CONTENTS—Ninth town—Thurlow—Name—When surveyed—Front—Indian burying
ground—Owner of first lots—Chisholm—Singleton—Myers—Ferguson—
Indian traders—To Kingston in batteau—Singleton’s death—Ferguson’s
death—Distress of the families—Settled, 1789—Ascending the Moira—
Taking possession of land—Fifth concession—John Taylor—Founder of
Belleville—Myers buying land—Settlers upon the front—Municipal
record—Town officers—1798—Succeeding years—Canifton, its founder—
Settling—The diet—Building mill—Road—River Moira—Origin of name—
Earl Moira—Indian name—Indian offering—“Cabojunk”—Myers’ saw-mill—
Place not attractive—First bridge—The flouring-mill—Belleville—
Indian village—Myers’ Creek—Formation of village—First inn—
Permanent Bridge Street—In 1800—Growth—A second mill—McNabb’s—Sad
death—Captain McIntosh—Petrie—Inhabitants, 1809—Dr. Spareham—
Naming of Belleville—Bella Gore—By Gore in council—Petition—
Extract from Kingston Gazette—Surveying reserve—Wilmot—Mistakes—
Granting of lots—Conditions—Board of Police—Extent of Belleville—
Muddy streets—Inhabitants in 1824—Court-house—First Court, Quarter
Sessions—Belleville in 1836.
THE NINTH TOWN—THURLOW.
The oldest map in the Crown Lands Department, states that this township
was surveyed in 1787, by Louis Kotte; perhaps only the front concession.
By this map, we learn that at the mouth of the river had been, probably
on Zwick’s Island, an Indian burying ground; and a lot is reserved for
the Indians, for a burying ground. The map informs us that lot No. 1, in
both the first and second concessions, was at first given to John
Chisholm. Lot No. 2, in first and second concession, to David
Vanderheyden; No. 3, to Alexander Chisholm; No. 4, the reserve for the
“Indian burying ground;” Nos. 5 and 6, to Captain John Singleton. These
are the only names which appear upon the map; but it is likely that lot
No. 7, was granted at first to Captain Myers. The late George Bleeker,
Esq., told the writer that Captain Myers having stayed in Lower Canada
three years, came and settled upon lot 7, where he built a hut and lived
for a year, before going to Sidney. This was probably in 1787, when the
surveying was proceeding. Thus it was that Captain Myers, who afterward
gave a name to the river and place, was the first squatter. About this
time, Captain Singleton, who had been a first settler in Ernesttown,
came to Thurlow with a brother officer, Lieutenant Ferguson, both having
recently married and settled upon lot No. 6. Their object in coming was
to carry on a fur trade with the Indians, who regularly descended the
River Sagonoska to barter, and subsequently to get their presents. The
single log house which was first built, was shortly added to, by a
second compartment, into which was stored furs and goods for barter. The
life of these first settlers of Thurlow was a brief one, and the
termination a sad one. Both had just married, and with their faithful
servant, Johnson, and his wife, they hoped for a future as bright as the
wood and water which so beautifully surrounded them. It mattered not to
them that no human habitation existed nearer than the Mohawk settlement,
and the Napanee River. Many trips with the batteau were necessary to
obtain a complete outfit for Indian trading, and ample provisions had to
be laid up, with stores of rum. These articles were procured at
Kingston. Singleton had rented his farm in the second town; but reserved
a room, where he might stop on his way up and down. In September, 1789,
Captain Singleton, his wife, child, some eight months old, with
Lieutenant Ferguson, his wife, and the servants, Johnson and wife, set
out for Kingston and Ernesttown in a batteau. The women were to visit in
Ernesttown, while the men proceeded to Kingston to purchase flour and
other articles. Not long after starting, Singleton was taken ill. They
stopped at Captain John’s, at the Mohawk settlement, and Indian
medicines were given him; but he continued to grow worse, and when he
reached his home, in Ernesttown, he was dangerously ill. A doctor from
Kingston was procured; but Captain Singleton died nine days after, from
what seems to have been a malignant fever. His faithful servant,
Johnson, contracted the disease and also died. Thus, Lieutenant Ferguson
was left with three women and a child, away from home, which could only
be reached after much toil. Captain Singleton was spoken of as a
“pleasing gentleman, and beloved by all who knew him.” His infant son
grew to man’s estate, and became one of the first settlers of Brighton,
where his widow, now far advanced in years, and descendants reside.
Lieutenant Ferguson went to Kingston, exchanged his load of furs for a
barrel of flour, then very dear, and other articles, and returned with
his charge to Thurlow. But Ferguson’s days were also numbered; and, in
three months’ time, he died, and there were left in the depth of winter,
alone, upon the front of Thurlow, three widowed women, and an infant;
with but little to eat, beside the barrel of flour; which, before long,
was to be the only article of food, and used by cup-fulls to make spare
cakes.
Lieutenant Ferguson, the associate of the first settler in the township,
was at first a refugee from the Mohawk valley in New York, and latterly
served, probably in Johnson’s regiment. He had lived a short time at
Sorel before coming to Thurlow. His body was buried upon a pleasant
elevation, between their house and the plains to the east of the river.
The first one of the loyalists to die in Thurlow, his body was the first
to be interred in the “Taylor burying ground.”
In the spring of 1789, a party of about fifty, reached the bay. They
were all refugee loyalists, and most of them had been since the close of
the war in the States, looking up their families, and arranging to take
them “to Cataraqui.” This party settled in Sidney and Thurlow. Those who
settled in Thurlow, finding no land available at the front, prepared to
ascend the river. Among them were John Taylor, William Reed, with four
sons, John, William, Samuel, and Solomon; Richard Smith, Cavelry, Robert
Wright, John Longwell, Sherard, Zedie Thrasher, Asa Turner, Stephen and
Laurence Badgley, Solomon Hazleton, Archibald McKenzie, McMichael,
William Cook, and Russell Pitman. The party reached the mouth of the
river late in the day, and pitched their tent among some cedar shrubs
upon the east bank of the river, just by the site of the upper bridge.
The following day, they followed the bank of the river, searching for
indications of good land The surveyor had not yet laid out any but the
front lots; but the pioneers had been assured that any land they should
choose to occupy, would be granted them. When they reached the point
where now is the fifth concession, they felt that they had reached their
destination, and proceeded to take possession of such land as struck
their fancy. William Reed, and his four sons, possessed themselves of
600 acres in a block, through which the river wound its way. The land
here was unmistakably good; and four generations have now reaped the
fruit of the soil, while two generations lie buried there. But the first
years of pioneer life with those first settlers of the fifth concession,
were years of great hardship and want (see First years of Upper Canada).
They all went to Napanee at first to mill. Sometimes took articles to
exchange for flour.
John Taylor settled in the fifth concession, where he remained a year,
when he came down to the mouth of the river. A sketch of this old
soldier is elsewhere given. Among the settlers who came in, a few years
later, were Richard Canniff, and Robert Thompson.
In some respects, the settlers of these townships, at the western
extremity of the bay, suffered in a peculiar manner. They were far
removed from Kingston, and from the necessaries of life to be procured
there. And they were settling after the period when Government allowed
provisions.
The name of Captain Myers must ever stand identified with the early
history of Thurlow. He cannot be regarded as the founder of Belleville;
yet he was the first to give a name to the village at the mouth of the
river. Captain Myers saw service during the revolutionary war (see Royal
Combatants). At the close of hostilities, having tarried for a time at
Lower Canada, he came to the bay, and squatted at first upon the front
of Thurlow. He first became a settler upon the front of Sidney, a few
miles east of the Trent River. Being a man of enterprise, and with
forethought, he did not content himself with clearing a farm and
cultivating its soil. He saw the wants of the settlers, that they
required sawed lumber, and greater conveniences for grinding grain.
Hence he is found, even before 1790, erecting a sawing mill upon a small
stream on his land in Sidney. The waterpower was very inefficient, and
he looked about for a more suitable place. The waters of the Moira
presented the inducements he sought. A bargain was effected with John
Taylor for the rear half of lot No. 5, which embraced a portion of the
stream, affording the desired mill-site. It was, most probably, in the
year 1790, that Captain Myers came to Thurlow, and built his log hut
upon the banks of the river, a few rods above the present mill-dam.
Within a year, the first dam erected upon the river was finished, and a
log saw mill built upon the east bank.
The late Colonel Wilkins, of the Carrying Place, says, that when he came
to the bay, in 1792, Myers had his mill built, the one farthest west,
until they came to where is now Port Hope.
The following are the names of those who settled upon the front, as
supplied by the late G. Bleeker, Esq. Commencing at lot No. 1, the first
settler was John Chisholm; No. 2, Coon Frederick; No. 3, Crawford, the
lot having been drawn by A. Chisholm. Coming to No. 7, it was settled
upon by A. Thompson, who sold the right to Schofield; No. 8, by Arch.
Chisholm; No. 9, by Samuel Sherwood, who was an Indian trader. Then
Fairman, William Johnson, Edward Carscallion, J. Carscallion, Fairman,
Biddell.
There is no record of the first municipal transaction. Most likely, no
record was kept. The following, however, takes us back a long way:—
“At the annual town meeting, for the township of Thurlow, held the fifth
day of March, 1798, whereat the following persons were chosen town
officers, viz., John McIntosh, Town Clerk, John Chisholm and William
Reid, Assessors; Joseph Walker, Collector; Samuel B. Gilbert, John Reed,
William Johnson, Path-masters; John Cook and Daniel Lawrence, Town
Wardens; John Taylor, Pound-keeper; John Fairman, Constable.”
John McIntosh, remembered as Capt. McIntosh, was Town Clerk for three
years, and was succeeded by Jabez Davis. The following year, the
occupant was Caleb Benedict. The year succeeding, Roswell Leavens was
appointed, and continued to hold the office for three years, when John
Frederick was chosen, who held the place two years, when John McIntosh
was again selected; he held it two years. Then John Thompson was
appointed, who held it one year. The next year it was Roswell Leavens;
the next, John Frederick; the next, R. Leavens, who continued
uninterruptedly in office for twelve years, up to the year 1826. During
that time very many changes are observed in the names of those holding
the other municipal offices in the Township. The Town Clerk, in the year
1826, was Daniel Canniff, who held it two years; the next was James
McDonnell, who filled the post seven years. In 1835, D. B. Sole was
appointed, who held it two years. The year ensuing, Dr. Hayden was
appointed. It would seem that during the year following, Dr. H. escaped
as a rebel, while his wife refused to hand over the township records.
CANIFTON.—Up to the year 1806, the way from Myers’ mill up the river to
where stands Corby’s mill, a distance of four miles, was unbroken by a
single clearing. There was but a poor waggon road, which had been cut by
the two individuals who alone could afford the comfort of a waggon. But
in that year another settler was added to Thurlow, and a third waggon to
the community. John Canniff, having bought some 800 acres of land from
one McDougall, and one Carle, in the third concession, commenced the
work of clearing upon the present site of the village of Canifton. John
Canniff was a U. E. Loyalist, and was born at Bedford, in the County of
Westchester, in the present State of New York, in the year 1757. There
is no reliable statement handed down as to the part he took in the war
against the rebellion. That he took an active part is believed by those
most capable of judging. The name of Lieut. Candiff appears among the
officers of a New Jersey regiment, which is thought to have been one of
the family. John Canniff was a refugee at the close of the war in New
Brunswick, where he remained a few years. He then came to Canada, in
1788, and first settled in Adolphustown, where he lived until his
removal to Thurlow. He had witnessed and experienced the suffering of
the year of the famine. And it is known that he actually saved one
family from death by starvation. Before bringing his family to Thurlow,
in 1807, he had cleared a considerable piece of land, on the east side
of the river, around the present site of the bridge; built a mill-dam, a
saw-mill, and a frame house, which stood a short distance above the site
of the Methodist Church. Although this took place near the end of the
first decade of the present century, yet the settlement was attended by
no little hardship. The necessaries of life were not always to be had,
and it is authentically related, that for a time pea bread constituted
the principle article of diet, while a fish, now and then caught, was a
great luxury.
About the year 1812, Canniff erected a flouring-mill, having for
mill-stones those made on the spot, out of hard granite; the man who
made them yet lives. These relics of the past may yet be seen. But in
two years he procured a pair of Burr stones from the Trent.
In the year 18—, Mr. Canniff removed to the front of Thurlow, and lived
upon lot number eight, where he continued to dwell until his death, 21st
Feb., 1843. He was in his 87th year when he died. His remains are buried
near the front of the Episcopal Church, in Belleville. He was a great
uncle to the writer.
Up to the year 1715, there was but one small house in Canifton, beside
that occupied by Mr. Canniff, this was occupied by a cooper, named
Ockerman.
For four years after John Canniff settled upon the river, there was an
unbroken wood between his place and Myers’ mill, while but a rough road
existed, which followed the river’s bank. In the spring of 1811, James
Canniff, the writer’s father, commenced to clear land, midway between
Myers’ mill and John Canniff’s. At this time, the road remained almost
impassable, for the half-dozen waggons, owned in the township. Some
years later, the road was somewhat straightened and improved; but
although now, and for a long time, so great a thoroughfare, the road
continued to be, for many years, the most execrable.
THE RIVER MOIRA.—This river is named after the Right Hon. the Earl of
_Moira_, afterward Marquis of _Hastings_, and previously, when a
soldier, serving in the American war, known as Lord _Rawdon_. At his
death the title became extinct. His body was buried in his native town
in Ireland. While in America, he formed a strong attachment to Brant.
The Moira takes its rise in the township of Tudor, and in its windings
to the Bay Quinté, passes through the townships of Madoc, Marmora,
Rawdon, Huntingdon, Hungerford, Tyendinaga, and Thurlow. It was well
known, and yearly ascended by the Indians for the excellent hunting
which it afforded. They called it _Sagonasko_, which name may be found
on the first maps issued by the surveyor. It was sometimes spelled
_Saganashcocon_.
The Indians, when about to pass up on their hunting expeditions, leaving
many of the women and children in wigwams upon the plains near its
mouth, would make an offering to their pagan god, of tobacco, which was
dropped upon the east shore, near its mouth, just below the site of the
first bridge. A thank offering was repeated upon their return.—(B.
Flint).
When the first mill dam was erected by Capt. Myers, the obstruction was
called by them _Cabojunk_.
When the land was surveyed, the Government reserved at the mouth of the
river 200 acres, ostensibly, for an Indian burying ground. But the place
of burying was upon Zwick’s Island, in the Bay, near the river’s mouth.
Upon the old maps, this river is called Singleton’s River, after Capt.
Singleton.
About the year 1790, Capt. Myers settled upon the river, and erected a
dam and log saw mill. It consequently took the name of Myers’ Creek,
which it retained, until after the war of 1812, and by some, to within
the writer’s recollection, thirty years ago. The writer remembers to
have seen the Indians, in their birch canoes, ascending and descending
the river. The fact that the word Moira has some resembling sound to
that of Myers, has led some to suppose that the latter name became
gradually changed into the former. But the fact is as stated above.
The appearance of the place, presented to the first adventurers in
pursuit of land on which to settle, was not attractive. It was a barren
plain with a cedar swamp covering the shores on either side.
There were, however, on the east side, at the mouth, some tall and good
sized oaks, indicating deep soil, while the land around was rock; this
land, like the two islands upon which mills are built, was rich, and had
been made from the washings of the river’s sides for centuries, and
carried down from the back country.
The first bridge upon the Moira, was a floating structure, and was
placed quite at the mouth of the river, with the view of escaping the
current; but it was soon carried off. The bridge was built about 1800;
prior to which time there had been a ferry for foot passengers, when the
stream was not fordable. At certain seasons, crossings could take place
almost anywhere. The first spring freshet carried away the bridge. In
the winter of 1802, according to Mrs. Harris, who then lived in the
place, a more substantial structure was commenced; but again it was
carried off by ice breaking over Myers’ dam. Possibly, this may be the
first one. The first permanent bridge must have been completed in 1806
or 7.
The excellent water power was first employed by Capt. Myers, and the
second person to use it was the Reeds, at the place where is now
situated Corby’s mill. The benefit of a flouring mill to the Reeds will
be understood when it is known that they had previously, to carry on
their back the grist to the Napanee mills, a distance of some forty
miles, and thus occupying four days.
BELLEVILLE.
The early _voyageurs_, passing along in their birch canoes, bound for
the far west, by the way of the River Trent to Lake Simcoe, were never
attracted to the low, thick woods, which bordered the river, called by
the Indians _Sagonoska_. It is true, there was generally an Indian
village upon the plains situated to the east of the river’s mouth. But
the collection of rude tents offered no special invitation. While the
French, it would seem, never ascended the river; the Indians of the
Mississauga tribe inhabited the region, and mostly always had a village
upon the bay shore. As we have seen, the Government, at the time of
surveying, reserved lot number four, which included the river and the
plains, for the Indians. About 1789 or 90, Captain Myers, having
purchased a part of lot number five, of John Taylor, for $100,
endeavored to obtain a lease of the Indian lot for a long period of
years; and he subsequently claimed the lot, averring that it had been
leased him for ninety-nine years. This claim of Capt. Myers, it has been
stated, led to the name which so long obtained, Myers’ Creek. But the
claim was never recognized by Government, although there is some reason
to think that the Indians did actually bargain it away. The settlement
upon the river, by Captain Myers, very soon came to be known as Captain
Myers’, and the inhabitants up and down the bay, spoke of the
settlement, as well as of the river, as Myers’ Creek. But, at the same
time, Myers’ mill and house were quite remote from the first collection
of houses at the mouth of the river. Apart from the water privileges,
there was nothing to attract to the place, and, until the beginning of
the present century, there was not even a hut at the mouth of the river.
If public meetings were held, they were up the front, or back near the
fifth concession, afterward known as Hayden’s Corners.
The village began to form upon the east bank of the river, a little
distance below Dundas street, and, for many years, it did not extend
further north than that street. The first place of habitation so far as
can be learned, was a log house, built and occupied by Asa Wallbridge, a
trader, who was well known by the early settlers. Then came John
Simpson, in the year 1798, and constructed a log hut, 20 × 12. This
house, the first public house in Thurlow, was for many years known from
Kingston to York, as a place of public entertainment. Within its rough
walls rested many an important traveler, and here, in later days,
convened the men of dignity and office, to discuss matters of great
import concerning the village. Here met, in jovial companionship, the
inhabitants of the village at night. Around this rude public house
centered the crowd upon training days, or when the race course was a
point of attraction. For many years, the heart of the village was at the
corner of Dundas street. At this place was the ferry, and afterwards the
first bridge.
John Simpson, who was Sergt.-Major of the Militia when first organized,
died shortly after coming to Myers’ Creek; but his widow, Margaret,
continued the hostess for many years. She endeavored to keep pace with
the wants of the growing village, and made one improvement after
another, and finally had built the frame structure now converted into
the agreeable residence of the Hon. Lewis Wallbridge. About the year
1800, a second inn was opened in the village, the descendant of this is
the present Railroad House.
When it became necessary to build a bridge across the river, about
1806–7, the question of site was one of no little consideration. It
seemed the most natural that it should be erected on Dundas Street,
which was the great mail road between Kingston and York; and those
living in the heart of the village could see no reason in having it
placed elsewhere. But a majority of those having a voice in the matter,
looked at the question in a more practical light; and rightly thought a
bridge would cost less where the river was the narrowest, while it
should not be too far for convenience. The result was that it was built
on the site of the present lower bridge, and so gave to the street the
name of Bridge Street.
Retracing our steps to the beginning of the present century, we present
the statement of Mr. William Ketcheson, who settled in Sidney, and also
of James Farley, both of whom say that there was not then even a village
at the mouth of the river, there being but two or three shanties, among
them Simpson’s tavern, at the rude bar of which the sole drink was a
home brewed beer, which, however, possessed intoxicating properties.
Another building was an ash house, owned by Asa Wallbridge.
During the first years of the present century, the place grew to the
importance of a village, whose inhabitants, with those of the adjacent
farmers, made up nearly a hundred persons. Important additions had been
made, and enterprise was at work. Two noble and loyal Scotchmen had come
to the place several years before, and purchased lot number three, and
had built a second mill dam and mills. These were Simon and James
McNabb. They subsequently took an active part in everything relating to
the village. James McNabb became Collector of Customs, and the first
Post-Master and Registrar, and both were officers in the militia. The
melancholy death of James McNabb, is hardly yet forgotten. During the
rebellion of 1836, there was an alarm in Belleville, and Capt. McNabb,
while running through an unlighted hall, was fatally wounded by a
careless militiaman, who was trailing his musket with bayonet fixed.
Capt. McIntosh was an early settler in Belleville, as well as a pioneer
with sailing vessels. He built the first frame store house at
Belleville, which was taken down in 1867. The house he built is still
standing, a quaint edifice, at the lower extremity of front street.
Within its walls rested General Brock, when on his way westward, at the
commencement of the war of 1812; also General Gore, after the close of
the war. Capt. McIntosh met an untimely death by drowning while
attempting to swim from his schooner, which was wind-bound off Ox Point,
to the shore, 23rd Sept, 1815.
In the year 1809, Alexander Oliphant Petrie, came to live at Myers’
Creek. He found the following persons living in Belleville at that time.
Commencing at the lowest part; there first lived Capt. John McIntosh,
who kept a store; John Johnson, a saddler; Dr. Sparehan; John Thompson,
who had been a soldier in the King’s Rangers; Peter Holmes, a carpenter,
who had also been in the Rangers; Mrs. Margaret Simpson, inn-keeper;
Roswell Leavens, a blacksmith; John Simons; one Ames, a cooper; Hugh
Cunningham, store-keeper, at Mrs. Simpson’s; Simon McNabb, who lived
across the river; Ockerman, a cooper; Benj. Stone, a sawyer; Wm. Maybee,
and Abraham Stimers. In the neighborhood of the village lived John
Taylor; James Harris, a hatter, and Capt. Myers. The only road was along
the river, while foot paths led to the different dwellings. Respecting
Dr. Spareham, there is the following notice in the Kingston _Gazette_:
“Died, Friday 20th, 1813, Dr. Thomas Spareham, at Kingston; aged about
88. He was one of the first settlers in the country.”
The McNabbs had a flouring-mill, and there was a small cloth factory on
the west side of the river, at Myers’ dam. Harris had a small shop on
the bank of the river; and just below the present market, back from the
river, stood a little frame school house, where taught one John Watkins.
About the year 1810, Mr. Everitt, from Kingston, erected a fine building
for a hotel, outside of the village, near Coleman’s, formerly McNabb’s
mills. This was near the Victoria buildings.
The naming of Belleville took place in 1816. The circumstances attending
it were as follows: There met one evening at Mrs. Simpson’s tavern,
Captain McMichael, the two McNabbs, Wallbridge, R. Leavens, and S.
Nicholson. These gentlemen, at the suggestion, it is said, of Captain
McMichael, determined to invite Lieutenant-Governor Gore, to name the
newly surveyed town. The request was complied with, by calling it after
his wife _Bella_. In reference to this, we find in the _Kingston
Gazette_, Aug. 24, 1816, the following: “The Lieutenant-Governor, in
council, has been pleased to give the new town (formerly known by the
name of “Myers’ Creek”) at the River Moira, the name of “BELLEVILLE,” by
the request and petition of a great number of the inhabitants of that
town and the township of Thurlow.” In the issue of 7th September, the
_Gazette_ remarks, “We mentioned in our paper of the 24th ult., that the
new town at the River Moira, was now called “Belleville,” &c. We were
under the impression, from the very pleasant situation of that town that
its name was derived from the French; but we have since been informed
that it has been given the name of Bellville, in honor of lady Gore at
the request of the inhabitants.” We have it also, on the authority of
Mr. Petrie, who could not be ignorant of the facts, that the name is
after Lady Bella Gore. It will be observed that the name was originally
spelled Bellville, instead of Belleville, as at the present time. In all
letters and public documents where the town was mentioned, we find it
spelled Bellville for many years. The writer will now, quote himself
from another work. “The same year (1816) the Government instructed
surveyor Wilmot to lay out the 200 acres of Indian reserve, lot number
four, into town lots of half an acre each. It cannot be recorded that
Mr. Wilmot discharged his duty to his credit or the advantage of the
town. In the first place he made the serious mistake (it has been
questioned whether it was a mistake) of placing the line between Sidney
and Thurlow, upwards of sixty feet to the east of that marked by the
original survey. The consequence was, that the line between lots numbers
three and four (at the front) instead of being mainly in the river,
where it ought to have been, was established where now is Front Street,
and thereby, a valuable strip of land belonging to the Reserve, was
added to private property on the western side of the river; while the
owner of lot number five, Mr. Taylor, was a loser to a corresponding
extent. Another mistake was the very few cross streets laid out, the
inconvenience of which is felt daily by many; although some new ones
have been opened latterly. A third error was the respect he made to a
hotel which stood a little to the east of where now stands the Victoria
buildings. This hotel had been erected on the ground, where the street,
in surveying, happened to come. The result is the unseemly turn in its
course at Pinnacle Street. While the hotel gave a name to the street,
the name commemorates the cause of its ugliness. The town lots were
disposed of by Government to petitioners, true subjects of His Majesty,
on a payment of a fee of thirty dollars. No one could obtain more than a
single lot. Seven plots were reserved: one for a hospital, one where
stands the Catholic Church, the Grammar School, the English Church,
also, the Parsonage house, the old Market Square, and the Jail.”
The lots were granted to applicants upon presenting a petition signed by
two citizens, to Government. The grantee was obligated to build, in a
given time, a house, one story and a half high, and 18 × 30 feet.
Belleville is the oldest town in Upper Canada. At the time it was named,
where now stands Cobourg, were but three houses. In 1816 the _Kingston
Gazette_ says, “A Post Office is now established in the new and
flourishing town of Bellville, S. McNabb. Esq., Post Master.”
In the year 1834, a petition was submitted by the inhabitants of
Belleville to Parliament, the result of which was “An act to establish a
Board of Police in the town of Belleville, passed 6th March, 1834.”
It would seem that the act passed did not come into operation, for in
1836, an act was passed repealing the former one. This latter act was in
many respects the same, but making further provisions. The same year the
town record begins. The boundaries were, “commencing at the limits
between lots number five and six, in the first concession, so as a line
at right angles will run on the northerly side of Wonnacott’s bridge,
thence south seventy-four degrees, west to the limits between lots
numbers two and three, thence sixteen degrees east to the Bay of Quinté,
thence easterly following the winding of the bay to the limits between
lots numbers five and six aforesaid; thence north sixteen degrees, west
to the place of beginning, together with the island and the harbour.”
There were two wards, each of which elected two members of the Board of
Police, and the fourth selected a fifth. The body then selected one of
themselves for President. Those elected the first year were, Wm. McCarty
and Asa Yeomans, for first ward; Zenas Dafoe, and Wm. Connor for second
ward; Billa Flint was elected the fifth member, and was also chosen
President; Geo. Benjamin to be clerk to the Board.
Up to this time there had been no sidewalks, and at the same time there
was no drainage. The consequence was, that in the rainy season the
streets were almost impassible, quite as bad as those of Muddy York are
said to have been. The first pavement was laid in 1836, the stones of
which were taken from the river.
It is impossible to say definitely what was the number of inhabitants at
any one period. These were, however, in 1818, according to Talbot, about
150; about 500 in 1824; 700 in 1829, and in 1836 more than 1,000. But
McMullen, writing in 1824, says that between Kingston and York, there
are two or three very small villages, the largest of which is
Belleville, containing about one hundred and fifty inhabitants.
After this the town increased more rapidly in size and importance. Steps
were taken to have built a Court House and Jail, as the nearest place of
confinement of prisoners was at Kingston; and, in 1838, just at the
close of the rebellion, the present building was finished.
The first court of Quarter Sessions held at the Court House in
Belleville, was November, 1839, Benjamin Dougall presided; Edmund
Murney, Clerk of the Peace; J. W. D. Moodie, Sheriff. The principal
business of the court was to organize, and take the oaths of office. The
second court was held in March, 1840, in the Court House; there were the
same officers, except that W. H. Ponton was Clerk of the Peace.
A writer in the _Intelligencer_, in 1836, says, Belleville is said to
contain about 1,800 inhabitants. There is an English and Scotch Church,
a Roman Catholic and Methodist Chapel, also a congregation of Episcopal
Methodists, and one of American Presbyterians; 25 merchants’ shops, 2
Apothecaries and Druggists’, 12 huxters’ and grocery shops, 9 taverns, 3
breweries, 3 butchers’, 2 flouring mills, 4 saw, and 2 fulling and
carding mills, 1 pail factory, 7 blacksmiths’ shops, 3 tanneries, and
mechanics of almost every description. In Front Street there are a
number of spacious brick, stone, and frame buildings; being the most
central part of the town for business. The town has recently being
called East and West Belleville; separated by the river Moira. The
latter has been laid out in town lots by the present owners; and the
streets and lines defined. On Coleman Street there are already erected a
handsome brick and other stone and frame buildings; a Trip-Hammer Forge
and Axe manufactory carried on by Mr. Proctor, celebrated for making the
best axes in the province. A saw mill in operation and a flouring mill
for four run of stone now erecting, and another for six run in
contemplation of being built next summer by our enterprising townsman,
Mr. Flint. A cabinet-maker, blacksmith’s shop, and a tavern, together
with a variety of lots unsold, some of which are calculated for
hydraulic purposes; and for which there are abundance of materials for
stone buildings. The same street leads to the extensive wharfs and store
houses belonging to Mr. Billa Flint.