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thdesday btatf 19th l4 4 he acton free press acton ontario paob where does the dour go everyone likes to k6ep track of the money he earns hahons pagm of ffte past norvals old mill dam for years controller of credit river smashed by hurricane hazel at imperial oil accountants keep don tab on every dollar the company receives auditoiand government tax people double dude of every dollar of imperials income last year by owen clabkb hurricane hazel ripped her devastating way through ontario in october 1954 fh some sections re leasing an uncontrolled volume of water while in other cases she drained creek beds dry it was uxjthis way norval suffer ed the old mill dam was practic ally destroyed that same dam which for generations had controll ed the credit river so that its nyghty power could be utilised for industrial purposes now the course of the mill race is dry and the old mill pond is little more than a gravel bed only through historical records or by word of mouth hand ed down from father to son will future generations ever learn the storyof norval and its early indus tries when i upper canada was first settled norval district had all the beauty typical of wellwooded well watered areas it is situated in es- quesing township on the credit river and he credit you may re member was so named because let me help you fashion your figure figured stylist mild red bell along its banks the indians used to meet to barter or receive credit fortheir furs i first settler the first white settler was scot tishborn james mcnab sometimes spelt macnabb or macnab who took up land in 1820 three mc nab brothers cam to canada from vermont usa about that tune james archibald and alexander the two last applied for crown land in the scotch block but jam es was attracted by the unlimited water power at norval probably greater than in any other district north of lake ontario so it was here that james decided to setue wheje the west bank of the credit unites with the main river provid ing excellent water power for mill ing purposes the community soon became known as mcnabville and itsstdty even more than any other district is the story of its mills james mcnab built a grist and flour mill in 1828 but hjs active participating an the operation of the mills soon became impossible mcnab met with an unfortunate ac cident which considering the crude surgery of the times could easily have cost him his life his leg was crushed by a falling millstone and as axpsult had to be amputated for this reason the mill changed owners land operators many times it was i leased sold pleased and bought back again names figuring in the transactions were john barnhart general sir peter adam- son gooderham and worts and colonel mitchell p udie and emarkahle cameback finally m 1888 the mill was sold mrnbblea pur chase from general adamson in- about 52 cents went to purchase m w including crude oil we pay freight charges out of this too roughly 30 cents went in operating and administrative costs including the wages of imperials 13000 employees yes we know the ropes its a tricky business returning dirty stained clothes looking kk new it takes knowhow and we have it i main street 272 acton old mill dam at nobles mill in norval is shown in- this reproduc tion of an old photoqraph it- is believed the picture was taken shortly after jhe turn of fhe century mt eluded the generals house and 428 mr facres of land the milling business due to so many changes had reach ed a low ebb but thanks- to robert noble it made a remarkable come back noble had the null entirely refitted with new machinery and by the time it had been rolhng a short while it was said there was none to equal it in the whole of canada the flour mill had a grinding capacity of 200300 barrels of flour a day with eight run of stones driv en by a leffel waterwheel of 80 horsepower the average mill at that tune had two to th run of stones with an undetermined capac ity nobles mill did good business at gristing too and of course there was a saw mill manufacturing 200000 feet of lumber a- year and another mill known as the norval woollen and batting mill and to keep his flour mill supplied with barrels robert noble set up his- own coopers shop turning out 2s0 barrels a day which gives some idea of the amount of flour that went through the mills since at that time all flour was ship ped in barrels all these varied mills were buut by a skilled craftsman from eng land mr thomas maxted who be came well known for the excellent quality of his work the milu in later years changed onwership front noble to campbell and then to w b brown the mill was destroyed by fire in 1930 and was not rebuilt nortirvale- to catch up on the history of nor val in general we must retrace our steps the name of mcnabville was changed in 1840 when the first post office was established in the community the name norval was chosen as being the nearest deriva tive of north vale but here we must mention a cur ious fact in the ontario land re ports of 1923 and with reference to the year 1828 norval is referred to as ville de grande and also as mcnabbs mills we have failed to fjnd an local corroboration of the names so we only mention the fact for what it mqjy be worth the first postmaster at norval a gentleman who retained that office for 4 years was colonel wm clay ah irishborn bachelor through the years col clay be came a prominent man in the county he was a member of the district council when halton was still known as part of the home district in 1855 he was a member of the provincial council for hal- ton later a member of the first and from 187182 inclusive and warden of the county for 188263 and again in 1881 he once ran as candidate for the federal government but was de feated he was a school trustee and warden of st pauls anglican church besides running the post office col clay had a general store and did a good business it is easy to imagine the arguments that would take place from cracker barrel platforms in a store owned by such a popular gentleman commerce grows naturally the prosperity of ner vals main industry was responsible for the establishment of many com mercial establishments w- p wat son owned a carriage factory john holmes blacksmith and carriage shop day and western black smiths j and f hewson harness shop eli gollop general store and harness shop james mckenzie pork pickling plant robert watson baker and grocer and there were two shoemakers general wm jackson and thos hambly in the way of hotel keepers we find the names of lyons robinson thos beamish and thos mcand- rews there was a large brick school with two teacher thrc churches an orange hall and a anil shed a volunteer company under the command of captain curry had an enviable reputation for its very tint i 1 i poets corner lines to a bobbf by mary ellen vartey jusrwhet5 our lane twists home ward past the young green of the hill a vision of spring enthralled me and held me wondering still in warmth of maynoon he sang notes ageless yet ever new his wee throat seemed abursting to reach all heavens blue with joy xhat holds no ending the dear voice of god was heard along the mapled bywaj through the singing of a bird vest pocket editorial a nations wealth and economic strength lies n uidstrial plants rail transport systems agriculture natural re sources and the people- ability and willingness to work halton county council he was reeve of esquesmg from 188088 vi c mee which seemed brass band w ith the gollop brothers as bandmasters norval was another place that had a plank road it was the main road through the village and was known as the toronto and guelph plank road there used to be trot ting races up and down this old road and it was the regular route for the stage coach between toronto and guelph the early doctors were doctors johnson and cunningham who were succeeded by popular dr samuel webster he retired in 1909 upon his appointment as sheriff for the county of halton norval was a great place for re- to have a special appeal to the vil lage folk and were wellattended immoatgo iet coming to more recent times nor al was particularly fortunate in having as a presbyterian minister the rev ewen mcdonald from ism to 1935 mrs mcdonald was well liked as a ministers wife unspoiled by her fame as l m montgomery writer of ann of green gables and many other books that have never lost their appeal to girls in their teens r incidentally the presbyterian church at norval is recognized as being one or the finest samples of gothic architecture to be found anywhere in ontario the mason work and plastering was done by thos maxted and the carpentry by the laird brothers as we survey the passing scene at beautiful norval we are not surpris ed the first mcnabs were so well satisfied with their adopted home in fact it was not long before jofti mcnab father of james alexander and archibald came from vermont to make his home with his son jam es in a letter following a visit to archibald lot 2 concession 3 es quesmg his only complaint was that he was losing strength for want of the good coldwater gruel your good wife used to make for me john mcnab died 1848 and was buried at norval once named in honor of his own family reproduction rights reserved bt dill printing a publishing company jj 10 cents went in taxes to federal provincial and municipal governments this did not- include provincial road taxes about 4 cents went back into the business to telp wplwmoul equipment and provide for future needs about 4 cents went to dividends to the companys shareholders u always show up at your best t ma your chrysler provides you with such a beautiful introduction to any scene wherever peopje take your measure they know at once that you are ac customed to perfection if you arrive in this superb cae you are also recognized as being advanced in your ideas the sort of man or woman who seta the pace that others follow for the low sleek motion- sample the greatest thrill in motoring r uanufaetured in 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