FARMING

    c1900 Henry Birmingham and son, Guy, & Mr. Haddon Birmingham ran 
two of the finest dairies in the country.
    When Dr. MacIntosh owned the stone fort,  some of the highest
priced cattle were kept which carried off many of the first prizes at
the fairs of this province.  This farm has passed into the hands of
Flemmings.

BOYER COMPANY 
 
    1855 The boot, shoe and harness manufacturing industry was founded
by James W Boyer.  About 1895 his son J Fred Boyer & J B Bowser became
associated with him in the business.  From an article written in 1901
we quote: "Since its inception the business has developed to such an
extent as to require the full capacity of a three storey building, and
employing from 20 to 30 hands who are engaged in the manufacturing of
heavy shoes,  lumbermen's river driving boots were made for driving
logs down the river and completely made of leather, were black in colour
and considered to be the best made in the province.  These shoes, once
sold to the logger, had corks screwed in the bottom of the sole to
enable the man to stay on the floating timber; harnesses of all kinds,
being the principal products.  Long-legged boots were popular.  All
these goods were shipped to other parts of the country.
    The store was two stories and on the first floor carried supplies
for every need, with apartments to rent on the second floor.   The
centre of attraction in the  structure was the pot-bellied stove.
Tucked cozily around it's warmth were chairs and benches readily filled
most evenings with village men; weekends there was standing room only.
Having little source  of entertainment in those days;   opinions,
conversations, and local gossip were readily shared.  The women of the
community  were sure to do their shopping in the day-time, as evening
brought many men to the store,  the women felt uncomfortable entering
the establishment.
    Harnesses, constructed for the sturdy horses that worked the
fields, were made upstairs over the shoe shop.
    In connection with these industries the firm owns and operates a
tannery  from which 1,600 sides of leather and harness are turned out
annually."

    1910 - List of men who worked at the Boyer Shoe Shop, Victoria
Corner (ref: Gordon Haywood):
Harris COX boss  Howard COX     John CARMIA     George SOMERS
Ove BAKER        Hubert HOMES   Sanford HALETTE Sam McGUIRE
Percy YORK       Carry BAKER    Ace McNINCH     Sanford SHAW
Jack SHAY        Hez BAKER      George BAKER    William ALBRIGHT
Hartley BAKER    Hurb OLIVER    Tom LETSON      Roy LETSON
Roy WILSON       C. E. SHAW     Siot ALBRIGHT   Lawrence RADON
Ray DeWITT       Henry DeWITT                   William HAYWOOD

    1877: "Quick Work in Victoria Corner.  Benton behind yet.  Two
men in the J W Boyer Shoe Factory each bottomed & finished a pair of
tap soled thick boots in thirty minutes.   The first boot was taken
from the last (lathe?) in 12 minutes.  All the work was done by
hand." (Observer 1977)
    In about 1900 James Boyer had between 30 & 35 men employed.  They
worked in the present shoe and harness shop, tannery and on his farms.
Harris Cox was the boss in the shoe shop and Thomas Letson in the
harness shop.
    In 1901 Victoria was the only manufacturing district of its
character in the country.  That was the boot, shoe and harness
manufactury of James William Boyer & Co. industrial centre.

    On February 2, 1902, a great wind arose and tore down buildings 
and tore roofs off buildings and blew down trees.

    In the year 1902 James William Boyer died and his business passed
into the hands of his sons, F. J. Boyer & Samuel Boyer. The shoe shop 
and harness shop and store went into the hands of F. J. Boyer and the 
farm was run by Sam Boyer, who built the stone fort for his residence.  
He died about 2 years later.
    1934 F. J. Boyer has a store and a harness shop & filling station.
    His son, MacLeod, who has been his commercial traveller and clerk,
accepted a Civil Service position at Ottawa and moved there.  In his
place is Mr. James Turner as commercial traveller  and Miss Margaret
Smith as stenographer.  In the harness shop are William & Donald
Haywood.  Will Haywood continued to work at Boyer Co. 
till age 75.
    Etta recalls that she & Mariella would like to haul ourselves up
to the 2nd floor harness shop on the elevator.   This would require
that we pull the weight of the platform & ourselves by pulling on the
ropes. My grandfather worked there, and we delighted in taking a wad 
of black wax, that was used to strengthen the thread, and chew this.
Freddie Boyer confessed to me that he had done this too!


TANNERY

    At this time, Mr. George Boyer Sr., Mr. Fred Boyer's grandfather
(known as Boss Boyer), was the leading business man here.  He built a
tannery above his house, a few rods north of the shoe factory, run by
an eight  horse-power engine which turned out about 1000 sides of
harness leather annually.
    The firm also owned a store opposite the manufactury including dry
goods, clothing, hardware & groceries. This and other industries brought
Victoria into prominence as an industrial centre.
    Not far from this building was the local tannery.  Trappers
brought their pelts from the deep woods to be tanned and made into
servicable leathers.  In the cellar, vats were used to soften the
skins, and prepare them for the tanning process, down stairs.  Once
they were out of the vats,  the hides were processed into usable
leather, cut, oiled, and rolled, to be used for a variety of purposes.  
Tom Tilley at one time operated the tannery.
    Many men brought hemlock bark to the tannery.  The bark of the
hemlock tree was known  as "tanning bark" and when it was finished,
resembled leather.  The procedure started with the bark being ground
up, put in the vats to soak, then worked into a leather-like product.
The amazing thing about  this material was that it was waterproof,
making this item very popular and in much demand throughout N.B.

SAWMILL
                              
    At one time William Taylor owned a saw mill down by the mill
rocks.  The lumber mill, built on the shore of the St. John River,
with a sluice that ran to the waiting water below. Summers found many
men busily tending the needs of the mill. Generally, three drives of
logs were made each year  from Grand Falls to a point just above
Fredericton.  It burned.  About 1880 the saw mill was rebuilt and
operated by J. W. Boyer & George Smith.  In 1881 Gilbert Smith was
killed when a splinter  of wood flying from a saw struck him in the
head, killing him almost instantly.  He was the son of George Smith,
owner of the mill. The men were the father & brother of the present B.
Frank Smith. This mill was again burnt about 1890 and was not rebuilt.

BLACKSMITH SHOP & BARBER SHOP
                       
    A blacksmith shop owned by Judson York stood on the land now owned
by Charles E. Shaw.  Scott Sipprelle later owned it & at the same time
ran a barber shop in his own residence.  This blacksmith shop was
later moved up to Guy Birmingham's for a machine shed.

    The first stone building was referred to as the "Stone Store"

1877: J B Bowser opened a new stock in the "Stone Store". At one time
William Taylor kept a store in the stone fort and later Richard Holmes
kept a store there.  1883: Fire burned the store owned by J. B.
Bowser.
    The second stone building was a store built by J. W. Boyer, later
owned by Fred J. Boyer.
   Then J. B. Bowser had a store where the present store is now.  It
was burned in 1883 and then J. W. Boyer built and it is now owned by 
Fred J.Boyer.
    The stones to build the stone fort were hauled from Connell.  It
was built twice and the last time by Sam Boyer in a beautiful residence.
It was three stories high, and the windows were made of shining stained
glass.  It had stones that went to the rafters.  The fort was
surrounded by a stone fence.
    In 1919 Mansefield & Jasper Harris bought the STONE FORT from
Claude Seeley. The stone fort was once owned by the late Dr.
MacIntosh.
    On 21 April 1931, a fire broke out which destroyed the stone fort
and barn and Charles E. Shaw's house and barn.  Charles Shaw was then a
harness maker at Hartland.
    (The author is a little confused as to the chronology of the store
fort-house.  Please excuse!)

TOURIST ACCOMMODATIONS
                       
    The Moran Hotel has been mentioned earlier.

    At the present time (1934) our hotel is "Maple View Inn",
proprietors being Guy W. & Bertie Birmingham, with tea room in
connection and two overnight cabins and a filling station.  
They also rent rooms out.

    In the "depression" Thomas & Annie Tilley has four overnight
cabins called "Faith" "Hope" & "Charity or Love" (which would be across
from Gordon Haywood's home in 1994).  They had a canteen at the gate
where they sold home made ice cream.  They kept their premises  lawn
very neat.
    1946: Steve & Elinor Haywood & Jack & Mabelle Sparkes bought 
The Tea Room and overnight cabins from Guy Birmingham.  They called this
Sparkie & Steve's Place.  A couple of years later it was owned by
Steve & Elinor, & was known as Steve's Place.  This restaurant was
known for it's excellent food and perhaps more importantly, the pleasant
personalities of the owners.  However, when the Trans Canada Highway
by-passed Victoria Corner, this restaurant was forced to close.
    c1947 Ruth & Paul Smith built cabins on their property and also
served meals.
    After WW2 Lebert Fowler had a garage across from the harness shop.
    Bill Stapleton operates a trucking business from his home in
Victoria c1970's to present time.
    Randi Haywood-Brown had a photography studio here in 1980's.