034the ore Oxford's Forest Slashed ?�
At this time of the year, with the great mile, no human being, no human dwelling
!es along the roads and in the woodlots ofwithin sight."
ford ablaze with autumnal color, the Later on she gives a vivid sketch of the
Jught often occurs of what this district typical clearing:
ist have looked like before the forest was "The aspect of these was almost uniform,
shed and the land cleared. presenting an opening of felled trees of about
Looking at the woodlands today, one one acre or two . . great heaps of timber
!Is like the archaeologist who discovers a - trees and brushwood laid, together "and burn-
v bones of some prehistoric' monster and
lint it "strives to create 'a picture of what ing; a couple of o to add to along another
animal was like in its native environment. enormous trunk to add is the pilau She
the case of the ancient forests' of Oxford, talks to a settler, who tells her: "You may,
are somewhat more fortunate in that we 'swing the axe here from morning to night for
a week before you let the daylight in upon
ve the works of contemporary writers to you.,,
Ip us in reconstructing the scene. 141rs. Jameson also describes more open
Anna Jameson, travelling by stage coach
m Porgy oho to' Detroit in'1837 gives the types of forest:
lowing picture of: the °rest between "Oxford, or.rather Ingersoll, where we
18 Log, 2 flank Houses in Ingersoll
In 7828; Registry Office Aged 120
In- 1828. Ingersoll had only 20
houses, 18 log and two plank. Brick
buildings did not begin to appear
In the county until the 1830'a. The
:oldest building. in Ingersoll is the
'brick registry: office ' built by
Charles Ingersoll at this period. It
n °uses a jewelry shop of y,J.
B. Ross and Kerr's Meat Town Hall on Market,
It stands next to the
King street west, Zi40/,l
Business Boo rS9`P
Certain- 'fine brick business
blocks" mentioned were MP-
Carthy's, Pomeroy?, the Caledonia
Building, Browett," Block, Tay
Block, Jarvis Hal ".and the_,
Fellows' Hall. ' e.
Taylor's Block now contains
Dominion Store, , and the Js
Block stands. on King street, 1
next the creek. At one time It
a section "spanning .,the cr
.r„amea McIntyre, the'poet, had
f friltu�� re and undertaking bust,
In this `tart.. About 181 the ap
I'o`oda ;bro-k-e-fi,ree dame on
creek, and this part of Jarvis
was washed away, As one old If
said, "There were coffins from I
to Dorchester. G.j l i Ard.fe
l
Wrantford and Woodstock as seen through stopped to dine and rest previous to plunging ---rionn�he nstoncarPapers of-tne-
e eyes of'a'visiting Englishwoman:' into an extensive pine forest called the 'Pine late James A. Crawford and an
"No one who has a single atom of imag- Woods' '. :' the forest, land through which intrview-we-sfaa v�ith the late
nation can travel through these forest roads I had passed, was principally covered with Neil McFee of Ingersoll, in.1939,
t; f Canada without being strongly impressed hard timber as oak, walnut, elm, basswood. one can form quite a'veomposite
end excited. The seemingly interminable- We were now in a forest of pines, rising dark Picture of the construction ai the
i, P r g �. Canada. Great Western railway
tole of trees before you; the boundless wilder -'and monotonous on either side . I. These through excess county, in 16s3. Mr.
ess around; the mysterious depths amid the seven miles of pine lforest we traversed in' McFee was six years old when the
' multitudinous foliage where foot of man hath three hours and a half; then succeeded some sraT-limn whistled for hand brakes
'lever penetrated, and which' partial gleams - miles of open; -flat country called, the oakto make a scheduled 'stop at roger-
bf the noon -tide sun, now seen, now lost, lit plains and- so called because covered with sell for water and wood. He sat
�,jjp with a. changeful; magical beauty thickets and groups of oak dispersed with the engineern a er blew the' and
hisstle when
°the. olitudq m which we proceeded mile after park -like and beautiful effect.' the workmen downed' tools and i
-- -� _ _--- -rushed to the right of way to see
18 the train emerge out of the practi-
F�rst Tram Came to 0 dSSt C DECEMBER 13r 5 catty unbroken wilderness. Lad
Y lnd be u ? es, from No like, a McFee jumped off the
-'first railroad train passed throu_gF, p tY (quantity oC surplus wfiea`ETo Han,- wagon and landed upon an upfurn-
Rroodstock, enroute to London. The ?ereham,: Nssouri and the Zt ilton by railroad that a saving of ed axe. He cut his foot and it
trainconsisted, of anengine, bag= s: swamped the idea "upon `.�', 19.33412s.6d., will be effected and required several stitches by I�r.
Ifrgage car and four, coaches. The .",rounds that the railway was' the whole amount is saved by the Ij4yt to close the gash. Naturally,p;`,coaches were.pablted red and got- ng too far away from .their T. grower. Your committee are fn one would have a rather difficult.
t'den letters. read "Canada Great -. ",eetive townships. ,: formed by: all grain and -flour men time to. convince Mr. McFee that
]'western Railway," known -today The e-Honorable •` Hillas .had a chants, in Woodstock, that they he could not remember -,fie first
• as part of the Canadian National a. ice up his sleeve' and he decided, invariably pay 25.7d. per barrel' train through Oxford:-
t,,Ra!lwaysystem. ' n play it., He informed the council for the carriage of a barrel of MOTLEY CREW
f,From the outset, one of the "hat' sufficient money had been (flour from Woodstock to Hamilton %There were 1200 men engaged in
bitterest controversies of the last 1rornised to bring the railroad to While the G Wproposed to carry the construction of the road. They,
"k.'�;eentury was occasioned by the fife crest of the escarpment. "Ile one for,sixpence, thereby a saving`, were mostly recruited from the;
-�.CGW contemplating the building -:,tad been heiI by the counties. of 2s.ld., per barrel, or 5d, pe British Isles and Europe. Every,
(I a railroad . . . running from.;' flankln^ Lake Erie to change the bushel on wheat will be effected' country was represented . . .
°tUe Niagara frontier. to'the Detroit nronosed - route and follow the A saving of 5d. per ` bushel on Italians. Greeks, Russian, Poles„
}:river through a practically'`, north shore of the lake to Detroit. 1448.062 bushels of surplus wheat, Scandinavians, Texan mule skin-;
unbroken wilderness' of t r e e s, �I ners and the failures from the
incke and. swam s British finan-', a r ep a informed them that he was !would be,essrs. Andrews
s in other r
'r P • a representativefromOxford and words, Messrs."Andrews, ether- California gold rush of 49. Never:
�c,al interests had poured thousands ,r 1r ,na ',.,.t v^„« tr,. ra �,,cm'_landand company ;a--nd-P'igkle'and ,:. fn'. Oxford's history was there as
Yjand tliarsands of pounds sterling et, Wrn t� 4,,,,,, th" rntirn lr •^'h rr company would have. given iiig-Ox- sdmbled a more motley and heter
tiy the time the ribbon oft steel had.. Oxford county then he would abide, ford county farmers" I9.334.12s.6d. ogeneous crew than the laborers
! "i«T m61Mell wsfie-Z%.-would" more for the surplus wheat had of the construction gangs. Crews
a, reached the Niagara escarpment, '•I resigril seat and advocate that there been a railroad from Wood- i slashed timber, scrapers pulled by
�I,at Dundas,"the directors of the ilia CGW strike Lamoresouthern 'stock to Hamilton. oxen, horses and Missouri mules,
+' road has met their nemesis in the , - - I heaped the rock and earth to make
r•. route. 'PLAIN FACTS the roadbed; portable steam saw
! y'onr, of a depleted ng 'cry.. More.. CObIDIITTEE SET UP Nothing can be more lain than
tt ^nyensore whispering `campaign; this: if a barrel of flours is worth!!! mills sawed the ties from the tim-
F� The council 'knew that Mr.
ponsored b.Y-rival"American rail / li¢r'.which laid felled by the cut-;
s wa
s - e ' 20 shillings 1;I]iC.li the so o s r m 'n soul f integrity s i Hamilton,
n g m ton and toads and Atlant'c seaboard still)- g Y a its here
1 ahead. T
i yards a ea
few a
, and he would follow out. his threat transportation from Woodstock to tars some y
,,ping companies, that the CGW, were tin -layers, stump blasters,
{would prove another South Sea of resignation. Upon the motion of there costs 20 shillings. and seven- 'rail -layers, spikemen, water -boys,
libubble, did not contribute much tot J. •M: Ross, Embro, and John !Pence, `it is quite evident that *' 'bridge and culvert builders, team-
•enhancethe success of the ven arI1-rington,_East Zorra, a special: Woodstock merchant cannot afford
��, lu e. ! ran way c mmittee was set up un-I to give more, than 17s.5d, In Wood- 'stars, harness makers, , telegraph
stock, whereas 1f its trans camp cooks, carpenters, tale
rO THE `RESCUE ! der the, chairmanship of John_BX ports tionl :.linesmen and a score or more of,
In 1850, the Ho le Francis wickmeresent of . per barrel, he could
,'. an esteemed idcosts only 6d
-� Oxford county farmers and early
' �Ifneks,. MPP,.for 0xford cos—r'nt'y;, BTaddford township, to bring in a afford to give 191 per barrel .settlers who secured work on the
„ ax me totherailway's rescue. He t•eport. at the next session. The whole of this saving goes into CGW. Never in Oxford, from its
'shook up'.the 'company's ditectors,I. MriBar addressed several the growers' pocket;-andnot only inception, in 1792, to 1853, was
•field engineer's and other railway meetings to the farmers of the. that but whatever the price of ready cash poured into the county
oersonnel.'He then fathered a. bill back fifties. He.admitted that it wheat might be'hi.11amtlton, this .with such abundance. Woodstock
through -.the provincia] parliament was an imposs!bility for the road- ']saving will be the same." and Ingersoll merchants reaped a
i„o permit`counlfes' to issue-deben- bed of the railway to, up and.1" ofr• Barwick weighed all the harvest of pounds, shillings and
Lures for the 'subscription of shares down each concession to serve' (pros. andcons. in an .impartial pence, which has probably never
tin the uncompleted railway. He, each` farmer.! He thought that if ;manner. He_closed his report with been equalled to this day.
,hen addressed` every county'coun- the railway went through the mtd- ' tie advice in a few words It was July, August and Septem-
,d between Hamilton and Windsor. dle of the county that it would be bar, when the railroad cut a swath'
:\4r. "Hincks habis propounded the theory treating both north and south far- - °1ely: "Men may talk about the I. through: the bush of Oxford. Con -
hat the inhabitants of Canada Orden of taxes" to build a rail-
, mers will, equality, He pointed out
'Nest would benefit more from the road, trot the tax which people pay
redll f'�y
that they were teaming the major .a-"' J
Cow railroad than the share or
to be without them is a hundred r
R» `bondholders in England.- He had
"acts and figures which were un.
,ierilable He held public meetings
•a Woodstock and Oxford village'
, requested the
' Ingersoll)ai d nmt 4
'merchants. and Individual citizens
':o: subscribe for shares. He ap-
e ,ed e o•
'o a� before the Oxford n. d coun
ty
?,arcil, in June, and requested
flint body underwrite 125.000
stock.-NAWIaIly, Rs"evea�'
ty of their grain to either Wood-
stock or Oxford-tlnne_tFe-cot+.,...,...
and they would still have to do so,
-ailroad or no railroad.
It would be remfas 3f some of
Kr. Bar wrc ' e r rt fuss Po not in-
!ludera in 1his8 article: "'Last year,
he far
mers ines r of Oxford ha
d
d a sus -
lilts of 495.062 bushels of wheat
Iver local requrements.'We pro
lose to show that to tra b,-_rt 0
fold more oppressive."
Mr. Barwicq went around the
bush too au, his logical conclu-
sion that Oxford could not lose on
'.the venture and the county n.
t
Y coo
cil met on Dec. 2,1850, and passed
a bylaw to subscribe' 125,000 to,
wards the building of the railway. wa a Y
.
Mr.. Barwick addressed the 'coun-
cil previous,; the vote being tak-
en and warned the opponents
1
'several other
participating ni '-
P e g mu c,
palitiea will not take-out steels if
Oxford county refuses." Even the
main ob'ector war
den B n' i J e ,am n
Van nr man, Tillsonburg' a n q
Dere'ham, withdrew his objectior/j
and supported the pylaw
is day krart¢,g rw.tk their c-,.bi
the ]tnc otiw+a•+rht' 11r. \fcF'of
sal trot »mom urn ,wrxFiu w�
taxer" tar SAW to firs; "
ll cuSho "* rhirh� conall d
cOQPts of - WAIcIdared coin;
AM a ]fir dispersing
r1ourtrrn atalWaatfed to cure
thins trios abater W a caulil
' ear . „ - trot All Oree ahillin
boulef ltse adser moollectlor
seeing a 00 Sol a barrel of
from . ).brewery and,.
Coming ell flex Thames
bridge, k-Ill all sldetl
dropped, bael Va river and pr
IY "al A all track layer
Into the wad to retrieve the
AUTO and lid not mine up, An
netro d:asat in and came up
his lose owwade who held a
Clutch 014..00 barrel of beer
w
struction camps were spaced elghl-�~_�
miles apart . ,.', Smith's Creek
(Princeton), Eastwood, Beachville,
Patton
's Siding, and on to lender
and eventually Windsor.
Then came the bane of all coo•
struction engineers!, Whiskey and
women! These gay' fillies _ the
fifties were camp followers of the
old school. They invariably occupi-
ed the site of the old railway camp
of a couple of weeks previous ....
'some eight miles to the rear For
three months Oxford played Mine
Host to the riff raff of the Amerh
can continent ....Those who toil
not neither do they spin. One half
million of railroad money in the
form of gold and silver sterling to
be garnered in by the sly- and
slick card sharps, amblers, saloon
keepers, faro oper�tors and paint -I,
ed ladies.
SADDLEBAG PREACIIER
The only good feature of they
camp was on a Sabbath morn ....I
The Reverend tv. H: faction • .oft
preacher of,the Baptist faith, held I
an open air, camp meeting to max `
the strayed sheep back into the -
fold. He endeavoured to impress
upon the Jezebels of his motley
congregation that the joys of today
might prove eternal misery torn r-
row. Some repented and some did
not.
The only' distillery and brewery,
between Hamilton and London, was
located in Ingersoll. G. T. Jaen
operated the still, and Max xe
made the brew. One c_an_
t
conjecture that business was rush-.
ing as the camp follower neared
Ingersoll! Where was the law? In'
1853, there existed very little law
Sri Oxford. There was a sheriff and
High County constable, The villages
of Woodstock and Ingersoll each
had a constable and what took
lace in some. e o 'P other t wnshi was
P
'Po concern of theirs.,
Fights and brawls were a rattly
occurence. There existed only a
few roads and to report a breach
of the peace took at least a day.
By the time the law arrived all /
.'differences had been mended, or
nobody would talk, The railway
paid four shillings per day and
'paid once a month. The operators ;
of the camp knew when pay day
would arrive and they would at-'
`range with someone to walk into
the High County' Constable's office '
and report an imaginary murder
either at the top, or the bottom,.
of the county. By the time the con-
stable's old grey mare jogged to
the borders of either Perth or El-
gin counties and returned it took
at least two days and a couple of
days was all which would be need-
ed to clean the unsuspecting out of
Isis cash.
. Many ' farmers'' wives reaped
'teady pin money by serving home
III
cooked meals of meat, fowl or'
um kin ..fish. Homemade
p__ _;_p __p..
__icklts
pies and newly baked -bread were
I'
When the
u ickl disposed -of, t en
y 9T
r angs •laid ` the rails through
�villagea
1
sthe
oli
of tVood.�lbel: and Ingersoll
%A by uA 110usf,-,
e� 80 it lrn� 5nacn- fb
by lirnrelW^ r
Dry bra.) mete, br l'
Reel bra hot<st-west
f 0•ktw�s,Yb�[.i.1Jur
ir+� react
1W,%rwt%J-To all br
ill i k-tAhe6i,t. ba
fill Wei -by l Rt
.iw.�
afi,,Tt br li.h htross -re.
ywstt ►y S eklkw ktn
' �b♦ lei bTWk y,SxT&i!
ST+a.tc�a�• ,ue
w
pu ,,,s„j+brluk ow COY
rsr.i Sr ,.brve bill b•
Nast fNut�.
paint r 0fiv, red rust
0 y nc �+ ++. L e+! ST•b u
d. !,rti•.te l kvIL-cry
se
,,0" • CAI rd, call f 1
hll. kr,,Ite't in t
ec,.•ttsj bl ! dull.
oWIWI b) F,aln.t.+r+- Fox
v►l-ial vst�oN �mL
a•) Hs+se xv''d,. b abr
vw t,.+sr sr la: of o f++
a tad br,c I;Mltt by
)♦any a, t+-
I. 1 sir u tl.a
u
,LL'rt tis',,,st,rttrR,ted br
i]eilt at Sbvt•walal
else+ tyrlrty fe4'{.