Fleetwood & Fleetwood Station

History

Fleetwood was a small settlement near Lake Ontario that got its start in the mid-19th century. According to official records, the first settlers came in 1865, however settlement actually took place much earlier, during the 1840s and 50s.

The origin of Fleetwood’s name is uncertain. According to some sources. Chief Fleetwood, a local native chief was the inspiration. Others believe the name originated from a village in Ireland. And yet there was a third group who called the village “The Brick Corners.”

Fleetwood’s first school opened at an early unknown date. The original school was a small log house, located just north of the church. Sometime between 1855 and 1860, they relocated the school to its present site and replaced the old log structure with a brand new brick building. Up to 100 children enrolled in the new school. Unfortunately the new school building didn’t last long.

In the 1870s, authorities condemned the school building and shut it down. Whether the workmanship was shoddy or there were serious safety concerns is unknown. The present school, SS. #6 replaced it in 1876. According to the rather strange customs of Victorian times, the boys and girls entered the main schoolroom through clearly marked segregated entrances. The Methodist Church, located just east of the old school grounds, moved north of the new school to allow for expansion of the playground and recreational area.

Thomas Russell opened a post office in 1860 however it only remained open a scant three years. On the positive side, things looked more promising by the early 1870s. There were two general stores, one owned by James Morrow and the other by William Stacey. Morrow reopened the post office in 1872. Other residents included a shoemaker, Henry Morrow.

The original Methodist church was a red brick building located on Fleetwood’s main road, Queen Street, just east of the present-day schoolhouse. In addition to the Methodists, Bible Christians also used the church for a time. Rivalry between the two denominational groups was intense. The arrangement wasn’t a happy one and didn’t last long. Henry Nugent led the Methodist Bible Class meetings in 1879. The church was busy with membership that topped 100.

In 1878, Fleetwood’s town plan showed a budding small village encompassing three roads. The main drag, Concession 12, renamed Queen Street, ran directly through the centre of town, with lots on each side. There were two cross streets, Mill Street and Mount Fall Street. A sawmill, started by the late Thomas Staples, was located on Lot 4, adjacent to Mount Fall Street on the north side of Queen, on property owned by his son, James. The Staples mill burned to the ground in 1881. Other mills, owned by the Argue and Gardiner families were located on the Leslie property, just west of the townsite. The post office was located on Lot 7, on the south side of Queen.

In 1884, William Stacey moved the post office over to his store and James Morrow began operating as a local commissioner. Prominent early settlers who helped put a stamp on Fleetwood included the Staples and Grandys. The Staples family, who included William, Thomas, and James, worked alternately as blacksmiths, carpenters and sawmill owners. They owned several pieces of land in the immediate area. Thomas also acted as an agricultural implements agent. In addition to farming, the Grandys also operated the Grandy Tavern. The community used it for township meetings until there was a town hall in nearby Lifford. By the 1880’s Fleetwood had a population of about 60. However by the end of the decade, it had grown to around 100.

In 1891 James Albertus Wood established the Fleetwood Cheese Factory, located on the 11th concession. Wood grew up in a family of cheese-makers; his father owned the Peterborough Cheese Factory, and each of his four brothers owned cheese factories in the surrounding area. In 1904, Wood sold the business to Messrs. Ryan and Renwick, who in turn sold the business to their head cheesemaker, Mr. J.C. Cummiskey, in 1910.

Fleetwood had the distinction of serving as an early conduit for the Manvers Township telephone system in Manvers Township. In 1908 a private line, set up in Fleetwood, ran directly to Dr. T.G. Brereton’s office in Bethany. Service grew slowly. By 1911 there were still only two telephone lines into Bethany; the Fleetwood line and another established by Stephen Sisson, a farm machinery salesman, who needed to communicate with the GTR station. The timing of this venture was indeed fortunate for the residents of Manvers Township as Dr. Brereton lost his life in December 1911, following a fire that destroyed his home and office. Once the system was in place, demand for service skyrocketed. This led to the formation of The Mutual Telephone System in 1915. The Manvers Municipal Telephone System (now part of Bell Canada) amalgamated all the independent telephone systems in 1921.

Fleetwood was primarily a farm-based community. In order to expand into other sectors, it needed access to a railway. The GTR had by-passed the community in favour of Franklin, a small village about 20 kilometres east. Around 1913, the CPR opened a branch line that ran from Dranoel to Lindsay. They built a small flag station about 10 kilometres east of Fleetwood and the area became known as Fleetwood Station. The CPR line remained in use until Christmas Day 1987, outliving the rival line in Franklin by almost 60 years. The line in Franklin closed in 1928.

Although the railway did a booming business for a while and provided a big boost to the local farmers, it did little to revive Fleetwood’s fortunes and the village continued on its slow descent to oblivion. In 1922, J.C. Cummiskey converted the cheese factory into a cooperative. Although initially successful, changes in farming practices led to its demise in 1929. Later on Cummiskey entered politics and served as Reeve in 1936. William Bates took over the store in 1906 and renamed it “The Bates Store,” Rural mail delivery arrived in 1914, putting an end to the post office. Later store owners included Leila Jones and Eldridge Nelson. The store lasted until 1935 when it burned down. The church survived until 1947 and the school until 1967.

At least one Fleetwood resident went on to leave his mark on the country. William D. Staples, born in Fleetwood in 1868, headed west to Manitoba to establish a farm. In 1904, he successfully ran for parliament serving as the representative for Macdonald, Manitoba. He won two subsequent re-elections and served for eight years as ab MP.

Today Fleetwood still supports a small rural and farming community. The attractively renovated schoolhouse, which still has the segregated entrances, is now a private home. The former rail bed at Fleetwood Station, 10 kilometres east, is now a recreational trail. Hikers and snowmobilers can still find small pieces of railway ties and other evidence of railway activity along the trail.