Clontarf

History

The Opeongo Road in Renfrew County stands as a silent testament to the government’s failed colonization road scheme. Poor planning practices in the mid-19th century were largely to blame. This historic road, now renamed Highway 64, is littered with the remains of small communities that failed.

Colonization of the area began in part to serve the needs of the lumber industry. After the lumbermen moved in, they began to demand roads and settlements, so they could carry on with their business. They needed farms and supply centres to provide food and other provisions to the lumbermen. The lumber industry also needed suitable locales where they could set up sawmills.

The government was eager to colonize the area for reasons of their own making. They believed the future of the province lay, not in industry or urbanization, but in agriculture. The land colonization scheme was the government’s solution. It provided free land to the settlers providing they met certain conditions.

The goal of the government’s scheme was to have as much land as possible under cultivation. It was successful in the south, where the soil was rich and the growing season long. Unfortunately this portion of Renfrew County was simply not suitable for large scale farming. Where small packets of good farmland did exist, the government applied the same principals to severance and lot size as they did in the south. Rather than create parcels that made the best possible use of the land, they chose to use the same methods of land division. This resulted in cutting right through arable areas and creating lots that could not farmed in any kind of effective manner.

In order to attract settlers, the government hired agents such as T.P. French. His job was to both promote the scheme and then ensure the settlements were successful. All told, it was a risky job. Agent’s pay was based on the number of settlers they were able to attract and the success of the settlement.

History seems to have treated French unfairly. He appears to have shown genuine concern for both the needs of the settlers and the success of the new communities. French eventually settled in the Clontarf area where he opened a post office in 1858 under the name Sebastopol. The post office’s name changed to Clontarf in 1861. John McDonald took over as postmaster in 1864. A group of German families established a Lutheran church in the 1850s.

French’s efforts at building a small community initially seem to have been successful. By the mid-1860s, Clontarf was a busy place. Its population had reportedly grown to about 150. It included mainly farmers who also wore tradespeople’s hats. Some of those were William Mahon, a mason, John Manson, a carpenter, two blacksmiths, James Mahon and John Potter. Rounding things out, there were also two boot and shoe makers, A. R. McDougal and C. Sellar. Clontarf was situated on Clear Lake, which was renowned for its fishing, salmon trout in particular. There were mail deliveries to the post office three times a week.

One of Clontarf’s early business owners was Xavier Plaunt, who was operating a hotel probably as early as the 1860s. His listing periodically shows up in Vanbrugh. It’s possible the hotel was located between the two villages.

Plaunt, who was born in Quebec in 1808, arrived in Renfrew County during the early 1830s. He immediately found work as a farm hand. Within a short period of time, he acquired a farm of his own. Plaunt proved to be a very shrewd businessman. By the mid-1830s he owned most of the land on what later became the village of Renfrew.

Plaunt strongly believed that communities needed institutions in order to grow and become successful. He freely donated lands for the establishment of schools and churches and also for Renfrew’s first railway yard. Plaunt listed his religion as Roman Catholic. That does not seem to have stopped him from giving equally to all denominations. He was highly regarded for both his generosity and keen involvement in town affairs. Plaunt found a later calling as a hotel owner. During the late 1840s and 1850s he owned and operated a popular hotel in Renfrew, later known as the Albion House.

Sometime during the late 1850s or early 1860s, Plaunt and his wife chose to head west along the Opeongo. They travelled with the other Opeongo settlers and remained for a number of years. His hotel, reportedly located right on the Opeongo had a reputation for being the quietest and most comfortable on the road. The Plaunts stayed in Clontarf where they farmed and ran their hotel until sometime in the 1870s before returning to Renfrew.

By the 1880s Clontarf had acquired a Baptist church as well as a school. During that period it functioned mainly a service and supply centre. In addition to regular services such as blacksmithing and carpentry, it also offered a tannery, painting and carpet weaving. Later on, it acquired two sawmills, one owned by Wilson & Stewart and the other by F. Margin. The community also boasted a thriving industry in beekeeping. There were two apiarists, one of whom manufactured hives and sold supplies. The Raycroft family operated a stopping place at their farm just down the road.

A new St. John’s Lutheran Church replaced the older structure from the 1850s. Construction materials included timbers from an earlier, unfinished effort by a Roman Catholic group. One of the members of the Catholic chuch suffered a fatal accident during construction of the church. Believing this to be an ominous sign from the heavens above, the Catholics halted construction of the church and sold the materials to the Lutherans.

St. Clement’s Anglican Church opened 1892. It was originally a log church. Clapboard siding and cedar shingles were later additions. The original road ran in front of the church and the reforested section surrounding it. Road realignments changed all that.

Clontarf began to decline during the early part of the 20th century following the demise of the lumber industry. It continued to support a small rural population. A school, built in the 1930s, is now a private home.

The community itself is difficult to find. It stretched along the Opeongo Road without any central point of origin. The post office closed in the 1980s. The school still exists and has been converted to a private home.

Tourism is now the main attraction in the area and a general store and gas bar are still operating. Both the Lutheran and Anglican churches continue to function. The area still supports a small, but vibrant, population.