Franklin

History

Franklin, a once promising village, was located in Durham County near the township line of Cavan. It had its beginnings in the early 1850s after Francis Lynn set up a sawmill on top what is now the Bethany Ski Hills. Within a short period of time, families began to congregate around the mill and the small community was born.

The top of Devil’s Elbow, incidentally the highest hill near the boundary of the two townships, was home to the first log schoolhouse. It was a terrible location. Presumably they made that choice for the convenience of the families who worked on the hill. The school was typical of most schools from that period – in short, very primitive. The students sat side by side on long planks with a slightly higher plank in front for their slates. In that respect the school was a little better most. Students actually had a place to write, rather than using the back of the student in front of them.

William Morrow was the first teacher. His teaching style involved parading around the room and snapping a hickory stick with military precision. Corporal punishment reigned supreme and anyone who stepped slightly out of line could expect a good, hard whack. In later years Morrow upped the ante by exchanging the hickory stick for a whip. Since there was no school bell, three whip strokes on the door heralded the arrival of the noon hour.

As more settlers arrived in the area, it didn’t take long for the school to become severely overcrowded. Furthermore the settlers realized the school was in a really bad location, just like the sawmill. They decided to relocate both to the foot of the hill. People would not have to endure the steep climb up the hill or exposure to the winds and other unpleasant elements at the higher altitude.

James Fallis, who owned land on the 11th concession, sold the community a piece of land for the new school. Completed in 1864, it was a small red brick building with three windows on each side. Attendance topped 90 pupils during the winter months. The change in venue however did not result in a change of teaching methods. The hickory stick still set the standard for classroom behaviour.

One teacher James McMullen, who later became a Methodist minister, introduced music and singing in the later years. Musical training focused on volume, rather than melody or tone. Students earned praise by singing loud, rather than well. The annual Christmas concerts were a seasonal highlight for all the families.

Franklin’s first church was a small log building, located near the first schoolhouse. This ‘church’ was more of a non-denominational meeting-house, where people could hold services in groups or worship on their own. In later years Franklin boasted two churches, Wesleyan Methodist and Bible Christian.

There was a fierce rivalry between the Methodists and Bible Christians. One particularly memorable event involved a group of young men from the Bible Christians. They thought cutting all the sills beneath the Methodist church would be great sport. Fuelled by several rounds of alcoholic refreshments at the nearby tavern, one of the young men became rather loose lipped and blurted out the rather tawdry details of this little piece of vandalism. Fortunately they made repairs before any serious damage took place. Ironically both these church merged in 1884 under a newly formed Methodist Church of Canada (later United Church).

Franklin got a big boost following the construction of the Midland Railway (later GTR) in 1856-57. The railway built a small station just north of the new schoolhouse. By the mid-1860s, the community was booming. Industries included the sawmill, now run by Russell and Argue, a flour and grist mill, run by Mr. Farr, and a shingle mill, owned by William Armstrong and Elias Brook, and later Morrow and Graham. Franklin’s population surged to 100.

In 1863 William Maguire opened a post office in his busy general store. As a “Jack of all Trades” Maguire wore many hats. His other responsibilities included selling life insurance for London and Lancaster, serving as a justice of peace, and was also the town coroner, as needed. Other trades included two boot and shoemakers, John Hall and Thomas Raecroft, four carpenters, a cabinet maker, James Fowler, a weaver, J. Reid, and two taverns owned by Ellinor Mulligan and Henry Woods. James Heaslip was the town blacksmith. In 1871 Thomas Staples opened a wagon shop. By 1875 James Lytle took over the hotel/tavern, known as the Franklin House.

By the 1880s the mills had closed and Franklin shifted over to an agricultural centre. Robert Touchburn was the local grain dealer. Joseph Hadden took over the general store and post office and Joseph Britton opened a new general store alongside his blacksmith shop. Carpenters included William Ball and Wesley Jones. Telegraph service arrived at the GTR station. Of particular interest were John McCory and his stumping machine. This mechanized stump removal equipment was the first of its kind in the area. It was thrilling for residents to watch how quickly McCrory removed about 30 large tree stumps scattered throughout the schoolyard. The hotel added livery service in 1895.

In 1900 Henry Tripp took over the general store and post office. Tripp’s grandson later wrote about his thrill carrying mail bags back and forth from his grandfather’s store and the train. To him, it was a mark of trust and maturity. He had many fond memories of his grandfather’s store. It included a room large enough for square dances and an outdoor skating rink, often used for winter skating parties and carnivals. First they would deck out the rink with Chinese lanterns. Then the skaters arrived in brightly coloured costumes, all ready for the night’s festivities.

Telephone arrived in Franklin in 1911. Dr. T.B. Brereton, an enterprising innovator, set up a line in nearby Fleetwood. It ran through Franklin to his office in Bethany. Dr. J.J. Hamilton followed him later that year. The timing was fortunate. Tragically Dr. Brereton lost his life in a fire that destroyed both his home and office in December 1911. 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.

By the 1920s, the GTR was in serious financial trouble. It was heavily indebted to the Canadian government after its failure to expand into western Canada. The Canadian government nationalized the railway in 1923 and rolled it into the newly formed Canadian National Railway (CN). Besides the GTR, CN also included the Canadian Northern Railway and a group of railways in the Maritimes that were already under CN ownership. After assuming the debts of the former railways, CN was under orders to cut unnecessary costs. Duplicate and unprofitable lines were the first to go. The axe fell on Franklin in 1928. From that point on Franklin fell into a steep decline from which it was never able to recover.

Today there is virtually nothing left of the original townsite. The Bible Christian church closed at an early unknown date. The Methodist church lasted until 1931. Neither building is still standing. The post office closed in 1932 due to limited usefulness. The school lasted until December 31, 1969, when it finally closed, due to declining attendance. The building no longer exists. The Devil’s Elbow Ski Club purchased the original schoolhouse and converted it to a chalet. Other than empty lots and a few rural homes, nothing remains of this once vibrant community.