Whitfield

History

Whitfield was one of the earliest settlements in Mulmur Township. It got its start around 1825, after the British government drew up regulations for the first land grants in Mulmur Township in 1824. The names of early settlers, who arrived in the area before 1830, include Lloyd, Graham, Holmes and Whitley. Officially, settlers first arrive in Whitfield around 1832.

The origins of Whitfield’s name are uncertain. The most likely source points to the Whitleys, who established a large settlement, known as the Whitley Settlement before 1830. Another source points to Eames Whitby, an early settler, who served as the township’s first magistrate. For a time the community was reportedly known as Whitbyfield, then as Beechnut Corners, and then Campbell’s Corners after the Campbells, who were said to be the first settlers. Whether true or not, by the time Robert Campbell opened the first post office in 1854, the village’s name was Whitfield.

Whitfield’s first Orange Lodge, LOL No. 366 opened in 1857. The building was a small low hall, located on Lot 8, Concession 1. By the late 1860s, an estimate of Whitfield’s population was somewhere between 100 and 150. Early residents included William Noble, who owned a general store, hotel and tavern on Lot 7 and P.S. Leighton, a tailor. Thomas Dorsey, a wagon maker who arrived around 1871, later opened a small log general store. By 1872 the village included two carpenters, James and William Archer, a cabinetmaker, John Bailey, a shoemaker, Thomas White and a blacksmith, Thomas Mews.

One of Whitfield’s most longstanding and well-known residents was Parsons D. Henry. The American-born Henry, grew up and received his education near Prescott. After completing his education, he developed an adventurous streak and headed westward to take up bush farming. He settled on a farm in Whitfield during the 1850s and by 1859 was serving as postmaster, a post he held until 1900. Henry also held a teaching certificate and taught in Whitfield’s second school for a number of years.

Whitfield’s first school, S.S. #4, was a small log building located on Lot 8, Centre Rd. It opened around 1868 with John Lighton as the first teacher. A frame structure, located on Lot 10, replaced the log schoolhouse in 1870. The school also served as an Orange Lodge until 1885, after fire destroyed the original hall.

The year 1874 saw the construction of a new Anglican Church, Christ Church. Following a three-month money raising campaign by the first minister Reverend Toque, the congregation raised enough money to purchase all the necessary materials. Members of the congregation completed much of the construction. Local resident Robert Clark, using his team of horses, transported the steeple from Orangeville to Whitfeld. Once completed, the handsome brick church opened its doors completely debt free. The Whitfield Methodist Church came later.

During the 1880s Whitfield was humming with activity. The village included saw and shingle mills, operated by James Ferguson, a sawmill and quarry, owned by Thomas Raburn and a lime kiln, run by Charles Raburn. Cornelius Fox opened a second blacksmith shop and Parsons Henry, a second store. Henry was a busy man. In addition to running the general store and serving as postmaster, he was also a successful conveyancer and commissioner as well as an insurance and loan agent. In 1885 he donated a portion of his farmland for the construction of a new Orange Lodge. Other residents during the 80s included John Bailey, a blacksmith and wagon maker and George Laking, a carpenter and cabinetmaker.

Whitfield remained busy during the 1890s. George Boyle took over the lime kiln and Cornelius Fox’s blacksmith shop. Former storeowner Thomas Dorsey took over the saw and shingle mill. John Sherman opened a brick and tile manufacturing business. However Whitfield saw little growth overall and the population began to stagnate at around 100.

Like similar hamlets, Whitfield began to slow down at the beginning of the 20th century. Longtime resident Parsons Henry left Whitfield in 1900, moving to nearby Melancthon Village, where he died in 1908. Thomas Mews, who first settled in Whitfield around 1871, took over the post office, which he ran until his death in 1909. On a brighter note, the community replaced the frame school in 1907 with a new brick building, built at a cost of $1,030. The new school was state of the art for the times and included a basement and furnace. Rural mail delivery took over mail delivery in 1914.

Whitfield still appears on most maps, however little remains of the original village. The Methodist church closed following the United Church union in 1925. They converted the building to a town hall and later for storage. It was demolished around 2005. A few tombstones remained in the Methodist cemetery for a number of years but have since been removed. The schoolhouse is now a private residence. Christ Church was recently restored and still holds regular services during the summer. The small pioneer cemetery beside the church includes a monument dedicated to the original Whitfield pioneers. The remainder of the area is now farmland.