Jamestown

History

Stage travel during the mid-19th century was nothing short of horrible. The roads – if you could call them that – were little more than rutted dirt trails, difficult even for horses. Stages at best could only manage a few kilometres per day. Eventually, people established small stopping places with inns and taverns along the roads. They offered welcome respite for the injured and weary travellers.

Jamestown, in Huron County, began as a small stopping place. The first business to open was an inn and tavern opened by Thomas Moorehouse along the Seaforth-Wroxeter road, sometime in the middle of the century. Although the roadhouse burned in 1864, by then Jamestown was firmly established as a small stopping place and crossroads hamlet.

Jamestown reportedly got its name from Aitcheson, a reporter for the Huron Expositor. The name suited Jamestown well as it had a lot of James’s. They included James Lynn, James Strachan, James Simpson, James Forrest and James Moses. James Lynn, a blacksmith, opened a post office in 1875.

By 1875 Jamestown had grown to include three hotels, a general store, shoe shop and a harness-maker, Mr. Mills, who also owned a meeting hall. Thomas McEwan owned one of the hotels and managed to operate the business until 1913. Town Council meetings took place in Brown’s Hotel. That was typical of times before a proper township hall was in place.

Jamestown was situated along the boundary lines of Morris and Grey Townships. According to one map (compiled in 1982 for Grey Township and Its People), the shoe shop, inn, store and wagon and harness shop were located on the Grey side with the tavern, post office blacksmith and hall located on the Morris side.

An early dam and sawmill, built by Allan McQueen in 1872 along the Maitland River on the Grey side, lasted less than two years. The speculation was that ice and high water led to its demise. Following its closure, farmers would pile their logs along the west side of the bridge each winter in the hope that high water and the current would carry them downstream to Bluevale.

The Jamestown residents were so desperate to attract a saw mill that in 1875 they began offering free land to anyone who would be willing to open one in the area. The ploy worked and in 1877 a mill was finally built on the site. It’s not known how long the mill thrived but it is mentioned in an 1882 news item.

With a population hovering at around 50, Jamestown was not large enough to support a church. Instead the small congregation used the Mills’ meeting hall for bi-weekly services conducted by travelling ministers from Brussels and Ainleyville. Lot 26, Concession 6 became the new home to a small frame school, S.S. #4 Morris, in 1876.

Fire shook the village in 1882, destroying the blacksmith and wagon shops. Shortly after that, a number of people began leaving the village. George Eckmier then took over the blacksmith business. In 1883 the township initiated a program of road maintenance that included leveling and graveling the deeply rutted trails. They used statutory labour which involved property owners doing the actual work or choosing instead to pay taxes. The community was changing as improved roads made the route to larger villages more convenient.

C. B. Armstrong opened the original general store selling it to Edward Snell in 1872. Snell ran into financial trouble and closed the business in 1893. Later owners included R.A. Johnston until 1900, followed by Walter Innes from Brussels who operated it until 1905. Following his departure, the McDonald Brothers, Duncan and Will, purchased the business. Under their ownership the business thrived. Duncan was the shop-keeper and Will peddled the goods travelling from farmhouse to farmhouse in his wagon. They sold everything from red herrings in a barrel, ginger snaps, to boots, shoes and harnesses. Over time, the store developed a revered reputation in the community’s history.

Another building that became an integral part of Jamestown’s history was Victoria Hall. The building began as a small Congregational Church (10.6 X 7.6 metres), purchased from a nearby community in 1901. After being moved and rebuilt on a new foundation, it was quickly put into service as a church, the Union Sabbath School, for town meetings and other community events. The building became so important that after it burned in 1910, the residents couldn’t contemplate being without it. B. Jenkins from Wingham erected a brand new cement building in 1911 at a cost of $1000. An insurance settlement of $550 helped defray some of the expenses.

Changes in transportation sealed the fate of small stopping centres like Jamestown. The stage service between Brussels and Wroxeter ended in 1913. Also rural mail delivery replaced the post office thereby eliminating the need to travel to Jamestown and pick up mail. . Cancellation of the stage and the movement towards temperance finished the hotel. After 35 years living in Jamestown, Thomas McEwan threw in the towel, put his hotel property up for auction and moved to Brussels. It fell to demolishment the following year.

Over the next few decades, Jamestown slowly trickled away piece-by-piece. After 22 years, Duncan McDonald left the store and moved to Brussels. The McKercher family took over the business, installing a gas pump. They remained in business until 1971. The horse shed, which managed to escape the 1910 fire at Victoria Hall, succumbed to demolition in 1929. Victoria Hall continued thriving throughout World War II as a place for community dances and volunteer efforts. Following the war, it gradually fell into a state of major disrepair ending with sale and demolition for tax arrears in 1968. Although the store closed in 1971, it took until 1998 for the wrecker’s ball to arrive.

Today there are few reminders of Jamestown. Modern structures replaced all the original buildings. A small plaque marking the location of the former general store is the sole reminder that Jamestown ever existed.

Additional details The Power of the Maitland by John Hazlitt and Ted Turner.