Cheeseville

History

Cheeseville, despite its rural folksy name, was a small but thriving industrial farm community during the late 1800s. At its height it boasted a cheese factory, saw and grist mills, and a brick factory.

The community began as a simple group of farms settled mainly by Irish immigrants. A small hamlet jumped to life around 1884 after Thomas Elliot opened a steam powered cheese factory on his farm. The factory provided substantial benefit to the farmers who finally had a nearby outlet for their excess milk. As a result, the factory was an instant success.

The cheese factory was a seasonal operation only, from June to late October. Milk deliveries came from the surrounding farms by horse and wagon. Armstrong Mills, a company in nearby Markdale produced the boxes used for packaging. The company’s early directors included John and Thomas Boland from Vandeleur, John Hutchinson, H.D, Irwin and James Wright. However, butter must have been a more lucrative commodity than cheese. In 1902, the factory retooled itself into a creamery and switched from cheese to butter manufacturing.

Buoyed by the success of the factory, James Lackey purchased two acres of land from Thomas Elliot in 1892, where he built a dwelling and added a sawmill. Around the same time, Elliot expanded the augmented his cheese factory business by adding a grist mill. It was Lackey’s daughter Margaret who suggested the name “Cheeseville” because of the popular factory.

By comparison, Brickville would probably have been a more appropriate choice for the fledgling community. The Bowler Brick Yard actually predated the short-lived factory by a couple of decades. William Bowler first opened the brick yard in 1868. At the beginning brick production was very slow. By 1869 Bowler had produced enough brick to build a house in nearby Markdale. Demand for his product picked up quickly. By 1881, volumes were so high that Bowler added a Martain Brick Machine. It had capability of molding 20,000 bricks per day. The Bowler yard provided bricks for almost every brick house in Markdale and the surrounding area. Bowler bricks found their way as far north as Chatsworth and as far south as Dundalk. That lasted until 1915, when the brick yard closed.

Cheeseville’s road maintenance came under the heading of “Statutory Labour.” Essentially that applied to all property owners. Whoever owned property along the road had to perform a certain amount of labour each year on road maintenance.

Provincial taxes to cover road maintenance and repairs were still in the future. A “road master” was responsible for assessing the condition of the roads. He, in turn, would assign each farmer their share of maintenance. The road closed during the winter with transportation limited to sleighs and cutters.

Perhaps it was for the above reason that Cheeseville’s residents decided they needed a school of their own. Road conditions were probably quite treacherous during the winter. Parents were likely uneasy about their children travelling to school in Cherry Grove. Planning began in December 1897. A new school, USS 14, Artemesia and Euphrasia, opened in September 1898. Miss Hawkins was the first teacher.

The site chosen for the attractive new brick schoolhouse was on the southeast corner of Lot 101. The building measured 8.5 x 9.7 metres and included 16 desks, plus a desk for the teacher. Total cost for both the construction and furnishings was $799. The schoolhouse saw a number of improvements over the years. Those included a library in 1907, a wind-break in 1939, new desk and piano in 1944. Electricity and flush toilets finally arrived in 1946. The school had a long run, until 1965. Centralization of the school system finally led to the end of the one-room schoolhouse.

Cheeseville never had a post office or church. The hamlet was located right next to Markdale which offered all the basic services one could possibly need. There was a small dry goods store on the Benson farm for a while, and later a butcher and slaughtering business. Social activities included dances, card games and sports. The community produced one prominent local politician, John Davis. He served as councillor, deputy-reeve, and later as reeve for 22 years.

Today Cheeseville has returned to its roots as a farming area. Other than the farms and a number of century homes, all that remains is a proud sign and the handsome schoolhouse, now a private home.