Thursday, December 28th, 1944

McCreary Neighborhood Has Interesting History

by Iva Dezell and Florence McCreary.     

    Perhaps our first duty in the consideration of the earlier history of our McCreary neighborhood should be to identify the geographic position of our native County of Lanark, amongst the other organized municipalities with which it is incorporated as a whole unit.     

    Lanark County was constituted to form one of the forty-two counties which with several "provisional" counties and more remote districts, made up the territorial division of the Province of Ontario .    

   Geographically it lies between the parallels of 40 and 45 degrees north latitude and the extremes of 75 and 60 degrees of east longitude. This includes a superficial area of 1,197 square miles or 766,028 acres.        

   Previous to the coming of the Anglo-Saxon race to Lanark County, the place was undoubtedly the theatre of life and the scene of many bloody tragedies, sequels of the many hostile encounters between the Iroquois du Nord and the Iroquois du Sud, who inhabited the territory north of the St. Lawrence, including our own county on the one hand and on the other what is now the north-eastern portion of New York State.       

   But with British occupation came an altered condition. Vast areas were thrown open to settlement and a vast army of immigrants entered the upper Canadian forests, their accoutrements being the instruments of agriculture, with which they wrested a sustenance from the rich and virgin soil which we still delight to call, “Home.” In the vanguard of this army were the United Empire Loyalists, from the recently established United States. They settled along the frontier of Upper Canada, and their success in their forest homes was the inspiration of the British Government to plant other settlements in this inviting western colony.  

   In 1815, a proclamation was issued in the Old Land, offering a free passage, etc., to such natives of Great Britain as might be desirous of settling in Canada. A further inducement was the offer of provisions, not only during the voyage, but after arrival and until the newly-settled land could be made to support them. Each male settler over legal age was given a free grant of land; also to those males who later attained their majority. A special token of the liberality of the Government, was the granting of a loan to each settler of 10 pounds. Then each group of four families, was given a grindstone, a cross-cut saw, and a whipsaw; while each family was accorded an adze, a handsaw, a drawing knife, a shell auger, two gimlets, a door lock and hinges, a scythe and snath, a reaping hook, two hoes, a hay fork, a skillet, a camp kettle, and a blanket for each of its members.    

   So came to Lanark County, the dauntless settlers who were the forbears of the prosperous population of today and so came the original families from England, Scotland and Ireland, who crossed the Mississippi on a boom-stick and settled at McCreary. McCreary, Kinch, Dowdall, Warren, and Sheppard were among the first settlers. 

   It is interesting to note here that it was a settlement of Johns. Starting at St. John's church, and following down the present highway, there lived, John Magee, John Sturgeon, John Sheppard, John Malloy, John Warren, John Code, John Kynch, John Crampton, John Swayne and John Dowdall.   

   Today there are twenty-eight  vacant places, within a four-mile  radius, and most of the houses have been completely demolished.  Some of those places are: Ned Hopkins, in Jackson's bush; Cooper Hopkins, near Russell Willows; John Sturgeon's, John Magee's, Wm. Sturgeon's, John Sheppard's,  John Malloy's, Shannon's, Wynes, Wm. Dezell's, on the first line; John Dowdall’s and Morris Sullivan's.      

   Looking down at the cheese factory corner, several houses were located here and it was known as Horn's Corner. Bob Cornett lived here and we must not forget Dougal Sinclair, the popular mailman, who walked to Carleton Place, every week-day, carrying a bag of mail each way. Chamney’s lived near the factory on the farm later owned by John Code, and at  present owned by Dezell's. John Kynch lived on the Bowland's homestead, and John Crampton on the farm now occupied by Shannon 's.           

   At the top of Hamilton’s hill lived a family of Stearns’. The cellar of their house can still be seen. Here the women, who carried crocks of butter and other produce on their heads, to Carleton Place, stopped for a drink of water and were always made welcome. At the foot of this hill, at the fifth line corner, may still be seen the graves of two of the first settlers.    

   These pioneer families had their tragedies, as when the daughter of John Swayne, was thrown off the horse she was riding. Her foot caught in the stirrup and she was dragged a mile, and of course killed. They also had their jokes and good times. Many stories are told of the fun enjoyed and practical jokes played at parties and logging bees.                      

   Joseph McCreary, father of Hiram McCreary, who still resides on  the old home-stead, gave the land on which the first institution of learning, known as "McCreary, school" was erected.           

   It was a small log building with two desks running lengthwise of  the room, on each side, and accommodated between thirty -five and forty pupils.                

   The first pupils to pass the Entrance were Willie Moffatt, brother of Peter Moffatt, and Robert McCreary, brother, of Hiram McCreary, both of whom later graduated from Queen's University the former with an M D., and the latter with an M. A. Two members of parliament received their early education here, Hiram McCreary, former M.L.A., and Hon. George Doucett, present Minister of Highways.  William Weir also graduated from a theological seminary, as a Baptist minister.    

   The original ratepayers were James Moffatt, Joseph McCreary, Warren’s, Kinch’s,  Dezell's, Hamilton’s, Code's, Nolan's, Greer, Hughes', Erwin, Weir, Dowdall, Allen, Downs, Scott, Turner, Sheppard, Brougham.         

   These pioneer families lived very peaceably and happily, sharing each others’ joys and sorrows, with the exception  of one family who struck a note of discord into their otherwise harmonious life.        

   It is told that a controversy arose between this aforesaid gentleman and his neighbor, over a line fence, and a lawsuit ensued.    

   The line fence actually was in the wrong place, by a distance of four feet. The neighbors rather than see their friend outdone by Mr. ______, spent the previous night changing the fence onto its proper location of land, then went in the following day in a body, and swore that the fence was in its proper place. Of course Mr. _____ lost the case and had to pay the costs.

   Later the old school was torn down, and the present one erected in 1871, the year Hiram McCreary's grandmother died; who by the way, was a McGee, related to D'Arcy McGee, who often visited her at the old homestead.           

   The spot where Cecil Weir's wood-pile now stands was in those days the scene of a duel between Pat Brougham, a blacksmith, who made his own horse nails, and Jim Erwin, with John McCreary as the sole witness.           

   Many are the stirring tales that could be related, and the words of Anne Sutherland, Canadian writer, most appropriately paint, the pioneer picture of our brave forefathers and mothers in Lanark County and McCreary.

“ I give you the slender shoulders         

   drooped in a lullaby,

And the  answering cry of she wolves,            

   hushing the hunger cry;

I give you the thousand beacons of         

   quivering candle light

Set in the rough hewn windows to      

   guide men home at night.

Mothers of Canada, keeping the       

   home-fires bright!

I give you the little gardens watered

   with homesick tears,

The simple knowledge of root and        

   herb, the long faiths down the years,

The aching, dragging, terrible toil   

   that made for a woman's day,

And the grim scarred peace of her           

   folded hands when the task was laid away.

Mothers of Canada, broken and           

   proud and gay!"

by: Iva Dezell and Florence McCreary.