riverton The History of Riverton

The first settlements along the East River were made shortly after the arrival of the ship Hector in 1773. The communities we known as Riverton and Plymouth were called Fishpools. This name came from the splendid trout fishing in the deep pools in the river. The deepest one being near the big rock on the farm now the property of Jim MacKay. This farm was at one time called “Fishpools Farm.”

About the year 1877, due to the increase in population, it was decided to form separate communities with the East River as the dividing line. A meeting was held in our district to decide on a suitable name for this section. Many wished to keep the original name of “Fishpools” but others thought neither of the divisions should keep this name. As there was a sawmill operated by the Camerons on the Fishpools Farm, some of these suggestions for a name for a name were “Mill Town” and “River Town.” These were turned down, as this was not a town. Then the name of “Milton” was suggested and Mr. Thomas Grant, Harold Grant’s grandfather, proposed the name “Riverton.” A vote of those present was taken and the majority voted for this name.

The first plan of our settlement shows twelve grants with one piece of land shown as crown land. Today we have fifty-one occupied houses, a White Rose Service Station, the Pictou County Home, the Pictou County Hospital, the Community Hall and the school.

Anthony Culton and his son, Robert, occupied the Culton grants. Anthony Culton had a grant of five hundred acres, and his son, one of one hundred acres. Anthony Culton had come to Canada from Dumfries in Scotland and had settled near Georgetown in P.E.I. There was a terrible plague of rats and mice there. These animals ate their seed and caused so much distress, that the Dumfries settlers left the Island for Nova Scotia. The first Culton house was down near the river and later they built a stone house on the hill in the field where Porter’s now have their lumberyard.

Robert Culton had four sons – Robert, Anthony, John and James. Anthony owned the land where the house now occupied by Laurence Holmes is. Robert lived on the land where the present Culton families live. John Culton owned the property later occupied by his son, David Walter Culton, who sold the land to Dan Sutherland. In his turn he sold the property to William Cunningham, keeping enough land to build a house and outbuildings on. This is the present David Shaw property. James Culton owned land at the rear of the other Culton properties and his sons James and David later owned these lands and later were part of the Cunningham property.

The original Culton grants extended to and included part of the present county farm. At the present time on the lands originally owned by Anthony and Robert Culton we find the house occupied by Mrs. James Blair and her son Havelock, Mr. Howard Culton, his wife and daughter; Mrs. Maude Culton; Mr. And Mrs. David Shaw and family; Mr. And Mrs. Fletcher Worthylake and Bernie Cleary; Mr. and Mrs. Alex H. MacKenzie and family; Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Holmes, their son Ralph, his wife and baby; Mr. and Mrs. Douglas MacDonald; Mr. and Mrs., Roy Murray; Mr. and Mrs. Earl Cameron and family; Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Wadden and family; Mr. and Mrs. Duncan Morrison and her father, Mr. Hughes; Mrs. Mary Warren; the White Rose Service Station; Mr. and Mrs. John L. Fraser and family; also the Pictou County Home and Hospital.

On the property now owned by the County were once the farms of Mr. James? Falconer and Murdock MacDonald. These two properties were purchased by the County as a suitable place on which to build a hospital for those mentally ill. At first the County owned only the land on the west (or upper) side of the highway, while the land between the highway and the East River was still owned by Miss Libby Falconer, who later agreed to sell her land to the County. The Rev. Alexander Falconer, Sir Robert Falconer and the Rev. Dr. James Falconer were sons of the man who once owned the County Farm. The present County Home for the Aged was the first County Hospital and was built near the site of one of the farmhouses, while the other house was about the site of the present County Hospital.

The properties now owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs., Howard Murray; Mrs. L. T. Flaherty and daughter Jenny; Mr. and Mrs. Donald Stewart and daughter; and by Mr. and Mrs. H. A. Pinkham were the farm at one time owned by William Logan, whose son sold the property to the late John B. MacKay, and in his turn he sold it to the late John C. and Finley G. MacDonald. These men were brothers who operated a milk route in the town of Stellarton and later were ordained as ministers in the Presbyterian Church. This property and that adjoining it were part of the old Donald Chisholm grant. The properties now belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Robert MacRae and family; Mr. and Mrs. Perley S. Giberson and family; Mr. and Mrs. Perley R. Giberson; Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Campbell; Mrs. Mowatt MacKay and family were once owned by John Bain MacKay Culton. His name was originally John Bain but coming to Nova Scotia as a boy, he stayed first with a Culton family and later with a MacKay family and each of the surnames was used by him as well as his own. He finally adopted the name MacKay and divided the property between his two sons William and James MacKay. William having the land between the highway and the river or the present Giberson properties, and James the land west of the highway. The William MacKay property went to his son John Robert and on his death was bought by the late William K. MacDonald, contractor, and on his death was sold by his widow to the late Charles Pickford, from whom it was purchased by the (former) lumber company of Logan and Giberson as a residence for Mr. Giberson Sr., who later bought the property and whose son, Perley S. Giberson, built a home near that of his father.

The James MacKay part of the property is still largely owned by his heirs. His son, the late Mowatt MacKay, inherited the farm and gave an acre of land to his oldest son, Robert, who built a house now owned by Mr. Hugh Campbell, who bought the property from Robert MacKay. Mr. Mowatt MacKay also sold a small lot of land at the southern boundary of his farm to a nephew, Chalmers MacKay, who lives there with his wife and family. The Robert MacKay lot was first bought from Mrs. Mowatt MacKay by Laurence Roblee, who sold it to the MacKay’s.

The William MacKay property extended farther south on the east side of the highway than did that of James MacKay. The houses of Leroy George, Lonas George, and Lester Chisholm are on land purchased from Mr. Perley Giberson. These two MacKay properties comprised part of the Donald Chisholm grant and the W. Robertson and Alexander MacKay Jr. grants, so far as we now know.

It may be of interest to the present generation to read here how the William MacKay mentioned alone walked twice from Riverton to California. The first time he made the long trip on foot alone returning on a ship, which had to go around the coast of South America, as there was no Panama Canal. The second time he went to California, he took his sister-in-law and another woman with him. The women rode in an ox cart while William walked beside the animal.

William MacKay and his son, John Robert, operated a sawmill and a mill for grinding some bone meal on the land about opposite Mr. Hugh Campbell’s driveway.

James MacKay as a young man went to California and later to Australia, where he worked in the gold mines. John Ross from Ross Ferry, Victoria County, Cape Breton, went with him on both those journeys. Later these men married two sisters, Nellie (Ellen) and Christie MacKay of Riverton, daughters of Hugh MacKay known as the Big Deacon.

James MacKay’s eldest daughter, Mary studied to be a doctor and went to India as a medical missionary. She married the Rev. John Buchanan and spent her life ministering to the Bhil Tribe in India.

The orchards on Howard Murray’s farm, where H. A. Linkham bought his land, was once a commons. At the time of the Fenian Raids in Upper Canada (Ontario), all the able bodied men of this district drilled there.

The Alexander MacKay Sr. grant was the largest shown on the old map. Today on this grant we find the properties of Clarence MacIntosh, Jim MacKay, John Reid, Mrs. E.K. Chisholm, Charles Ross, Leon Vacheresse, Al. Bonvie, Aubrey and Orville MacKay and the Community Hall.

Donald Cameron bought the land now owned by Jim MacKay and Clarence MacIntosh from Alexander MacKay. He operated a sawmill near the river on the present Jim MacKay property. This and the MacIntosh farm were inherited by his son, Finley Cameron, who in turn left the MacIntosh farm to one son, John A. Cameron and what is now the Jim MacKay property to another son, Johnson Cameron. After the death of Johnson Cameron, his daughters lived on the farm for several years and then sold the farm to Donald MacKay and this year it was again sold to Jim MacKay, a son of Mowatt MacKay. One lot of land was sold a few years ago from this farm to Mr. Angus MacPherson and his wife, who came from Edinburgh, Scotland to make their home in Riverton about five years ago. John A. Cameron lived on his part of the Cameron farm until his death, and his widow lived there until ill health about four years ago caused her to go live with her daughter and she sold the farm to Clarence MacIntosh.

The farm now owned by John Reid was bought by his father, James R. Reid, from Dan Cameron. Cameron came to Riverton from Caledonia in Guysborough County and bought the farm from Sandy Muir (Fox Brook) who purchased it from Alexander MacKay Jr. when he decided to move from Riverton to East River St. Mary’s.

The Chisholm property, which comes next to Reid’s was bought from Alexander MacKay Sr. by John Chisholm, who left it to his son Alex Chisholm and in his turn willed it to his son John Chisholm. The part of the farm east of the highway is at the present owned by Alex Chisholm, son of John. The part of the farm west of the highway was owned by Mrs. Evan Chisholm daughter-in-law of John Chisholm but she recently sold all but 10 acres of land and the building to John Reid. At present Lionel Comeau, engineer who supervised the building of the New Aberdeen Hospital lives in the Chisholm house.

The next three or four properties were the farm of Alexander MacKay Sr. and comprised about 200 acres. Hugh divided his property among three sons. The farm now owned by Charles Ross was given to his son John, who built the house in which the Rosses live, and was inherited from him by his son Samuel. After his death, Charles Ross bought the property from the late Mrs. Sam MacKay. The property of Aubrey MacKay and his son Orville was inherited by Aubrey from his father, Roderick, who in turn received it from his father Hugh, who had inherited it from the original owner, Alexander MacKay Sr., his father. The property owned by Leon Vacheresse, the lot and house belonging to Al. Bonvie and the Community Hall lot were the part of the farm given by Hugh MacKay to his son, Dan. This part of the farm was much smaller than that given to either of the other sons as Dan was a tailor by trade and only wanted enough land to support a cow and a horse and on which to support a garden. His farm was inherited by his son, Dan Robertson MacKay, who sold it to his brother, the late R.H. MacKay. It was next inherited by Dan MacKay, son of R.H. who sold it to John MacDonald of East River. He sold it to Adrian Vacharesse, who later sold it to his father, Leon Vacharesse, the present owner. Leon Vacharesse sold a lot of land to his son-in-law Al Bonvie, and R.H. MacKay gave the community the land on which the hall is built.

Alexander MacKay Sr. was one of the Highland emigrants who came to Pictou County by way of Halifax in 1784. His brothers, Roderick and Donald, had come as passengers on the Hector and had settled lower down on the river near the site of the present town of New Glasgow. Alexander had served in the Fraser Highlanders at the capture of Louisburg and Quebec. At Quebec he received a musket ball in the leg, which he carried till his death at the age of 97. For his services there he received his grant of 550 acres of land at Fishpools. This grant of land was the largest shown on the original plan.

The next grants on the plan are those of Thomas MacKenzie, 100 acres, Simon MacKenzie (Thomas’ brother) 150 acres, and Thomas Fraser 100 acres. These lands were later to become the property of Thomas MacKenzie. He also was one of the Highland emigrants who came to Pictou County in 1784 by way of Halifax. John Grant married one of Thomas MacKenzie’s daughters and these properties have since been grant lands. Thomas Grant, son of John, owned the land and willed it to two of his sons Alexander and William. William sold his part of the farm to Miss Eliza Sutherland RN formerly of Millbrook and on her death she willed it to her brother, Neil Sutherland, the present owner.

Mr. Thomas Grant built a large tannery on the land between the brook and the Sutherland’s house. The leather was tanned by the use of bark and was much superior to the chemically tanned leather of today. Mr. Grant employed between 24 to 30 men and after his death his sons (Alex. and Wm.) carried on the business until larger interests in Central Canada caused the closing of all our local tanneries. Another son of Thomas Grant was the late Rev. D.K. Grant, who died in Halifax in 1954.

Alexander Grant’s part of the farm is today owned and occupied by his son, Harold Grant, who for several years operated a milk route known as Grants Dairy in the town of Stellarton.

We next come to the lands now owned by James Forbes and Adrian Vacharesse. The Forbes property was formerly owned by Mr. Thomas Chisholm who bought the small farm and had the house built. Mr. Chisholm came to Riverton from Fraser’s Mountain and worked at Grant’s Tannery until it closed, then at MacLean’s tannery at Hopewell until it too, closed.

The school lot was bought for the section by the government when the road was being widened and prepared for paving. It was part of a field, which Mr. John MacNaughton had purchased; I think from Grants. The cemetery lot, adjoining the school lot, was once part of the Grant property.

The property now owned by Adrian Vacharesse was purchased by him from Grant Buck of Churchville, who bought it from Alfred Ellis. Mr. Ellis was an Englishman who came to Canada about 29 years ago and bought this farm through the Land Settlement Board. Before that, the land had been vacant at times and tenants had been Nelson Hemwood and family, and also Reuben Burns, who had tried to buy the farm through the Soldiers, Settlement Board after World War I. Before that the farm belonged to the Barclay family, who must have bought it from some of the MacNaughton clan.

Alexander MacNaughton came from the Isle of Skye to the United States with the British Army. He married there and later came to Pictou County and settled on the grant marked John Chisholm and also owned part of the Donald MacIntosh grant. His house was near the bank of the river below the railroad track, near the house of the late James MacNaughton. He had three sons, Alexander who later moved to Fox Brook, Donald and James. James lived on the farm near his father’s house and was the father of Duncan. Duncan divided his farm, one part going to a son Jimmie, another to a daughter Sarah who married a John MacEwan from Green Hill. He also sold part of his farm (on the west side of the highway) to Little Danie Smith and he sold the part of the land nearest the Mark Road (highway leading to Fox Brook) to Billy MacEwan, a son of John MacEwan (mentioned above) and his first wife. Billy MacEwan built the house and barn on this property which is now owned by Bernie Bonvie, who purchased it from Duncan Morrison. Alex Church lived there before the Morrison’s bought the farm and before that it was owned by John William MacPhee who purchased it from Billy MacEwan.

The property on which Wilson Frame lives at present was bought by him from Mrs. Hugh MacNaughton, widow of Hugh MacNaughton, a son of Duncan, who purchased the farm from a man named Stiles who had bought it from Danie Smith.

The part of the farm owned by John and Sarah MacEwan on their death became the property of their daughter Minnie, who sold the farm to her cousin, Walter MacNaughton, another son of Duncan. She reserved a building lot at the time but sold it since to Aulden Demmons. On his death, his widow sold the land to Charles Archibald of Westville and he in his turn sold it to the present owner David Conway. Another small lot of this property was sold to Jerry Bonvie by Walter MacNaughton’s daughter, Mrs. James Forbes. Since Walter MacNaughton’s death, this farm has been bought by Neil Sutherland of Riverton.

The former Jimmie MacNaughton property is at present owned by his niece, Mrs. James Forbes.

We next come to the land once owned by Donald MacNaughton. He had two sons, John and Robert. John had a house at the corner of Mark Road on the property at present owned by Steve Bouchie, who tore his house down to use in building a barn as the John MacNaughton barn had been burned by children. Before Bouchie bought this land, it was owned by the late Percy Eaton, who bought it from Simon Fraser, who came from Westville and bought it from the John MacNaughtons.

Robert had three sons, Isaac, Joseph and Sam. Robert’s house was on the east side of the highway near the driveway to Harold Cameron’s. His son Joseph built the house now owned by Harold Cameron and after his father died, moved that house up the hill and it became part of some of the outbuildings. The Camerons bought the property from Howard MacDonald, who had bought it from Joe MacNaughton.

Isaac MacNaughton built the house now owned by Lawson Ross. After the death of Isaac, his widow lived there with a nephew and a grand nephew and on her death the property went to her nephew, the late Joe N. Fraser, who on moving to New Glasgow to live, sold the farm to Fred Tracey. After Mr. Tracey’s death, his widow sold the farm to a family named Vail, who in the short time sold it again to Lawson Ross.

The MacNaughton men, Robert and his two sons, Isaac and Joe, had a woodworking factory near Robert’s house. They made parts, wheels, furniture and many other articles. This was sometimes called sweep power, as the horse was hitched to a long arm and then driven round and round in a circle. Robert's other son, Sam, became a minister who went to England and spent his life there.

The last properties in Riverton are occupied by Mrs. Alex Reid and family, Aubrey Gillespie and family, and John Magee and family. These three properties belonged to the Frasers, known as the Drummond Frasers to distinguish them from the Frasers in our County. The first Fraser house was near the site of Aubrey Gillespie’s barn. The old road went right past this house to the top of the hill and then went straight across to the top of the next hill where the Muir home is. This farm belonged to Dan (Drummond) Fraser and was sold by him to the Gillespies. He also sold the lot of land to Alex Reid, who built the house on it where Mrs. Reid and family live.

The Magee farm now owned by John Magee was bought by his father, Charles Magee from Simon MacLean, who in turn had purchased it from Thomas (Drummond) Fraser, a brother of the above mentioned Dan Fraser.

It might be of interest to note that Miss Maude Culton and Mr. Howard Culton are direct descendants of Anthony Culton and live on part of his original grant, also Jim MacKay, Aubrey and Orville MacKay and Mrs. Charles Ross, on the Alexander MacKay Sr. grant and Harold Grant on the Thomas MacKenzie grant.
 


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