Eskdale

History

Eskdale was a tiny settlement comprised of little else besides a post office and school. Its unusual name is Scottish in origin and translates into “ash grove.” The post office was located right on the township line between Bruce and Kincardine. It moved back and forth between townships several times during its existence.

Hugh MacKinnon donated land for an early log school, U.S.S. #3, Bruce and Kincardine. The school, located on the southwest corner of Lot 11, Concession 1, was there as early as 1854. Daniel McEwen from nearby Sinclairs Corners was the first teacher.

Although very little information is available on this early school, it was likely similar to most schools of that era, which were both crude and primitive. For example, walls were plain and unpainted and the windows were small and inadequate. Heating came from a large box stove in the centre of the room. There were no blackboards or desks. Seating came in the form of planks with no back support, which was extremely difficult for the younger students. If attendance was unusually large, it was ‘standing room only’.

The Eskdale community was quite unhappy with the USS system, mainly due to poor planning and a lack of adequate school facilities. A new frame school, built in 1873, featured a number of improvements. For one thing, there were actual real desks. On the downside, two pupils had to share a desk and they were still too large for the younger students. That led to more new desks in 1885. One nice feature was a dug well, replaced by a brick lined well in 1892. One notable enhancement that came later was brick facing. Although the new school was still on the Bruce side, it was located a little further west on Lot 15.

Eskdale’s post office seesawed back and forth between townships with each new postmaster. H.P. Chapman opened the first post office in 1875 on the Bruce side. Donald Cameron took it over the following year and moved it to the Kincardine side. It closed for a little over a year between 1883 and 84. William Grierson then took it over and it bounced back over to the Bruce side. In the meantime, Saddlebag mail delivery finally came to an end. A stage from Tiverton arrived thrice weekly with the mail. True to pattern, Mrs. Janet Scott took over as postmaster in 1887 and (not surprisingly) moved the post office back to the Kincardine side. Not one to break from past practices, Angus McFadyen took over in 1897 and moved the post office back to Bruce. Rural mail delivery arrived in 1912, likely to the relief of everyone.

Eskdale was mainly a farming area and offered little in the way of shops or businesses. It was located about halfway between Tiverton and Glamis and residents would have travelled to one of those two centres. A stage travelled three times a week between Tiverton and Eskdale.

During the 1880s, there were two sawmills, one operated by William Johnston, located on Lot 16, Concession 1 on the Bruce side and the other by Angus Campbell, located on Lot 16, Concession 9 on the Kincardine side. Residents had to travel to Kincardine in order to find the nearest church. Eskdale boasted a population of about 50 during the 1890s.

The school saw a number of improvements over the years. Those included redecorating in 1910 and artesian well, 265 feet (80 M) deep, in 1911. Later improvements were a new porch in 1936, toilets in 1937 and hydro in 1949. The Eskdale school was the only institutional building in the area. Consequently, a variety of other groups used the building for a myriad of social and community events. These included bridal showers, wedding receptions, box socials and parties, school concerts and occasionally for religious services. Centralization of the school system finally led to its closure in 1965.

The school, now a private home, is all that remains of this one-time postal and farming hamlet.