Note: some minor changes have been made to the article to eliminate the poor grammar and repetition. A full copy of the article can be read at the Archives.
Continuing a series of local history as recorded in newspapers this is the first about Carlisle, written by T. J. Patton, Dominion Land Surveyor, Little Current, Ontario.
From The Hamilton Spectator, February 2, 1935
“Considerable clearing of land had been done, but a great deal of it was not yet free of stumps. The stumping of the lands once well wooded with pine was a difficult matter, and it required very heavy appliances worked with oxen in doing it. On our father’s lots there had been a heavy growth of what was called buckwheat pine, three of four big trees from one huge root and trunk. A lot of the country was fenced with the stumps, an almost imperishable fence, though rather ugly; “homely as a stump fence” was a common expression. Down the 12-mile creek nearly a mile from Carlisle is the one-time mill village with the suggestive name of Progreston, said to have been named, I think, by James Kievel, a mill owner of the long ago. It was never dreamed that one day the CPR would favour it in locating the Hamilton-and-Guelph branch through there.
In the early days, taking advantage of the water power at Progreston, there were several industries, three saw-mills, two grist-mills, a peg factory, and later on a woollen mill built by Freeman Green. All these have passed away, except the big grist mill which was built by William Campbell. Steam power was added to it in about 1872. The CPR bridge crosses the 12-mile creek just above this mill.
Some distance downstream and in Halton County was the mill of the Hamilton Powder Company. During the early years there were minor explosions, but on October 9 1884 it again blew up, when several men were killed. The Cedar Springs Summer Resort is now located on this site. Owing to the great amount of alder trees on the flats of the creek from which the charcoal used in the making of the gunpowder was made, the powder mill was located there.
In about 1865-66 when very young, the writer at times attended the old Corners school, a frame building about a mile south of Carlisle, on what was called the Centre road. The first teacher there that I can remember was John Calder; he would go to sleep sometimes in school hours – great fun for the boys! Then there was a Miss Biggar, a very fine looking girl. In 1872-73 I again attended there when Marshall B. Rymal taught. This school was locally known as Victoria School.
With years of wear and tear, the building had become dilapidated; it was of very poor construction at its best, the outer wall was only thin clapboards on the studding; tar paper and building paper seemed to be unknown; and lathed and plastered inside. In the cold weather in the late fall the wind sifted merrily through the cracks, but we youngsters with rich blood didn’t mind that much.
After New Years we occupied the new two-storey brick building near the same site. Mr. Rymal was retained to teach the upper, senior room, and Miss Georgina Sutton of Carlisle taught the lower room. The Victoria School building that was demolished during the 1990’s stood on approximately the same site. During the holidays, Mr. Rymal took to himself a wife, a Miss Ford from up the concession road a ways. Rymal was a very popular teacher, pupils, many of them young men and women came some distance to atend, notably the Careys from Millgrove. Some of these Careys became prominent in musical circles in later life.
We played all the usual sports especially baseball and hockey, not hockey as known now but the good old game of “shinny” – with the only rule, shinny on your own side. Woe to the shins of the left handed chap who ventured in a scrimmage to get in a left handed swipe from the wrong side. In baseball, our pitchers didn’t last long. It they didn’t give balls that could be hit nearly every time they soon lost their jobs.
Friday after the afternoon recess, Rymal would get out his concertina to lead the singing until 4 o’clock dismissal. We enjoyed the diversion greatly. We sang mostly gospel and Sunday school hymns, LITTLE BROWN JUG and IN THE SWEET BY AND BY. O CANADA and THE MAPLE LEAF FOREVER had not yet arrived.
At that school, in Rymal’s rooms, seven of us seniors, three girls and four boys, formed a clique. The girls were Jane Newell who became the wife of Thomas Alderson; Kitty Campbell, who became the wife of Robert Simpson; and Anne Galagher, who became the wife of Walter Reid of Aldershot. The boys were Arthur Newell, now residing in Waterdown, who married Hattie Freeman; John Binkley, who married Alice Gunby; Charles Green, who married Adelia Gunby, and the writer who married Jessie Potts, of Little Current, Ont.
Only three of the clique have survived, Mrs. Simpson, of Waterdown; Arthur Newell, and, of course, the writer.”
© The Waterdown-East Flamborough Heritage Society 1999, 2023.
