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Jee= i : + BERS LE ) Sad dora pul Ea 5 Lie 34- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, April 4, 1995 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" 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. PRINCE ALBERT, THE BOOM TOWN The two previous articles in this series focussed on the unique settlement of Prince Albert, the first major settlement in Reach. During the 1850s and 1860s, it was one of the major grain handling markets in the Canadas. Prince Albert grew from a cluster of houses named Dayton's Corners, to the most important commercial centre in this region. It began with arrival of Abner Hurd and his family in 1824, changing its name to Prince Albert in 1840 to honor Queen Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert that year. It grew to have a popula- tion of well over 800 people by 1868. Communication The expansion of the community in size and commerce gave rise to many needs. Communities such as Prince Albert did have the luxury of communication with the rest of Canada through stage coach travel (three a day by 1851) and the open- ing of the post office in 1840 with mail arriving twice weekly. One of the first considerations of such communities was for its social and religi- ous needs. The First Churches Early in any community's life, its citi- zens would gather at someone's home on Sunday and one of them would take a lea- dership role in their spiritual welfare. As the community grew, more formal religi- ous practices would emerge; the invitation to itinerant ministers and the eventual building of a church. The Methodists sent preachers out to the remote areas, holding revival meet- ings on a regular basis in this region in the early 1820s. The Presbyterians fol- lowed suit in 1828. Presbyterians Among the first ministers to visit Reach on a regular and frequent basis was J. Carruthers, a Presbyterian missionary. The circuit he travelled was from Whitby to Penetanguishene. He came to preach in Dayton's Corners (Prince Albert) several times in 1832. He was followed by Rev. R.H. Thornton. The Presbyterians built two churches in Reach in 1848. One on the 11th concession and a second at Utica. This church at #Jtica owed its establishment to John Christie. He wrote to the Marquis of Bread- albane in Scotland, complaining about the need for more churches in the new land. The Marquis responded by sending a size- able donation to the settlers. The donation was large enough to start the construction of the church and to encourage others to give money, construction materials, or their time and skill. The red brick church was built in 1848 and stands today just west of Utica as a reminder of the dedication and spirit of cooperation which so typified their time. It is still called the Breadalbane Church. Methodists There were several churches scattered throughout Reach and the surrounding 'area but the first church to be built in Prince Albert was a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, a forerunner of the United Church. It was built in 1851 and dedicat- ed on Feb. 8, 1852. The present United Church in Prince Albert was built as a Wesleyan Methodist church and dedicated HISTORICAL of Scugog Sketche by Paul Arculus on Sept. 30, 1866. The Methodists also built the first church in Port Perry in 1852. The Presbyterians of Prince Albert, not to be outdone, started to form their own congregation and in 1856 retained Rev. R. Monteath as their pastor. The next year they built their own church. It was an imposing building housing "upwards of 300" followers. It had 18 foot high walls with gothic windows. St. John's Presbyterian Church in Port Perry was constructed in 1870 and for a while, both churches attracted large congregations. Later, as Prince Albert declined, so did church attendance. The Prince Albert Presbyterian Church was torn down. In the 1857 directory of Prince Albert, there are four ministers listed as living in the community: Rev. Thomas Demorest, Wesleyan, Rev. R. Monteath, Presbyte- rian, Rev. J. Hughes, Bible Christian and Rev. J.W. Savage, Wesleyan. Anglicans Most of the residents of the area were Church of England adherents. The 1842 census indicates that 40 per cent of the residents of Reach were of that persuasion and 25 per cent Methodist. At this time in our nation's history, the Anglican church seemed to be content to minister only in the larger established urban centres. No community in Reach was considered to be in that category. Even though the Anglicans were in a majority in this community they were slow to establish their own house of wor- ship. They met in various locations in the Prince Albert area, finally settling on using the Presbyterian church for their services. One of their earliest missionaries was a Rev. Pentland who visited the com- munity on a regular basis in 1856. On July 18, 1867, the following article appeared in the Ontario Observer: Confirmation services in Smneelion ~ with the Church of England were held at the Presbyterian Church, Prince Albert on Monday, 15th. The services were conduct- ed by the Bishop of Niagara assisted by the Revs. Worrel and Forneri. The congre- gation was large and the solemn and instructive services were highly appreciated. Economic Changes In The Wind The Anglicans did not seriously begin to consider erecting their own house of wor- ship until the mid 1860s. By the time the Anglicans were ready to begin building a church, the winds of economic change were whispering throughout the area, and the sound which it whispered was "rail- road, railroad, railroad." Port Perry would be the northern termi- nal of the proposed railroad. As econo- mists fully realized, terminus settlements were the main beneficiaries in railroad economy and the settlements in between invariably paid the price. When the plans for the railroad advanced, people of vision began to look at Port Perty for their expansion plans. The Anglican elders shared this view. In 1866 they began to build their own church on its present site; North Street in Port Perry. This beautiful yet simple building has a fascinating his- tory which will be the subject of a later article. The Rev. R.S. Forneri mentioned in the quotation above became their pas- tor and stayed until 1870. Meetings, Meetings,Meetings It is interesting to note that the growing community, was an extremely active one. While the adults attended church, the children attended Sunday School. At the least possible excuse, it seems, there was a Sunday School picnic, with the accompa- nying speeches, games and food. In addi- tion to the church meetings, a number of other activities took place. An article in the Dec. 18, 1857 Ontario Observer announced the formation of a debating society. It became an active med- ium through which a variety of affairs were openly discussed. In spite of being relatively isolated the citizens of Prince Albert were, by 1857, adequately established to become increas- ingly involved in the affairs of the growing nation. That same month Joseph Gould of Uxbridge, a leading member of the Reform Party visited the community to give a talk on the Reform movement and the state of political affairs in Upper Canada. This was an obvious precursor to the election. The fact that his speech lasted for three hours gives us an understanding of the patience of the citizens. After his speech, a heated and at times rowdy argument took place among the aspiring and established local politicians. Needless to say, Mr. Holden the owner of the Ontario Observer was at that time an avowed Reformer and gave prominent cov- erage Mr. Gould's visit. At the December 1858 Railway meeting, a proposal was advanced for a railroad linking Manvers, the Town of Ontario and Uxbridge. The "Town of Ontario" was the proposed name for an amalgamated Prince Albert, Port Perry and Borelia. Those so inclined could invariably find at least one local railway meeting each week. Numerous interested parties pre- sented ideas on different routes, different methods of financing. Also reported in the Observer that day was the weekly Reach Township council meeting in the Town Hall (built in 1850) at Manchester. Topics discussed were: sidewalk construction in Prince Albert, authorization for the issue of debentures for a new school house and debate over the pay to councillors. The next week, Rev. Monteath of the Presbyterian church gave a public lecture on sacred music and yet another meeting was held about the proposed railway. The Prince Albert Brass Band held weekly practices and performed at a var- iety of functions, from Sunday School cele- brations to competitions at various fairs. Sons of Temperance The Prince Albert Division of the Sons of Temperance held regular Friday night meetings in the Methodist church. This society frequently exchanged visits with other local Temperance Societies. The Observer reported on Feb. 2, 1865: On Monday evening last, the members of Greenbank Division visited the Prince Albert Division and a pleasant evening's entertainment was the result. After the private business of the division was trans- acted, the kind lady visitors of Prince Albert furnished the entire company with a rich and substantial repast, which was partaken of with many thanks. After ample justice had been done to the viands, speeches and temperance songs followed in rapid succession until a late hour. Myrtle Division was also represented, in the person of Father Darby, an old Temperance veteran who contributed very much to the evening's enjoyment. In that same issue was a report of the Greenbank Sons of Temperance Bazaar and Concert. Agricultural Fairs A number of fairs were held in the area: seed fairs, local fairs, county fairs, fall fairs, ploughing matches and the annual North Ontario Agricultural Society Exhibitions. Many communities including Manchester, Utica, Prince Albert and Port Perry held regular quarterly fairs. Cricket Anyone? In the summer of 1860, the more ener- getic males of the community organized a cricket club and the following year were involved in a series of matches against other communities such as Cannington, Uxbridge and Lindsay. In addition to reporting all the statistics of each player in the game, the Ontario Observer of July 31, 1862, adds the follow- ing report following the game between Lindsay and Reach cricket teams at the Reach cricket grounds: After the game was concluded, a sump- tuous dinner was partaken of at Scott's Hotel; and at six o'clock the Lindsay crick- eters took their departure by boat, escort- ed by the members of the Reach club. As the boat moved from the wharf, the Lindsay club gave three cheers for the Reach club. Those on the wharf responded with three for the Lindsay club, which was assisted by the iron throat of the whistle on Messrs. Paxton's Grist Mill. Prince Albert Militia For those so inclined, there was a volun- tary militia, The Reach Volunteer Infantry Company. It held meetings and drillson a regular basis, usually weekly. In 1865, it boasted a membership of over 200 men. The Reach membership was the largest in the northern half of Ontario County including Uxbridge and Brock. This was at the height of the con- cern over the possibility of the United States turning its attention to Canada at the conclusion of the American Civil War. On March 7, 1866, a militant Irish group calling themselvés "Fenians" held a mass meeting in New York City and threatened to attack Canada and free it from British domination. On May 31, about 800 of them crossed the Niagara River and entered Canada near Fort Erie, occupying the town and cutting the tele- graph lines. - : In response, "For Queen and Country" 65 members of the Reach Volunteers marched away to Toronto on June 2, 1866, led by Captain T.C. Foreman. They marched from Prince Albert to Raglan, where they rested before continuing their march to stay overnight in Oshawa. The next morning, joined by the Green- wood, Uxbridge, Whitby and Oshawa com- panies, they boarded the train for Toronto. Once there, they were given various assignments including the guarding of banks and public buildings, including the Toronto Don Jail where a number of Fenians were being held. By coincidence, on the same day that Captain Forman led his men to Oshawa, the Fenians scored a victory at Ridgeway. In that battle, 10 Canadians were killed and 38 wounded. At Fort Erie, another battle took place but the Fenians escaped across the border into the United States. Captain Forman and his militia stayed on assignment in Toronto until June 19, after which they returned home to a heroes welcome; banners flying, banquets and even a valuable commemorative med- al. In October of that year, Captain T.C. Forman was promoted to the rank of Major. The United States government, in sup- port of its northern neighbors, refused to give any encouragement to the Fenians and so, over time the Fenian movement faded from view. Two years later, in 1868, Prince Albert was still regarded as the commercial cen- tre of Reach. But a dramatic change was about to take place. Next month: The decline of Prince Albert. 1