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"A Family Tradition for 128 Years" nr hy PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, Sept. 13, 1994 - 7a HISTORICAL Sketches by Paul Arculus Sketches of Scugog is a historical column written by local resident and historian Paul Arculus and published in the Port Perry Star the first issue of each month. [J] ® J Beginning in about 1830, a wave of political and social consciousness swept over Britain reaching out to all the corn- ers of the English speaking world. The changes and reforms resulting from this movement became an inspiration for the world. Britain during that era reached the height of its greatness. A flowering of democracy began to take - place. This flowering was a political and social revolution which became a pattern for the rest of the world. It involved: a giant leap forward in the evolution of responsible government; an immense surge in social awareness and reform; humanitarian advancement and concern for the underprivileged; the beginnings of free and compulsory education and, a blossoming of art, literature and music. The whole of Britain was undergoing unprecedented change as the Industrial Age created new wealth and technological change in much the same way as the age of electronics has affected us in the late 20th century. The major problem was that it drew masses of people into the cities and away from the land creating problems in housing, poverty, disease and crime. These changes produced serious social and economic problems for all but the extremely wealthy, but fortunately, it was a time when sensitive leaders from all walks of life responded to the challenges which arose. For the first time in history, great strides were made in efforts to over- come social injustices. Significant inspira- tion and support was played by a Royal Family which gave a role model of order, dignity and caring. In 1832 the First Reform Bill was passed, doubling the size of the electorate. Prior to this Bill only the extremely wealthy landowners had the right to vote. The 1832 Reform Bill was the dramatic first step which led to a series of Acts of Parliament in 1867, 1884 and 1918. Finally in 1928 all those over the age of 21 were enfranchised. The Ballot Act of 1872 brought the secret ballot into law, thus protecting voter from pressures exerted by landlords and employers. Even in our own age, today, the secret ballot is still rejected and feared by some power hungry union leaders. Trade Unions also began in this era. The Reform Bills were accompanied by various social and humanitarian Acts of Parliament. These included the Factory Act of 1833 which forbade children under the age of 13 to work more than nine sisters and Lewis Carroll. Artists such as Constable and Turner were at the height of their careers. To accommodate art treasures, the National Gallery was opened in 1838 and the National Portrait Gallery in 1856. To encourage the inquiring mind, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum and the Geological Museum were all opened in the early part of Victoria's reign. Gilbert and Sullivan created their delightful operas while Elgar, and Parry wrote in a variety of musical forms. Here in Upper Canada, most people were scattered in isolation about the countryside, time of his death in 1851 it had become known as Scugog Village. Of all the significant settlements in Scugog, Port Perry was among the last to get established. Settlements were well underway on the sites of what are now the communities of Prince Albert, Manchester, Utica, Epsom, Blackstock and Caesarea. All of these well before the present day Port Perry had more than one settler's family. Reuben Crandell, the first permanent white settler in Reach had arrived in 1821. He had settled just east of what is now Manchester. Three years later, Abner Heard settled east of Crandell and of Scugog built on the present Port Perry waterfront area. In that year Elias Williams purchased lot 19 on the 6th Concession, a 200 acre property which included the present Port Perry waterfront and extend- ed inland to include whole of the down- town area. . In 1844 Peter Perry purchased the pro- perty from Williams and began to develop and promote it as a centre for the timber trade. He built a trading post on the site of the present Re/Max Real Estate office. He opened this store in 1846 and placed Chester Draper in charge. But by this time the entire area was alive with growth. Prince Albert was a intent on clear- ing their land and trying to scrape a living from the stub- born soil. J However the TT news of these uh dramatic events = did reach them = from time to time. For most people, the fact that they were free to improve their lives slow- : 114 wll ly and gradual- Me A ---- --_-------- ca ly without any interference, presented them with a feeling of contentment. The business- men and politi- cians in the larger and more buildings are: 1. The Joseph Bigelow store. It contained a general store and the first Post Office in Port Perry. Bigelow was the first postmaster. This is on the present site of Settlement House. 2. McMichael's store also a general store on the site of the Laurentian Bank. 3. Jones Brothers' store. They bought and sold grains and feed. 4. Whitaker and Crandell. Yet another general store. On the PORT PERRY. vy Sg nd of Port Perry in 1853. From left to right the established set- .| Site of Emiel's. 5. Charles S. Jewett's boots and shoes store. The present C.1.B.C. is located here. 6. William White's Planing Mill on tlements did get the site of the present Latcham Centre. 7. Mason and Phillips Hotel. This building was the original store established by Peter Perry in involvedin 1846. When he died in 1851, the building was purchased by John Phillip who added on to the building and established it as a hotel. It affairs of state. * was later expanded again and became the St. Charles Hotel. The enlarged building was destroyed in the 1884 fire but a new brick airs of 8 . building, still the St. Charles Hotel, was built on the site and is still located there as Re/Max Realty. In the centre background is the c In Upper . steamship "The Woodman," the first steamship on Lake Scugog. It was launched in 1851. anada, Peter Perry, the founder of Port Perry, and William Lyon Mackenzie were in the forefront of political reform. Mackenzie had visited England and had returned to York (Toronto) frustrated at the slow rate of political change in Upper Canada. Perry although frustrated himself, believed that change would come through the British parliamentary sys- tem. In fact after his election in 1824, Perry moved or seconded almost every bill which advocated any aspect of politi- cal reform. As Mackenzie's patience ran out, he became an advocate of an armed upris- ing and thereby lost Perry's support. Mackenzie's 1837 Rebellion was a failure but it did succeed in drawing England's hours a day and the attention to Mines Act of 1842 pro- Canada's hibited from employ- Reuben Crandell's home problems. ment underground, One of the children under the age was used as a tavern and leaders of of 10 and all women. : Britain's mist he enn formed the basis of anew po et Hours Act" was passed. gattlement which became was John This prevented employ- . Lambton, the ers from working known as Borelia. Earl of anyone more than 10 Durham. His hours a day. Abolit-ion of Slavery was also made law in 1833. In response to problems of health and sanitation, in the 1840s London became the first city of its size in the world to lay extensive sewers throughout the city. In the early hours of the morning of June 20, 1837, Princess Alexandina Victoria was informed of the death of her uncle, King William the Fourth of England and that now, at the tender age of 18, she was the Queen of England. The accession of a young woman to the throne of England was a popular and romantic symbol of hope and change. This was the age of Dickens, Browning, Tennyson and Trollope, Macaulay and Carlyle, Charles Darwin, the Bronte desire to see responsible government led him to Upper Canada in May of 1838. He issued his Durham Report in 1839. In it he rec- ommended that Upper and Lower Canada be united. This resulted in the Act of Union in 1840. He also suggested that a three tier system of government be established; a Governor General rep- resenting the Crown, an appointed Upper House and a fully elected Lower House. After Perry's defeat in the 1836 elec- tion he began to immerse himself in the development of his business ventures. One of these ventures involved the beginnings of a small settlement on the south west shore of Lake Scugog. At the began the settlement of which shortly grew into Prince Albert. Between 1828 and 1834, a number of settlers arrived to begin the communities of Jockey Hill (Epsom), McKercher's Corners (Utica), Greenbank and Fitchett's Corners (Manchester). In 1828, work began on building two roads into Reach. The road from the Lake Ontario waterfront to the settle- ment at Prince Albert and beyond was named Simcoe Street. West of that the road from Windsor Harbour (Whitby) to Fitchett's Corners and then east to join Simcoe Street was called the Scugog Rd. These two roads became increasingly significant in the settlement of this region through the movement of people and goods. Settlers used these roads as they ventured to join existing communi- ties and to develop new settlements in the Scugog Basin and beyond. Simcoe Street was extended to the Nonquon River. This new portion of the road follows the present road north from Queen but veered east of the present road just beyond the 12th Concession. It led to a steep and difficult crossing of the Nonquon. In 1849, the road was relocat- ed to cross the Nonquon at a shallower point, at what is now Seagrave. In 1970 a new main road was established in its present location almost halfway between Seagrave and the original road. In 1832, Reuben Crandell moved his family to a 200 acre parcel of land a few kilometers north of his first homestead. He built a new homestead just west of the intersection and a few metres east of the present Beer Store. His new property was at the intersection of the two 1828 roads; Scugog Road and Simcoe Street. He used his home as a tavern and it formed the basis of a settlement which became known as Borelia (now the west- ern portion of Port Perry). It was not until 1843 that a home was booming settlement of 200 souls. It had a church, five stores, two taverns, eight oth- er businesses and a post office. The first permanent white settler arrived in Cartwright in 1833. George Hall came from Ireland in 1831, settling in Cobourg. He purchased the eastern half of lot 23, Concession 5 of Cartwright in 1833. He immediately cleared two acres and built a log cabin there. He then jour- neyed back to Cobourg to marry Jane Hamel in May 1834. Together they set up their home in Cartwright and eventually raised four sons and five daughters. The present village of Blackstock was originally called Tooley's Corners. Tooley operated a hotel on the south-west corner of Blackstock where the cenotaph is now located. The community changed its name to Williamsburg and, in 1887, to Black- stock. George Tait Blackstock, after whom the community was named, was a lawyer who twice ran as M.P. for Durham West. Caesarea was referred to as Lasherville, after an inn keeper, John Lasher. Beginning in 1845, he ran a ferry from Purdy's Mill at what is now Lindsay to his settlement on the eastern side of Lake Scugog. The name of the settlement was changed to Caesarea after its first settler, James Caesar who settled there in 1837. At this time the only link with Scugog Island and Cartwright beyond from Reach was a scow which crossed the western portion of the lake from the Port Perry waterfront to the Island. Far more traffic travelled the route from Port Hoover and other settlements at the north end of the lake to Caesarea. In winter, this was a major thoroughfare over the ice. In 1856 a floating bridge was construct- ed. As a result of wind and ice, it proved to be purely temporary but did serve its purpose for the limited amount of traffic of the time. Next month: More on the early settle- ments of the Scugog Basin. Prom