Yonge Mills

History

Photo of church
The Yonge Mills Stone Church
©Jeri Danyleyko

In 1776 the thunder of guns drove huge waves of new immigrants northward to what was left of British North America. Thousands of Americans, still loyal to the British crown, fled the newly formed United States in search of lands where they could retain their British nationality. Of the approximately 7,500 people who arrived, many settled in the area that eventually to became known as Upper Canada and later the province of Ontario. These people became known as United Empire Loyalists, an identity they retain to this very day.

The British government was quick to recognize that those who remained loyal and fought for the British cause would need help with resettlement. Many were starving and destitute upon their arrival. To give them a start, the British devised a system of rewards that included land grants, food, tools and other provisions to carry them through for three years. That gave them sufficient time to build new homesteads and establish new farms. Land grants ranged from 50 to 1,000 acres. The amount of land depended on the individual’s military rank and whether they had served in active combat. One of the three main areas the British chose for settlement lay along the northern shore of the St. Lawrence River, stretching eastward from the village of Kingston.

Yonge Mills was a small Loyalist village, first settled in the early part of the 19th century. It was located in Leeds County about 50 kilometres east of Kingston close to Jones Creek. Before the advent of decent roadways, water channels, in addition to being primary sources of power, were also the principal and often the only routes of transportation. Nearby Jones Creek was ideal in a couple of respects. It offered more than ample waterpower to run several mills. In addition it formed a clear navigable channel that led directly to the St. Lawrence River.

A Presbyterian congregation first formed in 1801. A group of 11 men, spearheaded by Peter Purvis, took up the cause of paying Reverend William Smart his annual stipend of $600 shortly after the congregation formed. There is some dispute as to whether Purvis or his neighbour William Avery, who had title to the other half of the lot, provided the land for a church. The Averys were not Presbyterian. Ownership of the property switched back and forth numerous times between both families. In 1833, Samuel Avery acquired ownership of the land. In 1837 the congregation built a small stone church on land, possibly owned by the Averys. Decades later, in 1885, the two parties finally settled the question of ownership when the church purchased a small piece of property from Joseph Avery.     

According to some records, a post office was operating as early as 1833. Post offices in the 1830s were not the same as post offices in later years. Very few people actually received mail. Most mail took months to arrive so people rarely visited the post office. Mail simply collected as it came in. Eventually the owner published a notice in the local newspaper listing the names of people with mail to pick up.

By the mid-19th century, Yonge Mills had grown to become a busy and prosperous community with a population of about 175. It included saw and grist mills, owned by James McElhinney, saw, carding and fulling mills owned by F. Jones, two blacksmiths, N. Baxter and D. Wylie, and two inns, operated by Thomas Marshall and William Armstrong. According to one source Nathan Baxter was running a post office from his store as early as 1851, however later records place him in nearby Lyn in 1856.

All the early mills and businesses were built around the original waterpower site. That lasted until the mid-1850s when transportation underwent a radical change with the arrival of the railway. The new Grand Trunk Railway, which was the first trunk line to run a direct route between Montreal and Toronto, cut directly through cemetery separating the original village from the station and other railway buildings. Likely the railway chose that route to reduce construction costs. Both the Purvis and Avery families sold land to the railway in 1856. Further changes took place in 1882 when the Grand Trunk double tracked the entire mainline.

The station village attracted more businesses and the newer area continued to expand. Osmond Jones built a flour mill and sawmill and James Parr opened a new clothing factory. The community also boasted a cooperage, run by William Munro. John Phillips owned the blacksmith shop. By the late 1870s, Burrel Burnham took over the general store and the teetotalling community added a couple of temperance halls. Burnham opened an official post office in 1888.

Unfortunately Yonge Mills’ days were seriously numbered. By the end of the 19th century the mills began to suffer, following a decline in wheat and farming. They never recovered and the village slowly began to die. During the 1890s the village continued to support a couple of farm based businesses such as Hiram Cook’s feed mill which opened around 1895 and the Leeds County Cheese Company Limited, run by Terrence Purvis. However by the dawn of the 20th century it was pretty much over for Yonge Mills. Rural mail delivery replaced the post office in 1912. By 1914, Burnham’s store was the lone survivor.

The construction of Highway 401 and other 20th century road realignments left very little of the original village. Luckily portions of the station village managed to survive. The church continues to operate and the schoolhouse is now a private home. A vacant section-house sits on the north side of the tracks while the original cemetery, once part of the old village, sits directly across from the section house on the south side of the tracks. It’s possible to still find a few old mill ruins and cellar holes in the old village. The schoolhouse is now a vacant home. The stone church still stands and is used occasionally for special or commemorative services. It remains under the ownership of the United Church. This attractive area continues to remain home to a handful of rural dwellers.

Scroll to Top