028- --- --._—_
b'
mg of,�=the raz-PFay.:3n the -early
50s a decided ^i
e -
:5plqplit of' b. ogress ire•"-•"t®R�pr�®
"i ,
gave nnpetus to
development A more general pro iF f
'E
.
gressive spirit was evidenced with
g.a
Inger soll S Earliest,.._
Days
industrial advancement beingy,
made le ularl
� Agriculture and manufacturing;
t
tt%i
ttFsa
Vila
Thomas Ingersoll was married have each played an important
- By GN]ORCiE F.JANES
three times and was the father of Part in-Ingersoll's development
It is a far cry- Cron the village
Charles and Ingersoll, th
Of Ingersoll of 1851 to.the ,status
.James
latter being the first white baby even from the early.days, and in
of the town of Ingersoll of today..
born In Ingersoll.Thomas Inger, combined form they have provided i '
Official records show that the
sell, iprfor to coming to Canada' a for stability' In. all
h
"village of Ingersoll -was erected
was Intimately: ]mown b Gov-;
Y I
,foundation I
branches of business that is
under the authorityof the 12th
.
e norms S� and also by Brant,
tow
ably not surpassed by any town
Victoria, chapter St, section 58, by
12th
the noted Indian Chief."
of similar size in the province.
,I
proclamation bearing date
From whathasbeen gleaned
In early days before Inger i
September, 1851, to take force and
settlement took place slowly tul-
;the
soll attained the status of a town '
effect on the following 1st day. of
tit 1800 and village proportions
when pine. and other heavy timber)
January."
were .reached some twenty years
was plentiful in the neighboring i
The limits or the village were
later, • -
districts, lumbering was an enter
minutely defined as situated part-
"The situation of the village
prisethatcontributed in no small{
ly in the township of Oxford West'
t] - thetownship of Ox-
was on the river trail at the point
degree building up the commun-
h- f
and par y n where the Indians for centuries it In the rural districts a c re
ford North, in the county o:'Ox in their journeying had directed occupation during the'. winter SenttneLlleview Staff 11lember—
'Ford. their course' south -cast In a months was felling the great Gyeige-1 lanes, In charge of the
The acreage given as compris- straight line toward Brantford. It l trees, cutting: them into logs and Ingersoll offRevie the Sentinel-
ing the. village was 1,722, 725 is recorded that the first saw -mill hauling -them here ' where. they Review
,acres in North Oxford and 997 i was erected in the village by tali-- were cnverted into lumber.
acres in West Oxford. slut Hall, who came here from Reminiscent of those early days),
?records ahlo reveal' that the across the border and became a are some buildings in the town at 1 ._
postoffice In the village was the very influential citizen.' He also the present time wholly construct S
first established in the county.:For erected a second mill on the site ed of lumber produced in the ills -
some time it was known as the of what in comparatively recent trict and which are still in a re ,,�r� ••
4";Oxford Post Office." It was es` years was S93. th'a mill. - The first markable state of preservation.<-
11:ablished. Jan.. 6, 1821, and. Charles foundry' in the village was estab- 'Much of the pine lumber. used (� -
Ingersoll was appointed, postm2s= lished by W, A. Rumsey and was at.that time was obtained from a r> �1
ter, followed by James Ingersoll later operatey^-. W; Efwood. section' of West .Oxford some -six s '
Im -1834 and Damol Phelan m .7; A flour mill was esta 1-6ished "on or seven: miles south-east of here
The rust electron. for village Charles street east by Danl - and although most :of the once he
council. was held on Monday, 5th roll following the completion of plentiful.. pine trees have disap- ,I la
"o° January, 1R5$ at the Royal Ex- the Upper Dam on the Thames pem•ed, it is still alluded to by cast
change Hotel.- James McDonald river and the. creation of Carroll's many of the old-timers as "The 0n
was returning offiicbl -afnn� ie re- pond. Development continued ra- Pines." Most of this area has been s '�
suit of the voting, was. as follows: tiler rapidly and it was not long converted into large, well tilled 10.111
F _
John Galliford, 82 votes; W�A after that Charles Parkhurst es- farms, on which graze some of the t "`
Ramsay, 97 votes; Thomas Bro n, tablished a carding mill, which finest dairy herds, for which the
72 votes; Charles ark a st, 68 preyed of inestimable '--service to district is noted.votes, and `Samos ir'1-urdocb, ".57i the residents, of the Siistrict. Some 1Vith Lhe depletion o[ the pine +>
votes. - time later, according to records, .forests and other timber in the �F3,
treasurer, and James Ban-ic, vH-'
lagc clerk.--
v The first board of school -trus-
tees was elected on Tuesday, Jan:
3, and comprised the "fallowing:
Win. Barker, chairman; David! ,
c'ayne secretary; John Buchanan t f
dward Morris Henry Schefield
jnd Adam Oliver. There was one
Sublic school at the time wish 150
iupils. The teacher was James Iz-'
d, with F. _Reynolds, assistant.
There is much ofhistoric inter
%Y associated with the town of
pgersoli. It has, as a background,
hedauntless and heroic spirit of
he early pioneers of the district —!I
411ose hardy men and women, who
fore than a" century and a half
go began with unflinching sour-
ge and determination the tre-
+endous task of hewing homes
ut of the unbroken forest and
tying in any respects as bea-
om
n lights for the advancement of
)vilization.
It was out. of the unconquer-
Die spirit of those early'. pioneers
lad their boimdletg faith in them-.
Ives and in the future of this
strict - that a settlement was[
rmed which carried the , name I
,ligersoll" and which was deter-.
tined to grow not only numeri-
tlly but in .its importance as a' ;
finding centre.
Down ' through .the years from
letime the tiny settlement was
tablished' there has been trace -
,le the spirit of progress,
Pioneer Family
I'he name 'Ingersoll" is linked'
th a pioneer family, Thomas In-Y
,,,rsolfs, and in this connection the
allowing ',
"� for t-urn ion was some,
.m
nags ago compiled by the late'
mes Sinclair, who hadspent the
,ater part of a long life here.
Thomas Ingersoll by his first'
e was the Mather of Laura In
Coll afterward known by her.
-led name "Laura Secrd,
-•roine' of Canadian history:
his equipment and exchanged yarn 'branches of manufacturing,. was
I or the fleece wool. generally realized.
"It has -been related that It was Soon there was a marked trend j
ate the first foundry''here that the upward In agricultural - develop-
first,steam engine in Oxford coup- ment ivjth.the consequent demand
ty was built. Among other man- y'or more farm machinery;; and It �
ufacturing enterprises.. which fol- was atthis time that the- eedwas
lowed in the wake of early devel- 1 'supplied to a great extent by the
opment was a tannery conducted fenner Noxon Company,
by Thomas Brown, who later be-. Dairymg"'n4so soon .became a'
came a po�'te3ttfaYinfluence. in most important factor as the pro-(Io
leadership of -community affairs --` ;OF
and who as Mayor gave the name duction of cheese steadily increas• h
to Victoria park, and a distillery, ed in the various contiguous sec -
which was operated by G. T,-Jar, bons. For many years' Ingersoll :Ve
vis.Of the distillery it leas been "was known as ".the hub of the;{.. n
said it produced all excellent brand dairy. ibduslry;' . l eit
of whiskey." Emphasizing the important re -
Records of, early devolopmont ldtionship. which the town has had
show that the Ingersoll and Port will' dairying a plaque was plan II,
Burwell Plank and Gravel Road ed on the north wall. of the post -
Company was formed=fn 1849. office building in 1993m
3,,31 by the Isis-
aIp 1
The distance of the road is giv-{toric Sites and Moveents o it
en as 31 miles of which "16?r of Canada which bears the fol. .
miles are within the county of Os -(lowing inscription:' All
ford.,, The average cost per mile,! FIRST CHEESE FAC'1*91'
��
of the road which is gravelled isi The first cheese factory in �3r
given as $275. and thatwhichis Canada was established In the
planked ZOO per mile. county of Oxford In 1864. The
Much of an interesting'. nature widespread adoption of ' the
has been. related by early pioneers co-oporative factory system in
of the days of the stage coach and; this and other counties mark -
the .experiences of both drivers! ed tire beginning of the mod -
and passengers of : that time, Of-! ern dalryiug Industry In East.
ton six four -horse stage lines'ranit, , ern Canada, The Canadian
front London to Ingersoll andDalryanen's Association was.
horses were charged every fifteeni
founded at Ingersoll lit 1867.
-miles, l Events show thatwiththe es.
After flourishing for some timer tablishment of Ingersoll as a vil-
--, --.--- ;age and later as a town, that
the stage coach passed -out and, eater' and more substantial'
the means of travel began to turn progress land development result -
to the projected•' Great Wester: ed. 'today Ingersoll's population
Railway, maturity of w h t c h exceeds.6,000; the town has spier. -
brought a new phase of develop did schools, fine parks, progressive
mn
cnt to the growing. ad anibi-.. organizations .for community ad-
tious community,,:.',,, ? vancement, good churches, excel.
Ingersoll attained `the status of lent manufacturing plants and its
a, town in 1865, which was cele- present big municipal undertaking
hrated. with marked enthusiasm. is the installation of a modern -
The late Adam Oliver, noted for (sewerage system " and disposal
the extent of his lumbering busi- 'plant.
ness, his saw milt and yard being ---T
situated. on Vi,toria street, was -
the town's brst mayor. The, corn-,
At
S t J�er Io
Menrber—
mson. ill
. p •A, 9w aN ,N,M1�,., �. - _.
izens.
-. X �eD4t WA"ACc .. ..
1�"
ENING DAY —It was with all the pomp and ceremony of the dayy/that"tbe Wolods
amen Valley and Ingersoll Railway coach "Estelle' made ,the, first run to and
was made at Beachville by W. H. Sp
achville on November 8, 1900. The above photo
of town council and other represents
d it shows the car and a number of members
Included in the group are Mayor Scarff, W. A-{arn, Dr. Rim' W. G. Mc:
n_NicK , D. Dod e;:Dr. Odlum,
ohn w
S. c ay J. Nelles F; Richards, W wee
(2Ni en,"ChaPies—.I ar 13 G.' R ttullo Rev
olm McKay,
ker, Alex Watson, -Charles Clarke, W S. Hurst, 1 ram n;a• B.
the and J. G. Wal
W. Hunt, C. S_ Johnson, Messrs.
Ickes and Armstrong, promoters,
1
the equipment. Improvements-,
16 PtY
were also being planned in 1902 to
Fairmount Park, which was open-
ed on the bank of, the Thames be- .
Lasted
tween Woodstock and Beachville '
to induce additional traffic on the'!
I
railway.. The park was named of-.
ter Fairmount Park in Philadel-
����
phia, Pennsylvania, home state of
..
the promoters of the railway. .
The Woodstock -Ingersoll -'line 1.
A quarter of a century was the
was established in 1900 - and the
lifetime of the Woodstock street{
"connected -thih
car "Estelle" made the initial trip }
railway which city''
on. November 8 of that as far
with Beachville and. Ingersoll.:
as Beachvfile, the track to Inger-
•,Formally known as the Wood-(
'tstock,
sell not being completed until ]at-1
:Thames Valley and Inger-
r�
er in the year. The tracks did not
sell Railway, operations began on
at first run from Norwich avenue, f iJ' rj•'
November 8, 1900 between Wood-
as called for in the franchise 1,
stuck and BeaChville and continued
granted by the Woodstock council,
until 1925 when the railway line
but that part of the construction.
III
was abandoned and a bus service
wasnot long delayed. "
inaugurated.
''.
I Other Ideas
The -Woodstock ,office- of the
A proposed service to the two
(company was closed in January,
railway stations in Woodstock was:-
1939, after 39 years szrvice as a
never carried out and a city belt
waiting room,. conductor's quar-
It
line, discussed several, times„ was
'ters,' private office and board
—
0 ' room. were The offices e formally allY
m ' r
]eased in March, 1902, at which
time two. new,. were added to II
cars