Arkwright

History

Arkwright, an early Queen’s Bush settlement, began with the rather improbable name of Ballyloughguthrey. The name is Irish in origin. Irish settlers, who began arriving in 1852, likely chose the name because they loved the sound of the Irish tongue. Not everyone agreed, particularly those who came from other parts of Ontario. “Arkwright” finally won the battle. Charles Rankin, an Englishman and surveyor, may have chosen the name. His inspiration was Sir Richard Arkwright, an English inventor.

Once the settlers had established their homes, the next items were a church, school and post office. The school, S.S. #6 Arran, came first in 1856. The first schoolhouse, built of logs with a cottage roof, and benches fastened to the wall was typical of early pioneer schools.  Early teachers included Edward Lunn, Mrs. Woodside, John Jameson, William Harron and S.G. King, who survived in that position for 20 years. The school building lasted until 1902.

A post office followed the next year with Joshua Faulkner serving as the first postmaster. From 1864 to 1874, Arkwright went through a series of short-term postmasters until 1874 when William Sithes took over the store and post office. Sithes remained at his post for over 40 years.

The church took a little longer. During the 1850s, both the New Connexion and Wesleyan Methodists had saddlebag ministers travelling through the area. Whenever one of the ministers made a long-awaited appearance, a settler’s home typically served as a temporary church. In 1861 both groups built churches. The New Connexion Church was located on Lot 15, Concession 6 on the south site of the village. The Wesleyan church was just north of the village on Lot 16, Concession 7.

Both Methodist groups merged in 1874 and moved into the New Connexion church, possibly because it was bigger. Fire destroyed the church the following year. Since the Weslyan church was too small to accommodate the burgeoning congregation, the congregation decided to build a brand new church on the same location. The congregation finally had their new church, a handsome white brick building, in 1885. By then, both congregations were part of the Methodist Church of Canada. A later addition was a parsonage, located next to the church.

In 1875 Arkwright became part of a circuit that included Mount Hope, Ebenezer and Centenary, with the parsonage located in Arkwright. Following church union in 1925, the church became known as the Arkwright United Church.

By the early 1870s, Arkwright was developing into a lively and important community. A township hall, erected in 1862, brought local decision-making right into the heart of the community.

Businesses included two taverns owned by James Allan and William Yates, two stores, one owned by Joseph Robertson, and the other by John Itter, which also housed the post office, a blacksmith, three shoemakers and a tailor. There was even a physician, John A. Burgess, MD. John and Thomas McLaren operated a sawmill. By then Arkwright’s population was about 100. Frank Miller built the church in Ebenezer in 1876, showing how closely tied many of these communities actually were. .

Although the demographics might have changed somewhat by the 1880s, records still suggest a rapidly growing community.  Mainstays in the village included Joseph Collard, and John Corbett (JJ) both blacksmiths, and Godfried Knaus, a shoemaker who had been there since the 1870s and possibly earlier. Two hotels opened to accommodate the busy stage traffic through the village. There were two general stores, one owned by Joshua McKim and the other by William Sithes, who also ran the post office. Residents were fortunate to be located less than 10 kilometres from the GTR station in Tara. Consequently mail was brought in daily by stage. There was also a daily stage to Port Elgin, some 17 kilometres west.

The centre of the village was located at the crossroads of Concession 7 and Lots 15/16. The southeast corner was home to the store and post office. The McKim store was located across the road and a little further east. One of the hotels was on the northwest corner. That hotel was home to a number of other businesses over the years including a butcher shop at the rear, a barber shop and a combination home and grocery store. On the west side of the hotel was the Hudson Brothers wagon shop and Corbett’s blacksmith shop. Directly across the road was a cooperage and shingle mill, owned by George Allis. The town hall was on the north side of the main road, east of the crossroads. The church was located south of the crossroads and the schoolhouse slightly east of the townsite.

By 1895 the small township hall was showing its age. The Township Council had authorized numerous repairs over the previous 30 years including painting and repair to the windows. They finally came to the conclusion that it would be a better choice to replace the hall with a more substantial brick structure.

The Purple Hill Lodge, LOL 612, was first established around 1855. Meetings took place in a log building, situated on Lot 13, Concession 6 until 1880. From 1880 to 1893, the group met in a new hall located on William Tippin’s farm on Lot 11, Concession 9. The land was free but the members volunteered their labour and covered the costs of building a small hall. In 1892, they gave up the building on Tippin’s farm and purchased the old Wesleyan Church at a cost of $40. They continued to meet there until 1970, when the lodge with merged with LOL 203 in Tara. 

When the Wesleyan Church was first established in 1861, the congregation added a small cemetery. It lasted for approximately10 years until the Methodist churches merged before falling into disuse. Following years of neglect, most of the inscriptions on the stones were unreadable, with a few exceptions from the 1860s. The cemetery, known as both the “Arkwright Wesleyan Cemetery” and later the “Orange Cemetery” can be found on Lot 16, Concession 7.

By the late 1800s, it was painfully obvious that Arkwright needed a new school. The old school, besides being badly out of date, was bulging at the seams, so much so that in 1890 trustees began charging non-residents 40 cents per month. The community finally decided to take action in 1902, by issuing $2600 worth of debentures to cover construction costs. Henry Urstadt completed the brickwork and John Traub, the woodwork. The new school was located somewhat further east of the old one. One big improvement was the installation of a furnace in 1910, thereby sparing students further discomfort from the old pot-bellied stove. Instead of scrapping the old school building, the community sold it for $20 to a local farmer who moved it to his property.

Arkwright saw further changes during the early part of the 20th century. One big change was the formation of the Women’s Institute in 1908. William Sithes, the store owner and postmaster who served Arkwright for over 40 years, passed away in 1915. Following his death, the post office closed and rural mail delivery arrived. The store continued operating for many years. Later owners included the Brinkmans, the Strongs and Orval Hopkins. Fire destroyed the store in the 1930s. A gas station replaced it.

Both the church and school both saw modest improvements. These included a new shed for the church in 1913 and an organ in 1918 and a new well for the school in 1921. The well was anything but efficient and students still had to get their water from a nearby farm. The basement received a coating of cement in the 1920s.

By the 1920s and 30, Arkwright like many of the surrounding communities, had become involved in competitive sports. The church shed found new use as a skating rink. Winter sports included hockey and curling. In 1931, Arkwright joined a football league comprised two other communities, Chesley and Mildmay. The Arkwright Puzzlers were Arkwright’s proud addition. From 1931-52, the Arkwright men’s team competed in the North Bruce Softball League. There were also separate men’s and women’s baseball teams that lasted into the 1940s.

One Arkwright native who deserves mention is Sir William H Hearst. Born on a farm near Arkwright in 1864, Hearst studied law and then headed north to Sault Ste. Marie where he set up a successful law practice. He was politically active for many years as a Conservative. Hearst eventually ran for the provincial legislature. After winning a seat in 1908, he rose quickly to become premier. Hearst won the big prize in 1914. His success didn’t last long. The United Farmers of Ontario, headed by Ernest Drury, defeated the Conservatives in 1919.

Hearst definitely had a mixed record as premier. On one hand his government banned the retail sale of alcohol in response to the temperance movement. On a more progressive note, women attained the right to vote provincially during his premiership. Following his defeat Hearst remained in Toronto and returned to the practice of law. A later Conservative premier reinstated the sale of alcohol, following Drury’s defeat.

The school grounds underwent significant alterations during the 1930s. The first change involved cutting the hill in front of the school. That left the school high above the roadway. The next change involved adding steps and railings to improve access to the front entrance. Other upgrades included hydro, plumbing and an inside staircase to the basement. Centralization of the school system in the mid-1960s led to the closing of the schoolhouse.

Unfortunately lack of a railway during Arkwright’s early days prevented it from attracting any major businesses or industries. This contributed to its slow but steady decline during the mid to latter 20th century.

By the 1960s and 70, things were beginning to wind down. The general store closed. By the end of 1972, the church shut its doors after 98 years. The remaining congregants joined the church in Tara.

Arkwright was a victim of declining rural population. Although it was a busy stopping place and supply centre in its day, there was nothing to sustain it in the long term. Once roads improved, people gravitated to larger centres and smaller communities like Arkwright quietly shut down.

Today Arkwright remains a quiet rural backwater with a handful of residents. A large gas station/auto body shop, built in 1959 still stands, although its use is unknown. The hotel, town hall, schoolhouse and church are all in use as private homes. Unfortunately two important buildings didn’t survive. Those were the Orange Lodge, dismantled in 1979 and the Wesleyan Church.