Historical Plaques of
Hastings County

The O'hara sawmill was in commercial operation from 1850 to 1908. The sawmill used an upright gate or frame saw. This technology superseded the two-man pitsaw, thus saving the early settlers many hours of toll and increasing the production of sawn timber for both local use and export to the United States.

Donated to the City of Belleville by the Corby family, July 24, 1905. Renovated by the City of Belleville and H. Corby Distillery Limited and re-opened as part of Canadian Centennial Year on the 28th of June, 1967.

Henry Corby, the founder of H. Corby Distillery Limited, came to Belleville from England in 1832. Throughout his life he actively promoted this growing municipality, and was, in the Confederation year 1867, the Mayor of Belleville. The following year, he was a member of the first Ontario Legislature to sit following Confederation. His son, Henry (Harry) Corby, expanded the family business, and participated in numerous activities benefiting Belleville and the community at large. These included:
· donation of Corby Public Library,
· donation of public baths and pavilion at Victoria Park,
· development of pleasure park at Massassaga Point,
· establishment of Corby Charitable Fund for the Poor and Needy – still administered by the Women’s Christian Association,
· promotion of the original bridge across the Bay of Quinte,
· donation of Corby Park.
Henry Corby, Jr. was appointed a senator in 1888 in recognition of his role in Canadian life, typified by this Centenniel park.

Built about 1882 for J.P.C. Phillips, a wealthy Belleville banker, this imposing house was designed by the Montréal architect Thomas Hanley. He drew his inspiration from the elaborate Châteaux of 18th century France. The opulence of its exterior style carries over into the interior in a profusion of ornate mouldings and decoration. The house, long in the hands of the family of the first owner, remains relatively unchanged and reflects the tastes of a typical man of property in late 19th century Canada.

Mills constructed about 1832 by Donald MacKenzie, a Belleville merchant, and the ironworks erected by American entrepreneurs Uriah Seymour and John Pendergast, formed the nucleus of a settlement here on Deer Creek. A post-office, Madoc, was established in 1836, and the hamlet grew gradually, stimulated by lumbering, farming, and the opening of the Hastings Colonization Road (1854), which ran north from Madoc Township. Following the nearby discovery of goldbearing quartz in 1866, it became a bustling centre, which by 1868 contained about 1000 inhabitants and numerous industries, including a rock crushing mill. The boom declined after 1870, but the community continued to prosper from its agricultural and commercial activities. Madoc was incorporated as a Village by a County by-law of 1877.

The only chaplain in World War II to receive the Victoria Cross, Foote was born and raised in Madoc. He entered the Presbyterian ministry in 1934 and enlisted in the Canadian Chaplain Service five years later. Assigned to the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, Foote distinguished himself during the ill-fated Dieppe Raid on August 19, 1942. Acting "with utter disregard for his personal safety", he ministered to the wounded and carried injured personnel from exposed positions on the beach to first aid posts and landing craft, all while under heavy enemy fire. Ultimately he was taken prisoner because he refused to abandon those who could not be evacuated. For his courageous actions he was awarded the Victoria Cross, the British commonwealth’s highest military decoration for valour.

Deputy Minister of the Ontario Department of Mines for twenty-two years, "Rick" Rickaby was respected for his contributions to science and to the mining industry. Awarded the Croix de Guerre by France in the First World War, he returned to the University of Toronto, where he obtained his B.A. in 1922 and M.A. in 1923. He joined the Department of Mines as a geologist in 1927, became Provincial Geologist in 1934, and was appointed Deputy Minister in 1938. For his contributions to science he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1936. He was largely responsible for first government airborne magnetic survey in Ontario (1949), which led directly to the discovery of the Marmoraton Iron Mine 120 feet under the surface near Marmora.

Built in 1884, this Station stood for nearly 100 years on the line of the Central Ontario Railway at a spot two miles east of town. The station was named for a man murdered near its original site. After the line was abandoned, the Station was moved here as a reminder of a bygone era when Villagers could hear the whistles of more than 24 trains every day. Near this location a spur line ran north to the lumber mills at Marmora Dam and on to the Cordova Gold Mines. In 1923 this little line had as its president, Sir Henry Worth Thornton who was to be the first president of the C.N.R.

In 1821 an Irish immigrant, Charles Hayes, began building here one of the provinces earliest smelters and foundaries, which by June, 1823, was ready to produce pig iron from ore mined near present-day Blairton. Economic difficulties and transport problems soon ended Hayes venture, but his principal creditor, the Hon. Peter McGill, continued operating it until 1826. In 1837 the government rejected a proposal to use convict labour for the works. Joseph Van Norman's attempt in 1848 to revive the enterprise was frustrated by cheaper British iron brought up the newly-completed St. Lawrence canal system. The works fell into ruin although mining was resumed, 1866 - 1873, the ore being shipped to Cleveland and Pittsburgh for smelting.

These ruins are the footprint of the main buildings of the Pearce Company, whose mills and yards covered this ledge right down to the Crowe River. For over fifty years, logs were driven downstream to feed the waterpowered saws of the Pearce Mills. The thriving family business was also based on a woolen mill, retail stores and even Marmora's first hydro electric plant, powered by the waters of the Crowe River.

The Riverside Cheese Factory was built on this site during the 1890's. Although only a two man operation, production was in excess of 800 pounds per day. Only cheddar cheese was made.

The cheese factory was torn down when it became economically unfeasible to continue operations.

The Peterson Road was named after Joseph S. Peterson, the surveyor who determined its route in this region. Constructed 1858-1863 at a cost of some $39,000 it stretched about 114 miles between the Muskoka and Opeongo Roads and formed part of a system of government colonization routes built to open up the southern region of the Precambrian Shield. Poor soil disappointed hopes of a large-scale agricultural settlement along this road both on government "free-grant" lots and on the lands of the Canadian Land and Immigration Company. Though portions of the route were overgrown by the 1870's, the Maynooth-Combermere section aided lumbering and now contributes to the development of an important Ontario vacation area.

Born in Bangor Township, Dafoe began his career with the 'Montreal Daily Star' in 1883. Two years later he became editor of the 'Ottawa Evening Journal' following which he served on the 'Manitoba (later Winnipeg) Free Press'. 1886-92. Returning to Montreal he worked on the 'Daily Herald' and 'Star". In 1901 he rejoined the Winnipeg paper remaining its editor until 1944. A crusading journalist, he championed Dominion status, the League of Nations and the welfare of the Canadian West and was a founder of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs. He took part in the Paris Peace Conference, 1919; the Imperial Conference, 1923; and served on the Royal Commission on Dominion-Provincial Relations 1937-40.

A prolific and accomplished playwright, Denison was born in Detroit and raised in Ontario. In 1921, after pursuing studies in architecture, he became Art Director of Hart House Theatre, Toronto. Denison soon began to write comedies, some of which were conceived at his summer home in Bon Echo and performed in this playhouse. As author of "The Romance of Canada", a highly successful series of historical plays broadcast in 1931-32, he received wide acclaim as a pioneer in radio drama. During the following decades he devoted his energies to this field, preparing numerous plays for broadcast in the United States. Increasingly interested in business history, Denison wrote several popular histories of Canadian corporations, including Harvest Triumphant: the Story of Massey-Harris, during the 1950s and 60s.

This road was constructed for the dual purpose of opening up a wilderness area to settlement and providing an alternative, less vulnerable military route between the upper Great Lakes and the Ottawa Valley. Its line from the vicinity of Lake Couchiching to the junction of the Hastings and Mississippi Colonization Roads at the hamlet of York River (now Bancroft), was surveyed in 1864-65 at the time of the American Civil War. Named in honour of the Governor General (1861-68), Lord Monck, construction was begun in 1866 and completed in 1873. Free grants of land along its route were made to persons fulfilling the required settlement duties.

One of the first Baptist missionaries to serve the scattered communities along the north shore of Lake Ontario, Turner came to Upper Canada from New York State and settled in this vicinity by 1798. With great dedication he ministered to the residents of Thurlow and Sidney Townships, conducting services in pioneer homes and organizing several congregations including the forerunner of this parish. In 1802 Turner and two other American missionaries, Reuben Crandall and Joseph Winn, formed the Thurlow Baptist Association, the first Baptist association in the province. Until his return to the United States nine years later, Turner worked with Crandall and Winn to ensure the growth of this association, thereby assisting in establishing a permanent organizational framework for the Baptist Church in eastern Ontario.

Born at Deseronto, Kerr attended schools here and in Toronto. With the outbreak of the First World War he enlisted on September 22, 1914 with the 3rd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force and arrived in France the following February. He won the Military Medal at Mount Sorrel on June 13, 1916, the Military Cross at Amiens on August 18, 1918, and a Bar to the latter award at Queant later that summer. The Victoria Cross, the British Empires highest decoration for valour, was awarded to Kerr for his exemplary daring and leadership at Bourlon Wood on September 27, 1918. He outflanked a machine-gun position and later far in advance of his troops, he rushed a strong point and, single handed, captured four machine-guns and thirty-one prisoners.

Led by Deserontyon (Captain John), a group of Mohawks, supporters of the British during the American Revolution, in 1784 became this area's first settlers. Lands to the east of the Mohawks' reserve were patented by John Culbertson in 1837. He began selling village lots in his tract in 1840, Culbertson registered a survey for a village, "Deseronca", in 1850, although the settlement was called "Mill Point" 1850-81. After 1855 Hugo B. Rathbun acquired many village properties and built one of the province's earliest "company towns" here to house employees of his shipyard and sawmill. A county by-law of 1871 provided for the incorporation of Mill Point as a Village. It was renamed "Deseronto" in 1881, and became a Town in 1889.

In 1853 Billa Flint (1805-94) a lumberman, member of the legislative assembly and later of the senate, built sawmills here on the Skootamatta River. A village, at first named Troy but soon renamed Bridgewater, was laid out the same year. Extensive marble deposits were subsequently discovered here and this church, erected 1864-66 is believed to be the only one in Canada constructed of that material. The first resident minister's son, the eminent gynaecological surgeon, Thomas Stephen Cullen (1868-1953) was born in the adjacent parsonage. In 1883 the mining of actinolite, a mineral used in the manufacture of roofing material was began nearby, and about 1895 the village received its present name.

During the 1830s a settlement, initially called Munroe's Mills and later Hungerford Mills, developed here on the Moira River. In 1850, when its population had reached approximately 100, it was surveyed in renamed Tweed by prominent millowner, James Jamieson. The community grew steadily during the mid-19th century with the development of lumbering and mining in the area. Later, as agriculture assumed greater importance, it became a service centre for local farmers. By 1891, when it merged with neighbouring Georgetown and was incorporated as a village, Tweed was served by two railways and had several small factories, numerous businesses and over 750 residents. In 1967, after decades of modest growth, the community gained widespread attention as the site of Canada's first all-woman municipal council.

Born in England, Bowell represented North Hastings in the Canadian Parliament from 1867 to 1892. Thereafter, he held a seat in the Senate until his resignation from politics in 1906. Having served in the Cabinets of Macdonald, Abbott, and Thompson, he became Prime Minister in 1894. Past Grand Master of the Orange Lodge in North America, he nevertheless proposed to the commons in 1896, remedial action that would settle the Manitoba schools problem. In that same year, division within his Cabinet and disenchantment with his leadership forced his resignation. He died in Belleville.

Journaliste et homme politique nê en Angleterre, Bowell reprêsenta la circonscription de North Hastings (Ontario) au parlement canadian de 1867 à 1892. Il siêgea ensuite au Sênat jusqu'en 1906. Il fit partie des Cabinets de Macdonald, Abbott, Thompson et devint premier ministre en 1894. Ancien grand-maitre des loges orangistes d'Amêrique, il fit nêanmoins prêsenter aux Communes, en 1896, un projet de loi rêmêdiatrice pour rêgler le problème scolaire manitobain. La même annêe, des divisions au sein de son parti le forcèrent à démissionner. Il est décédé à Belleville.