Mount Hope

History

Mount Hope, located in Bruce County, met all the requirements for community status. It had a church, it had a school, it had a post office ant not much else.

For starters, do not confuse tiny little Mount Hope with the far more well-known Mount Hope, a section of the city of Hamilton. Settlers first arrived in the mid-1850s with the opening of the Queens Bush lands. They were a big draw particularly to the large number of Irish and English settlers who arrived in Ontario (then Upper Canada) 15 to 20 years earlier. The Queens Bush land was attractive because it seemed far more amenable to good quality farming.

The community went through a number of name changes before settling on “Mount Hope.” Its first name was “Briggs Corner” after an early settler. Just to keep things in the family, the name “Alma” followed. Alma, not surprisingly, was another member of the Briggs family.

Joseph Briggs, one of the earliest settlers, took possession of Lot 11, Concession 2, Arran Township in 1854. By 1854 a small log Methodist church, known as the Alma Methodist Church opened. The church was located on the northwest corner of Briggs’ farm and faced the roadside. Prior to that, religious services took place in the homes of various settlers.

The Reverend George Jacques was the first minister of this early church. Once the church first opened, the congregation established a Sunday school program and set up a small cemetery on the northeast corner of the same lot. Since it was not official church property, many families chose to bury their dead in a sanctified cemetery.

The settlement established an early school on Lot 1, Concession 2. Other than its description of “shanty” there is very little known about this building. They built a proper school, S.S. #1 Arran, on Lot 3, Concession 3 in 1857, with Jane Hammond as the first teacher. Fire destroyed the school 1882. A frame building, located on Lot 5, Concession 2, replaced it.

The small log church served the community well for 17 years. By 1871, the congregation had outgrown the log building and was in need of something better. They also needed a proper burial ground located on church property.

Planning for the new church began in 1871 with the purchase of an acre of land on Lot 10, Concession 2 from John and Ann Galbraith at a cost of $60. They hired James Williscroft, from the nearby community of Williscroft, to build the church. He completed the building, located directly across from the old, in 1872. It was a busy place during those early days. The church held three services every Sunday. Following the new construction, they sold the old building back to Briggs for $2. As well they relocated a number of bodies interred on his property to the new cemetery located next to the church. Burial plots sold from $5 to $12, which helped defray the construction costs. They spruced up services in 1885 with the purchase of an organ.

On the negative side, Mount Hope had little to offer in the way of commercial activity. There was a cheese factory and blacksmith shop on the Hanbidge property, located on Lots 2 and 3, Concession 2. Carpenters and contractors included Stewart Greig, Robert Wark and Peter Wolfe.

A post office opened in 1884, under the name of Mount Hope. They took the name from the new Mount Hope Methodist Church, opened 12 years earlier. At first services took place in John Cole’s home on Lot 11, Concession 3.

The requirements for a post office, particularly for one operated out of a home, bore absolutely no relation to the amount of work involved. In addition to postal duties, housekeeping and comfort was of utmost importance. Requirements included cleaning the house three times a week and providing a proper sitting room with heat – all for the princely reimbursement of $35 per year.

Not surprisingly, the post office moved several times over its 28-year lifespan, all to different homes. These included Lot 9, Concession 2, Lot 11, Concession 3 (north half), Lot 8, Concession 2 and Lot 13, Concession 3.  Mercifully for the postmasters, the cycle ended on January 1, 1913 with the introduction of rural mail delivery.

Telephone service arrived in 1912. A new company, the Arran Telephone Company, ran a line south from Tara to Williscroft, with a branch line to Mount Hope. The cost to subscribers was $55 for the pole line and equipment plus a semi-annual service fee of $2. Bell Canada took over the company in 1963.

The church continued to see many improvements. These included a new porch and brick siding in 1905, a basement in 1920, and a Fairbanks Morse Lighting system and furnace. In 1910, they replaced the two wooden horse sheds with a sturdy shed built from cement.

In 1905 the church began holding annual garden parties, which included a lively social program of sports, music, plays, preceded by a huge dinner. Fundraising also played in important part in this event. A Ladies Aid group (later The United Church Women), established in 1908 took over the responsibility for the garden parties. Other fundraising activities included bake sales and auctions. The Sunday school held regular Christmas concerts. From 1931-35 a men’s softball team participated in the North Bruce Softball League.

With the formation of the United Church of Canada in 1925, the church became known as the Mount Hope United Church. From 1903 to 1945, it was part of a circuit that consisted of Arkwright, Mount Hope, Ebenezer and Centenary. In 1960 it moved over to the Southampton charge, where it remains to this day.

The school closed in 1966 following centralization of the school system. The building is now a private home.

Other activities in Mount Hope included the Mount Hope Women’s Institute, formed in 1956. While it was active, the branch was involved in numerous fundraising and community improvement initiatives.

In 1972, the Mount Hope United Church held a special Centennial service marking 100 years since the construction of the building. In celebration of the event, they added carpeting and installed pews from the recently-closed church n Ebenezer. A few years earlier, in 1967, they erected a stone cairn commemorating the early pioneers. Other improved included a new Cross, installed at the front of the church, new ceiling fans and new steps and brickwork in the 1990s.  The attractive little church remains active and continues to form a vital piece of the community’s history.