from The Guide September 6, 1877
Port Hope as I found it in 1826 - Having in my last given a few reminiscences of the first settlement of
Port Hope and the Township of Hope, I pass over the events that
transpired and the progress that had been made in the long period of
time that elapsed between that period and 51 years ago and I shall now
confine myself to the recollections of that period.
[If this letter was reprinted from 1870, then the original must have said 44,
rather than 51 years for 'O T' to have arrived in Port Hope in 1826, as
William Furby did.]
The village at this time contained about 200 inhabitants, who, for guidance in all local matters,
were subjected to the laws passed at the Township meetings held,
according to the old English custom, on every New Years Day, which
affected the Township generally. The Township assessor assessed the
property of the village in common with that of the whole Township and
the taxes of both were united in one fund. Each village lot was
estimated as a quarter of an acre of cleared land and assessed in the
same proportion with that of the Township, the taxes amounting to only a
few coppers yearly. When, however, the inhabitants petitioned the
Legislature to have the village incorporated, they assessed each lot at
$25. For this act, the assessor supported by the people of the Township,
upbraided them. The village still, and for some time subsequent,
retained its appellation of Smith's Creek.
We will now commence on Ward Street. The first structure we meet is Smart's store and the Post
Office, the late David Smart, Esq, being postmaster. This building was
situated near the spot where now stands the Irish Presbyterian Church.
On the hill was his residence, the northeast part of which is still
standing, near the place where the dwelling of Mr John Riordan stands
was the residence of the late Mr Dennis Riordan.
We now ascend the hill where the Messrs Henderson, Hatton and Mitchell resided, of whom the
principal person was Mr William Henderson, who constituted the very life
of the village for merriment and genuine social entertainments.
If we except the introduction of roast beef and plum pudding - those
famous dishes peculiar to John Bull - these entertainments were got up in
the most gentilitous style of a true Irishman, and, of course, we need not
mention that a little more than a little of the 'craythur' was passed round
the festive board to keep up the old Irish hospitality. Dancing and singing
were indulged in and of course the favourite music of 'St Patrick was a
Gentleman' and 'The Shillelagh that ……… Fire'. These social festivities
brought to mind Goldsmith's inimitable couplet -
'At a dinner so various, at such a repast
Who'd not be glutton, and stick to the last?'
This preeminently characteristic place was christened 'Protestant Hill' by
Mr Thomas Henderson, brother of the hero of this little episode.
We now proceed to King Street. The first edifice with which we meet is the old schoolhouse
situated on the site where now stands the residence of the late Dr Wm
Smith. Then we approach the old St John's Church, which we shall
notice more fully in the sequel. The next is the most beautifully
picturesque residence of the place, that of Mr M F Whitehead, Esq; then
a frame house occupied by Mr Moses Stevens, the hatter, situated near
where now is the brick residence of Charles Smith, Esq, and then the
only remaining building on this beautiful street, situated at what once
was denominated the Point, nearly opposite the residence of the late F H
Burton, Esq, MP. It was removed in 1869. This house is worthy of a
passing notice. It was erected for Elias Smith, Esq, by his son Peter
and was the first frame house erected between Belleville and York
(Toronto), if it were not the first between the former place and the
head of Lake Ontario. Mr Smith sent goods from Montreal by Mr E Collins,
who occupied this building as a store, the first establishment for the
accommodation of the settlers, and also as a school, where the youth
first received instruction in their country's vernacular. Mr Smith,
together with his family, arrived in 1798 for a permanent settlement and
took up his abode in this house, which had been fitted up for his
reception. In this house the writer heard the first hymn sung in a
private dwelling in the village. So much for this old unobtrusive
pristine mansion - the recipient of so many prized incidents
On Mill Street were two houses, the property of Mr W Lott, opposite where the ruins of Mr N
Winter's now is, thence to the grist and saw mills of the late J D
Smith, Esq. The western portion of the present building constituted the
grist mill, the saw mill adjoining it on the north side. Mr Smith's
residence was on the opposite side of the street and his store (known as
the 'red' store) was a little north thereof. Farther on was Stevens'
hatter shop, next to which was the store occupied by the eccentric T T
Orton, auctioneer, etc and the shop of Mr Jacobs, watchmaker. The
present Royal Hotel was the first brick house erected in the village. It
was erected by the late John Brown, Esq, and was then occupied by Mr
Mark Hewson, better known by the familiar sobriquet of 'uncle Mark'.
Next came the old log building situated on the hill in the rear portion
of the late Mr Might's premises. It was intended for a malt house. The
pretty little 'Forest Island' in the creek opposite the brick tavern
presented an enchanting scene with its beautiful verdant drapery and did
much to relieve any monotony that might be discernible in this part of
the village. It was demolished to make room for the stores of Mr R N
Waddell, Esq, the present sheriff of these United Counties.
Crossing the bridge, the pedestrian comes to Queen Street, meeting, where Mr Gillett's store now
is, the blacksmith shop of Mr Thum. On this side of the street were
several manufacturing establishments among which was the old blacksmith
shop erected by Mr James Hawkins, Sr in which axes and scythes were
formerly manufactured and which boasted at that early day, a trip hammer
propelled by water power. We shall refer to this establishment again.
Farther on was reached the wool carding establishment of Mr Paul
Hayward; the wooden chair-bottom and wheel-head manufactory of Messrs
Sawyer and Phelps - the only one in British North America at that time -
where a large number of pails were finished weekly and of quality and
durability unequalled by any made now-a-days; and Mr Downey's cut nail
factory, the machinery of which had been manufactured by the proprietor,
who turned out great quantities of nails daily. These works were all
propelled by water power, the privileges being situated on the west side
of the creek, opposite the grist mill and being leased from J D Smith.
On the west side of the street where the ruins of Mr Hunter's stave
factory now are, were the residence and tannery of James Robertson, Sr, Esq.
Where the machine shop, foundry, etc of Helm and Nicholls is
situated, was the first distillery in the neighborhood, erected by J D
Smith, Esq. To the north of the Market Building was a house occupied by
a barber and the next a two story dwelling erected by James Sculthorp,
Esq, of which we shall speak by and by. We next approach the residence,
store and distillery of John Brown, Esq, south of where now is erected
Devlin's Hotel.
On Walton Street the first building is the store occupied by Messrs Sawyer and Phelps; a small
building adjoining occupied by Mr Davis, tailor; then some wooden stores
being erected by Mr Robertson; on the adjoining lot, owned by Mr Brown,
was the blacksmith shop of Mr Adam Hawthorne; then the dwelling of
William Brogdin, Esq; on the railroad was Mr Rosebury's tavern; then Mr
Finkle's store, where Mr Quay's grocery store is; on the corner of
Walton and John Streets was the old tavern kept by Mr George Walker, whose
aged widow is still living. On the opposite corner was the
fanning mill establishment of Mr Thos Harper; then the newly erected
residence of Mr John Cundle, the first butcher in the place, situated
where the St Lawrence Hotel now stands; the next, a small house
belonging to Mr Sculthorp, where the feed store occupied by Mr W E
Beamish stands; in the rear of which was the old Red Tavern, which will receive
our attention at some future period; then come the 'Sparrow's
Nest', which was the cooper shop and residence of Mr Sparrow, belonging
to Mr Brogdin and situated where now stands the brick house in which Dr
Clemesha resides; the house adjoining the residence of Dr Powers was Mr
Christopher Mitchell's blacksmith shop and that to the west his
residence; the next house we meet is that of Mr Harry Adamson, the
tailor, now occupied by Mr Petrie, the brick wings of which were erected
by Mr Knapp. Now comes the residence of the eccentric and erratic T T
Orton and that of the inimitable 'Old Shoemaker Smith', the former where
the residence of Peter Robertson, Esq, is and the latter where that of
James Robertson, Esq, stands.
Returning down the north side of the street, the first house we meet with is the residence of the late
Mark Burnham, Esq, occupied by Mrs Burnham; then the house where Mr John
Hewson resided; then the one belonging to John Saxon where the late M
Perks' brick buildings are; next to Addy's shop is situated a house
belonging to a Mr Wood; and in the rear of Mr Russell's cabinet
wareroom, the residence of Nathaniel Webster, Esq. At the corner of
Walton and Cavan Streets are the Messrs Fowkes' store and the residence
of Mr Erasmus Fowke; a little to the east there was an unoccupied
blacksmith shop. In the fall Mr Brogdin got up his block of wooden
stores on what we called the 'frog pond', where now is erected the brick
block belonging to W S Tempest, Esq; next a house erected by Mr Mark
Hewson and a small dwelling near the bridge constituted all of Walton
Street.
We will take Cavan Street next. The first buildings we meet are Fowkes' brewery and distillery.
The only other buildings until we come to Brown's mills (afterwards
Molson's but now lying in ruins) were Smart's distillery on the premises
now owned by William Craig, Esq; and Lott's dwelling on the premises of
Edward Dodd, Esq. Besides his grist and saw mills, Mr Brown had a
linseed oil and cake establishment, but for want of sufficient material
it was discontinued. He had also the cut nail machinery which he
purchased of Mr Downey fitted up here, where he manufactured large
quantities of nails.
The only houses on John Street were the residence of the late Mr Lee Thum to the south and Mr N
Sissons, and the tannery of Wm Sissons on the opposite side, and Mr Paul
Hayward's dwelling house on the lot adjoining the Bank of Ontario. There
was also a house in course of erection where now stands the brick
residence of the late James Robertson, Sr, Esq, and the dwelling of the
widow of Elias Smith, brother J D Smith, Esq, denominated 'Aunt Betsy's
house', situated near the site of the Grand Trunk station.
There was a weekly mail between Montreal and York, hitherto carried on horseback by Mr Jonathan Ogden,
a resident of Port Hope, who this year commenced a mail stage. He
received the mail as before at the Carrying Place (Trenton) when brought
up the Bay of Quinte from Kingston.
This was the first year in which cash was paid for wheat. Its price was two shillings and sixpence
per bushel. Tea was eight shilling and nine pence per pound, sometimes
ranging as high as ten shillings. Dry goods and hardware were a hundred
percent more than now. Window glass (English) was $18 per box of 100
feet.
The only educational establishment in the village was the old schoolhouse on King Street,
presided over by an elderly person who was in the habit of carrying his
whiskey flask with him to school where he became so badly intoxicated
every afternoon as to be totally unfitted for the performance of his
duties, the children being left to amuse themselves or go home, as they
thought proper. We regret to say that intemperance was too prevalent
among teachers at the period of which we speak. Any person was thought
qualified to teach 'the young idea how to shoot'. This pedagogue was,
however, dismissed and an improvement commenced to dawn and gradually
progress.
The old St John's Church (now St Mark's) erected by the late John D Smith at his own expense, was the
only place of worship in the village and its burying ground was a
common, unfenced. Even the streets, we were informed, had been the
recipients of the settlers' remains. There was no resident clergyman and
we were indebted to the gratuitous services of the Rev Mr Bethune, the
Incumbent of St Peter's Church, Cobourg, who preached every Sabbath
evening until 1830 when in response to a petition presented by the
inhabitants to the Lord Bishop of Montreal, the Rev Jas Coghlan was
sent. He was succeeded by the esteemed pastor, the Rev Jonathan Shortt.
Such was Port Hope in 1826.
Early in the fall of this year the village was visited by a temperance advocate who urged the
necessity of organizing a temperance society and who stated that his
rules and regulations prohibited the use of whiskey, brandy and gin as
beverages but permitted the use of wine and beer. One of our quaint
inhabitants shrewdly replied that it was too expensive an institution
for him so he therefore could not comply with its conditions. He did not
succeed in organizing a society.
The mind, when thus rambling back to scenes of earlier days, is presented with so many interesting
incidents witnessed by our self or related by others, that we shall,
though contrary to our first intention continue our cursory remarks.
There are matters connected with the politics of the time to which we
refer inadmissible in these reminiscences, yet if the political history
of the County of Durham, when part of the old District of Newcastle, was
impartially delineated even for the election in 1827, when Charles
Fothergill and John D Smith were returned to the House of Assembly of
Upper Canada held at Little York (Toronto) until the last election under
the old election law, and just after the union of the Upper and Lower
Provinces, when Durham was emancipated from the thralldom of the rival
County by the return of John T Williams as its representative - here
would be presented a lesson worthy of the study of the patriotic
statesman and political economist.