulted in assigning this peculiar class of rock to a higher and later development than that of the Niagara. It is now known as the Guelph group, and is understood to have received this name from Guelph being about the centre of the formation. It extends as far north as Elora and Fergus, and eastwards from Guelph some distance down the Grand Trunk line. It is a Magnesium Limestone or dolomite. What is its depth, or what it rests upon, are facts which remain undiscovered, for no complete outcrop of the rock has yet been found, nor have the borings in the town been of sufficient depth to determine these points.

Numberless ages—who can count them?—must have elapsed since the Grand River began to flow. In no other way can the cutting of its channel through these limestone rocks, and the formation of the valley in which Galt stands, be intelligently accounted for. Immediately northward of the town, the rock has been cut down at least forty or fifty feet, and it is within the probabilities, that at some remote period of the past, a miniature Niagara was in existence a short distance above Galt. The continuous line of bluffs, and the unequal bottom of the channel of the river, favour this opinion.

From about the year 1825, settlers began to arrive more frequently, and before the close of the decade most of the farms in the immediate neighbourhood of Shade’s Mills were taken up, and not a little land cleared and cultivated. The settlers were almost exclusively Scotch, and were very largely from Roxboroughshire and Selkirkshire. This arose chiefly from the exertions made in Scotland by Mr. Dickson, to direct the attention of emigrants to his Dumfries lands.

Besides articles about the township and the village, published in Chambers' Journal and the regular press, he wrote freely to leading Scotchmen on the subject, with many of whom he was acquainted. Among others he communicated with James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, who took great interest in the matter, and was the means of securing many of the best settlers which the township obtained, not a few of whom brought letters of introduction from the poet to Mr. Dickson. A nephew and niece of his own were among the number,2 and it would appear as if, at one time, some hope was entertained that Hogg himself might be tempted to cross the water. However this may be, it is a well-attested fact that, during a trip of Mr. William Dickson, jr., to Scotland, he visited the poet, and offered him a farm in Dumfries, if he would come out and accept of it. Hogg laughingly replied, “The Yarrow couldna want him!” and that was the last heard of the matter.

About 1820, Mr. John Telfer was specially sent to Scotland to induce intending Canadian emigrants to settle in Dumfries. This gentleman, in conjunction with Michael Knox, for at least thirty years one of the “characters" of Galt, had entered the Hudson Bay Company’s service some years before. They soon tired of the hunting, trapping, and Indians of the North-west—which no one at that time dreamed would ever become part of Canada—but to escape from the Company’s service was at once difficult and dangerous. In company with two others, however, they ultimately took French leave, starting together from the Selkirk settlement, and were vigorously pursued by officers of the Company, with dogs and sleds, on the snow and ice. Through the assistance of friendly Indians, who concealed them for three months, they succeeded in making their way out of the country, and ultimately reached Shade’s Mills in safety. Mr. Tel-fer, who was an intelligent, energetic man, soon after his arrival in the village, bargained with Mr. Dickson, in exchange for part of the plains, about a mile south of Galt, to visit Selkirkshire, Scotland, and bring out a number of new settlers, This duty was, we believe, performed in a very satisfactory manner.

It was through these circumstances that Dumfries, especially the northern part thereof, became so largely settled by Scotchmen and Presbyterians. Rough and rugged though the township was, their energy and industry, stimulated by poverty, it must be confessed, soon found witness in the disappearing forests, The axe of the woodman, the falling timber, the merry “Yo-heave” of the Raising Bee, could, at certain seasons, be heard on every side—just as now, during the gladsome harvest time, the “whirr” of the mowers and reapers salutes the ear wherever you go.

Many of the early settlers, when they took up farms, owned little but a trusty axe. Their first endeavours were, generally, to get in a few acres of wheat, and erect a house or shanty. The houses were invariably of unhewn logs, chinked with clay. The earliest of them were very rude. They seldom had any divisions except the loft above; this was ascended by means of a ladder, and it was rare when the daylight could not be seen streaming through numerous apertures in the roof. There was no want of ventilation in those days! Whatever else it lacked, the house invariably possessed a large open fireplace. Its huge blazing back-logs often served to distract attention from the earthen floor, and threw a ruddy glare of heat and comfort around the primitive apartment and its occupants. These early log houses, it is true, speedily improved, and were made more warm and comfortable. But many persons can remember dwellings in Dumfries of which this description is not overdrawn.

Being all alike poor, and more or less dependent on each other, the early Pioneers were always open-handed, and ready to assist their neighbours. Though hard was the toil, and many the privations of bush life, there are few of the old men who remain, whose eyes do not light up with pleasure at the remembrance of those early days, and more especially at mention of the generous assistance and warm-hearted sympathy which so largely characterized the entire settlement.

The village of Shade’s Mills was the most important place within a radius of twenty miles, but its growth, continued to be very tardy. In the year 1827, however a circumstance occurred, which will be noticed presently, and which somewhat improved its fortunes.

About the year 1821, what is apt to be one of the earliest “institutions” of a settlement was erected, namely, a tavern. It was a small one-and-a-half story frame building, situated near the corner of Main and "Water Streets, a little north of where Woods and Taylor’s store now stands. It was first opened by one Morgan L. Hermonts; two years afterwards one John Clark become the landlord, and subsequently it fell into the hands of a man named James Taylor. Some idea of the value of property over half a century ago, may be obtained from the fact, that Taylor offered the hotel, stables and lot, to a gentleman still living in Galt, for $300, and failed to find a purchaser. Ten years afterwards, however, we find their value had greatly increased.

This acre of ground, situated in the very heart of Galt, was one of the first parts of Dumfries deeded away by Mr. Dickson, and ultimately gave rise to most vexatious legal proceedings. Taylor was related to, and ultimately disposed of the property to Mr. Thomas Lepard, of Woolwich (afterwards of Dundas), who, at his death, willed it to his daughter, Mary Ann Lepard, who was his only child. Mr. Thomas G. Chapman was appointed executor. Finding the personal estate inadequate to liquidate the debts, he advertised the lot to be sold by public auction, when it was knocked down to Mr. Thomas Mackenzie, who was a mill-wright by trade, and had recently arrived in Galt from Nova Scotia. This was about the time of the rebellion, and the price obtained was $1,600 — a very considerable rise above the modest sum at which Taylor had offered to sell it some years previously. Mr. Mackenzie sub-divided the acre into lots, and erected a small frame house on one of them for his own use.

Some time after this, Mary Ann Lepard married a shiftless fellow named Benjamin Tribe, who resided near Elora. Matters had proceeded thus far, when the question arose as to whether the executor, Mr. Chapman, had the right to sell the lot, although it was for the payment of the debts of the estate. A case was submitted to Mr. W. H. Draper, of Toronto, for his opinion. He decided adversely, which was a most unpleasant discovery for Mr. Chapman, and still more so for Mr. Mackenzie, who. with buying and building, had sunk all his hard-earned money. There was a general consultation held by Messrs. Mackenzie, Chapman, Shade and Adam Ainslie (the latter is now a resident of Leith), and it was arranged that the three gentlemen last mentioned should go on an expedition, combining pleasure with business, namely, to drive to Elora, see Tribe and wife, endeavour to get a confirmation of Mackenzie’s title, and then fish down the Grand River home again.

To make a long story short, Tribe agreed to confirm the title for $150, and came down to Mr. Ainslie’s office the following week for the purpose. Mr. Ainslie appointed 3 o’clock that afternoon for him and his wife to come and execute the necessary papers. The hour arrived, but they did not. The next day it was ascertained that Tribe had sold out all his own and his wife’s interest to Mr. John Miller, Barrister, had executed a deed for the acre lot, and left the village! This was sad news for Mackenzie, and made the difficulties far greater than ever.

Two legal suits immediately ensued. Miller began a Chancery suit to dispossess Mackenzie, and Mr. Ainslie retorted by commencing an action against Mr. Miller for Champerty, or buying a disputed title. We need not follow the legal proceedings further than to say, that they occasioned much interest in the courts of the Province, and quite excited the little village whilst the result was pending. Unlike many lawsuits, however, all came out right in the end. Mr. Mackenzie was confirmed in his title, and Mr. Miller, whom the jury amerced in the sum of £500, had the verdict set aside at the next term, as being contrary to law.

After the Dumfries Mills had been running for some time, Mr. Dickson, who found that his lands required all his attention, endeavoured to sell them to Mr. Shade. The latter was unwilling to purchase unless a guarantee was given for a specified number of years, that no lands would be sold in the village by Mr. Dickson for mills, stores, or other businesses which would enter into com petition with his (Mr. Shade’s) occupations. It is understood this condition was ultimately agreed to; at any rate, Mr. Shade purchased the mills, two hundred acres of land, covering what is now the most valuable part of the town on the west side of the river, and an additional hundred acres in the township. The deed was not obtained for these properties by Mr. Shade, until the 11th August, 1838, and in that document, the consideration money is stated to have been £2,500.

In deeding the 200 acres to Mr. Shade, Mr. Dickson made the following reservations: (1) One lot to Dr. Robert Miller, corner west of Water and north of Main Street. (2) One acre to James Taylor, north of Main and east of Water Street. (3) One lot to Adam Ainslie, north of Main and east of Ainslie Street. (4) One lot to Isaac Sours, adjoining Ainslie’s lot. (5) The school-house lot, corner of Church and Main Street. (6) The market-house lot on Dickson Street.

How much is the same property, with all its mills, machinery, stores, and residences, worth at the present day?

The old Red store, for many years one of the landmarks of Galt, was put up by Mr. Shade in 1824. It was situated at the east eml of Main Street bridge, where the Commercial buildings now are, and jutting out into the river between it and the bridge, was a high wooden pier, with a strong, upright post on the westerly corner. This was used as a wharf during the period that barges were employed on the river, and in after times, and for many years after it fell into decay, it was the daily resort of village urchins, who drew many a fine bass from beneath its rotting timbers.

Mr. Thomas Rich, who had come to Canada from Gibraltar, during the previous year, found his first employment in Galt on the Red store. He was at first somewhat disappointed in the country, and returned to Gibraltar in 1825, where his father was employed by the British Government in the Engineers department. Two years afterwards, however, Mr. Rich returned to Galt, and has continued, with the exception of a few years, to reside in it ever since—a period of over half a century.

The community was thrown into a pleasurable excitement, in 1827, by the arrival in its midst of John Galt, Esq., and party, the latter comprising Dr. Dunlop, a Mr. Campbell and a Mr. Pryor. Mr. Galt was the father of Sir A. T. Galt, of Montreal, and Judge Galt, of Toronto, and was not unknown to fame, being the author of “Laurie Todd,’’ "The Annals of our Parish,” and other works of fiction. He acted as Commissioner of the Canada Company from 1826 to 1829, and his visit had been bruited for some time, and its object discussed with hopeful interest—which was to open up a road from Galt to the lands of the Company in the neighbourhood of the now royal City of Guelph, but which had remained a terra incognita up to this time.

Mr. Galt had been a school companion of Mr. Dickson’s in Edinburgh, and such had been their attachment, that when the village obtained a Post Office, Mr. Dickson christened it “Galt,” after his early friend and schoolmate. It is scarcely necessary to say that Mr. Galt and party met with a warm reception from Mr. Dickson, and all with whom they came in contact.

Mr. Shade, with his usual shrewdness, was anxious to secure the work of constructing the proposed road, and the furnishing of supplies—indeed, he almost regarded this as a turning point in his fortunes. He remarked to a friend at the time: “If I succeed in getting this contract, I will be all right; but its just like tossing up a copper!” He did succeed in securing a large share of the contract from the hands of Mr. Galt, and it is scarcely necessary to add, entered upon the work of cutting out and constructing the road with characteristic push and success. The oversight of the work was left in the hands of Messrs. Campbell and Pryor, the latter of whom continued his connection with the Canada Company, in Goderich, for a long period afterwards.

The Guelph road gave employment to many of the settlers, and enabled them to earn a little ready money’ which was a very scarce commodity in those days. Not a few ox teams from Dumfries found employment in opening the road to, and clearing the site of the proposed village of Guelph, and among those who helped to “slash” out the timber along the line of road-which extended about sixteen miles through the bush—were Stephen Moffat, George Telfer and John Lockie, well-known Dumfries names.4 By this enterprise, and others equally worthy of commendation, Mr. Galt became the founder of Guelph, and gave a much needed impetus to the settlement and development of the country.

This visit of Mr. Galt settled for ever the question of the name of the village. Prior to this time it continued to be known as Shade’s Mills, and notwithstanding the selection of Galt as the name of the Post Office, the people appeared bent on adhering to the old and early name. The pleasing manners of Mr. Galt, however, made him quite popular with all the villagers with whom he came into contact, and thereafter the name of Galt met with cordial acceptance.

Mr William Dickson

During the same year (1827), Mr. Dickson temporarily removed from Niagara, and took up his residence in Galt. He first occupied a quaint little rough-cast cottage on the south side of the west end of the bridge. It was situated on a pretty sloping knoll, and was partly surrounded by a well-trimmed Scotch thorn hedge, which extended down to the river’s brink. He subsequently removed to a new house which he erected on the beautiful western hills overlooking the village.

The residence of the Hon. William Dickson, in Galt, only continued till 1836—a period of nine years. He was then in his sixty-seventh year, and the labours of an unusually active life had begun to make inroads on his once vigorous constitution. He determined, therefore, to return to Niagara, and leave the charge of his affairs in Dumfries and Galt in the hands of his son, Mr. William Dickson, jun., who subsequently inherited the greater portion of the estate.

The latter gentleman, with his tall, spare, but commanding figure, and reserved manner, is so well remembered, that a minute description of him is unnecessary. He was born in Niagara, in 1799, and was the second of three sons, the Hon. Robert Dickson being the eldest, and the Hon. Walter H. Dickson the youngest. William spent several years at College in Edinburgh, Scotland, and on his return took up his residence permanently in Galt. For a brief space he had a joint interest in one of Mr. Shade’s stores. He had no taste, however, for general business, and soon confined his attention to his father’s affairs, or spent his time in travel.

From the time the old gentleman removed to Niagara, the management of the property of the family in Dumfries and Galt—already largely increased, and steadily augmenting in value—devolved chiefly upon Mr. William Dickson, although Robert and Walter generally spent some portion of each year in the village. During these visits the brothers occupied the two cottages on the Queen’s Square owned by the family—one of which is yet standing behind Mr. Gavin Hume’s hardware store, and the other was situated opposite thereto, on the northeast corner of the square. Mr. William Dickson soon became closely associated with the Township, and as well known to the settlers as ever his father had been.

His office was at the west end of the bridge, and often presented a busy scene about the beginning of the New Year, at which time the settlers were expected to pay the instalments due upon their lands. Ever to be associated with this office must be the name of Mr. Kenneth Robertson who, from a very early period, acted as Mr. Dickson’s clerk and agent. This gentleman was of Highland birth, but unlike most sons of the Gael, possessed an unusually cold and calculating manner. The annual interview with him, therefore, was not an occasion which called up feelings of pleasure in the settlers’ minds, particularly if, through unfavourable weather or other causes, they were unable to meet their engagements.