Beginning the first week of April 1894, letters outlining some of the early history of the village of Waterdown were printed in the Hamilton Evening Times. Written by the son of an early settler who had moved to Omaha in the American mid-west, they contain some interesting memories of pioneer days.
To the Editor of the Times:SIR, – An account of the early and subsequent history of the beautiful, romantic mountain village of Waterdown might be of interest to your many readers, as it was the first – in fact, the only one – in the County of Wentworth that attained control of its municipal affairs as an incorporated village.
Somewhere about the middle of the thirties our people, when I was a lad of 6 years, emigrated from the mother country. My father was led to that purpose by falling in with a work written by the Hon. Adam Fergusson, entitled “A Guide to Emigrants to Canada,” in which the country surrounding Lake Ontario (particularly the land about the head of said lake and Burlington Bay) were set forth in true and glowing colours. My father, after laying in a supply of what he thought a settler in the wilds of America might need (the utter uselessness of which may hereafter be referred to), with his wife and five children, embarked on a sailing vessel for Québec, and after a tedious voyage of many weeks, if not months, arrived safely. Then came another as tedious, one of transport up the St. Lawrence and canals by aid of the noted Durham boats.
His first intention, after landing at Toronto, or Muddy Little York, was to go into the draper business. Securing a house for his family, he concluded to pay a visit to some Brother Scots from his birthplace, namely Sandy Brown of East Flamboro’, and John and Adam Sproat, of Halton, near Milton, from whom he received a warm welcome. They advised him to buy a farm, as they had done. Mr. Brown took him to see one for sale, near his, with some rough improvements on it. On returning to Toronto, finding the family nearly devoured by bed bugs, he decided to shun Canadian town life for a rural one.
Waterdown at that time consisted of a few houses on Dundas Street. The centre road on the west side of the village (since almost unused) was one of the main arteries for the back settlers. The business places consisted of a blacksmith shop run by one Todd, and a tavern by Mr. May. The nearest place to buy goods and the post-office was at Hannahsville, Nelson, four miles down Dundas Street, also the nearest church (Episcopal) where Dr. Green officiated. The road to it from the log houses of our surrounding neighbours was through the woods and trails marked by blazes on sides of trees. At that time Hannahsville was quire a trade centre, and the little surplus grain raised by farmers for forty or fifty miles around found a market at as low prices as the present, but often not for cash, but for trade only. Cash was an unknown quantity in those days, yet our robust early pioneers, although suffering many privations, were a happy and contented people. Some of the early settlers were Brown, Grierson, Griffin, Fergusson, Stewart, Davis, Gant (Ghent?), Rymal, McMonies, Stock, Thompson, Evans, Cummins, Baker, English, Rose, Markle, Coe (Cole?), Smoke, Rice, Flatt, White, King, Foster, Finlay, Binkley, Graham, Glasgow, Law, Creen and Little.
The Grindstone Creek furnished the motive power on which was the Binkley tannery, 5th con. E. Flamboro’, McMonies’ saw mill, Brown’s saw mill, Griffin’s saw mill, Cummins’ saw mill, and finally the finest, quickest and best of Graham and Stock at the bottom of the deep ravine. The Haywood grist was the first. It and the Jack Applegarth one nearer the marsh, probably the oldest, sufficed to do the grinding and chopping for a large area. The Graham tannery used up most of the bark of the hemlock ridges of the township. Thomas English’s oatmeal mill, about halfway to the Plains, was also one of the first industries. Other developments followed quickly, which will be treated of in our next Heritage Paper.
© The Waterdown-East Flamborough Heritage Society 1994, 2022.
