Lovat

History

In 1864 Thomas Allen established a post office which he ran for 10 years. The post office closed for a couple of years following his resignation. James McArthur took over briefly in 1876, followed once again by Allen for another two years.

Angus McKay established the first of Lovat’s two major businesses in 1876. Angus and his brother John, both of whom were millwrights, purchased 5.9 acres on Lot 35, Concession 8 and set up a water-powered sawmill, alongside Willow Creek. Later on they converted the mill to steam power. John took over the mill in 1878 and continued to operate it 1914.

Most of the logs sawed in the MacKay mill came from farmers in the surrounding area. Sometimes they purchased them locally. Other times, they came from as far away as Saugeen and Kincardine Townships Other times, horse teams or sleighs dragged them over to the Lovat mill from as far away as Saugeen and Kincardine Townships. The mill produced an assortment of lumber products including sawed and planed wood and tongue and groove.

John MacKay was a busy guy. During the mid-1880s, he was also operating a hotel and from 1899 to 1904 he served as postmaster, operating the post office from his house.

Early businesses in Lovat included a blacksmith shop run by Donald Aitken, opened by 1871, the King Edward Hotel, opened in 1875, and a second hotel run by John MacKay during the 1880s. During the mid-1880s, Aitken added a grocery store and later took over as postmaster until 1891. There was also a general store, located on Lot 35, Concession 8, owned by Duncan McGillivray along with his sisters Christina and Mary. Most of the businesses were located on the Greenock side with the industrial area located on the Bruce side, closer to Willow Creek.

In 1875, the community built a new red brick school, U.S.S. Bruce and Greenock, on Lot 31, Concession 6. In 1877, they cleared the grounds and fenced them in. At times the school accommodated more than 100 pupils.

Thanks to the effort of Thomas Brown, the public cemetery expanded in 1876. Brown, one of the first trustees, managed to secure an acre of land from the Crown on Lot 35, Concession 8, for the token price of $1. Later in 1877 they drew up a town plan consisting of four streets and 32 lots. The plan was optimistic at best as Lovat never developed to that extent.

Although Lovat never boomed it managed to hold its own for the remainder of the century. During the 1880s, it acquired a second blacksmith and John Kaley took over the King Edward Hotel. The MacKay Mill shipped out lumber regularly to the GTR station in Paisley, a distance of about 9 kilometres. Twice a week mail arrived by stage, also from Paisley. The population remained stable at around 50.

Lovat’s second major industry was a brickyard, started by Robert Mawhinney in 1889. Mawhinney, a brick-maker by trade, purchased 17 acres of land where he set up the buildings and kilns. Mawhinney manufactured both buff-coloured brick as well as tile. They constructed many of the buildings in the area with brick from the Mawhinney brick yard. By 1895 Mawhinney had also set up a cider mill and erstwhile mill owner John MacKay was trying his hand at beekeeping. In the early 1890s John Moier took over the blacksmith shop. The community never had a church and residents likely worshipped at one of the churches in nearby Paisley.

Lovat managed to continue thriving through the early part of the 20th century. John Metcalfe took over the blacksmith shop and post office in 1904. For an extra $25 per year, Mrs. Metcalfe kept the floors clean and stoked the fire. The blacksmith shop closed a couple of years after the arrival of rural mail delivery in 1913. In 1914 John MacKay’s youngest son, John George, took over the mill. By 1915, the community had outgrown the school. They built a new school slightly to the east of the old on 50 feet of land purchased from Robert Colwell.

They rebuilt the brick and tile yard in 1921 following a fire the previous year. It remained in business until 1926. The mill lasted until 1934 when it closed following serious damage form a wind storm. It went down with an enviable safety record of no serious accidents in 57 years of operation. The hotel lasted until around 1937 when it was reportedly demolished. After the mill closed, John George MacKay carried on with a successful maple syrup business that he began in 1920. That business remained in operation until 1959.

The school continued to see regular maintenance and upgrades for many years. The community built a windmill in 1936 in order to pump the well. They enlarged the grounds with a second purchase of land from Mr. Colwell in 1941. Further upgrades in 1944 and 45 included hydro, a new water pressure system, a cement sidewalk, and a paint job for the lobbies, basement and flagpole. Indoor toilets followed in 1947. The school remained in use until 1965 when it closed due to centralization of the school system. They sold the building which is now in use as a private residence.

The Lovat Cemetery also saw many improvements. In 1935 plot holders and descendants were contacted for donations in order to establish a perpetual care fund. In 1944 the descendants of Duncan McGillivray, the one-time store owner in Lovat, erected a handsome set of memorial gates in memory of their ancestors. Revis MacKay, the grandson of John MacKay and son of John George, donated a large plot of land from his adjacent farm for further expansion of the cemetery. The cemetery acquired an additional section of land in 1960. The cemetery is still in an excellent state of care and continues to be used on occasion.

Little remains of the original townsite of Lovat, the community with big dreams that never materialized. Due to hazardous road conditions, the province realigned the roads in later years altering the shape of the original town plan. In 1993 a small memorial cairn was erected in the former centre of the village.