Country Corners

MapleWood

Early records suggest that the hamlet of Maplewood was founded in 1870 when Angus Kerr bought a quarter of an acre of the corner from John H. Brown. Shortly thereafter, (1874) a post office and store ws located at the site. The list of early postmasters include Chistopher Bean, Samuel McKay and Donald McIntosh. The post office closed on 1916 when rural mail delivery began.
By 1881 John Brown had sold another half acre to be used for a school and grounds. Apparently there had been a log school on the northwest corner even before this. By 1876 a Methodist Church had been built on the north side of the road, right beside the old log school.
Maplewood was also famous for its blacksmiths shop. It had been established in the 1870's by the McKenzies and from 1908 until 1962 it was operated by the Cormack family.
The Present store dates back to the 1980's when the original building burned.

Golspie

The area around Golspie was settled by Sutherlandshire Scots. The corner had apparently once been called Elmsdale because of the large number of elm trees. By the time the post office was established in 1895 the name of the hamlet had been changed to avoid confusion with a neighboring school section.
Records indicate that the first building was a white brick school built in 1867 by Robert and Alexander Sutherland . This school was used until 1966. It also housed a Sunday School from the time Rev. Donald McKenzie up until 1915. The Sunday School was organized again in 1951 and continued for nearly twenty years. A modern home now occupies the site of the old school, slightly west of the corner.
The Golpsie store was Established by Henry J. Smith in 1893. Mrs. Robert Murray took over as storekeeper and postmistress until rural mail delivery began in 1914. Other store owners have included Mr. Todd, Andrew Meadows, Frank Jordan, A.Y. Janson and Leo Breukers.
Mr. Smith also built a blacksmith shop in 1897. It was located on the northeast corner. Gordan Iredale was the blacksmith. In recent years Mr. R. Knecht operated the Arkay Machine Shop, originally from the old blacksmith shop. He later built a new building to the east, now occupied by Bens Autobody.
A strong sense of community spirit was present throughout the years.

Harrington

Harrington was first called Springsville and in 1862 had a population of one hundred. The village boasted a Presbyterian church, a school, a saw mill, a flour and oatmeal mill, as well as a shoe store. There were also workshops housing carpenters, cabinet makers and wagon makers. The Harrington Post Office was opened in 1855.
In 1871 the Reverend Daniel Gordan came to Harrington, to stay for nineteen years. His son, Rev. Charles W. Gordan gained fame as"Ralph Conner" the outstanding Canadian writer.
The Harrington Mill was built in 1844 by Mr. Demerest. It had a paddle-type overshot wheel, which was replaced with a turbine type wheel about 1880. J.S. Betzner purchased the mill in 1876 and William Hill became the owner in 1884.After his death, his son George carried on the business until 1920 when it was sold to Robert Duncan. It was destroyed by fire in 1923 and rebuilt the same year. It had a yearly capacity of 30,000 bushels. The mill last operated in 1964 after several years of dwindling business
In 1867 John McLeod was the Innkeeper in Harrington. Simon Lampman operated the saw mill and Hugh McKay operated the store and Post Office.

Cody's Corners

Cody's corner was named after the Cody family who were among the first United Empire Loyalists to come to the township. In 1820 Elijah Cody came to Zorra and bought two hundred acres of laned south of what is now Cody's corner. His grandson Elmer Cody farmed here and after him Andrew Cody.. Thus four generations of Cody farmed this large land. Andrew tells us that the large white house that stands today was built in 1900. In 1968 Gerrit Hazeleger bought the farm from Andrew Cody.
In 1848 the community needed a school, and a log building was constructed on the northeast corner. They outgrew this building and a frame school was built on the southwest corner. By 1870 it had grown too small, and another building was placed on the northwest corner. in 1899, this brick building burned and another was erected in it's place. All of these schools were built on Cody property.
On Sundays the school was use as a meeting place for by the Methodists and Baptists. A Baptist minister came from Ingersoll every Sunday by horse and carriage.

Youngsville

At one time Youngsville acted as the Township Seat for West Zorra Council. For sixty-one years, councilors met at the old hotel. The hamlet was named after Gabriel Youngs who purchased 1,000 acres at the corners in early pioneering times. By 1884 there was a hotel, carriage works, and a blacksmith's shop here. A post office was situated at the hotel until 1902. This was the first small post office to close. Early postmasters included Ed Youngs, Joseph Brown, Hugh Flanley , William McDonald, Alonzo Youngs and James Pagson.

Braemar

To the northeast of Embro, between the hills, a very Scottish Community called Braemar was settled. It was so named because the countryside looked so much like "Braemar" Scotland. In the early years it grew quickly to have fifteen to twenty houses, two stores, a blacksmith shop, post office, cheese factory, saw mill, hotel and Braemar Hall. A log house was built by Wm. Forves which housed the first post office, to which there was weekly delivery in 1860 and daily delivery in 1880. In 1868 Wm. Gordon built the first blacksmith shop north of the corner. In 1968 J.B. McKay built a cheese factory on the north west side using the creek for water supply. About 187- Andrew Murray and Wm. and George McKay built a sawmill on the northeast corner. They did custom log sawing, sold lumber and made shingles. Robert Forbes built a hotel which was later used for a general store. In 1877 an interdenominational Gospel Hall was built on the southeast corner. Services were led by Rev. John Salmon of the Congregational Church in Embro. For many years there was Union Sunday School services and an evening church service. This building was used for many community meetings and theatre presentations. It subsequently became known as Braemar Hall. In these early years (1872), Braemar was thriving and many new homes sprang up as people worked at the new industries. In 1878 and 1879 tragedy struck the community when the small pox epidemic broke out and many lives were lost. Now the corner is known for farming and recreation; cattle pasture on the hills in the summertime and in the winter time skiers test their skills on these "Braemar Hills."

Bennington

When the Ingersoll and St. Marys railroad was built its builders must have had great hoped for Bennington as they arranged for two train stations to serve the village, Bennington on the second line and McConkey's on the first line.
Close to the railroad line Bob Ross started the first saw mill, and George Duncan opened the cheese factory. "Peter Pelton Water Pumps of Bennington" were being advertised in the newspaper. The village "smithy", first run by Mr. McGee and later by Jogn Muxworthy, was on the southeast corner. On the southwest corner, a weaver, John Fleming wove the wool the local ladies had spun. There have been two general stores, both of which are now closed. one was owned by Don McKay (beside the weaver) and the other on the northeast corner was owned by Mrs. Frances and later by Cecil Beggs. The first post office was located in the general store in 1874 with Robert Heron as post master and later Peter Murray. It closed in 1914.
The first school was located on the third line corner, the present site of "Pelton Gravel Pit". It served both Bennington and Youngsville. . Later a second school was built on the northwest corner of the first line and a third school on the northeast corner just north of McConkey station. In 1880 the Farmer's Hall was built which served as a meeting place for the social gatherings, Sunday School, a thriving Women's Missionary Society, and, for many years, Bennington Junior Farmers.
All has disappeared and the corner is a residential area.

Brooksdale

The land on which Brooksdale stands first belonged to Israel Reid, who came to Zorra from Bedford Mass, in 1821. Israel died in 1841 having given the land to his son George Washington Reid. The first post office opened in Brooksdale on May 1st, 1859. Early postmasters included Jogn Innes, S.N. Bannerman, John Bagrie, Thomas Heron, Edward Shirr, K.B. Gill and Jogn S. Youngs. The post office closed in 1914.
For many years the Youngs family operated a cider mill north of the sideroad on the east side of the Embro Road. At one time two stores flourished. The one on the southwest corner was built around 1860 and continued as a general store until 1918 when J. Ball moved to a store north of the corner. The store that Mr. Ball had located stood on the Bailey farm. The Baileys converted the store into "Balley's Hall". The hall was used for dances and concerts until the 1930's. The hamlet also boasted a blacksmith's shop and two churches. The blacksmith's shop was located north of the corner on the west side and was run by John Bagrie. Mr. Bagrie was, for many years, the village advisor and Secretary Treasurer of the Presbyterian Church. The Presbyterians built a church in Brooksdale in 1883 and the pulpit Jogn Bagrie built still stands in the church today, in what is now Brooksdale United Church (Prior to 1883 the Presbyterians met first in the log school at Squire Gordon's, Lot 33, Concession 5, and later in the frame school #7.
A Methodist congregation had been meeting at Brooksdale since 1823. They first met in the log school and later built a gray, brick building east of the corner. This church closed in 1914.

TOP