Historic Speyside
Esquesing Township, Halton County  Speyside General Store, 1953 - Operated by the Douglas
Family
Today, what was once the thriving village of
Speyside is simply a corner store and a sign on Highway #25, at
#15 Sideroad, half way between the towns of Acton and Milton,
Ontario. A century ago, the picture was very different - Speyside
was a living breathing vibrant community. Speyside was named after
the River Spey in Scotland and in its early days, the creek tumbled
over the rocks creating a miniature waterfall.
Speyside at one time housed two hotels, a tannery,
sawmills, shingle mill, a large stone quarry, a couple of general
stores, a village hall, its own post office and a considerable
number of houses. In fact, the registered plan of the village
shows nine streets: Cruickshank Street (#15 Sideroad), Ontario
Street (Concession 2, now Highway #25), Spey Street, First, Second
and Third Streets, Ashbury, Mill and Water Streets.
Street Plan for the Village of Speyside - Halton County Atlas,
1877
The high elevation of the area along Highway
#25 towards Milton gives a spectacular view of the surrounding
countryside. Indeed, today on a clear day, from this vantage point,
one has a wonderful view of the skyline of Toronto, including
the CN Tower.
Atop the Niagara Escarpment, Speyside is still
an extremely wooded and rocky territory, apparently once covered
with great pines, hemlock and cedar. Recently some 800 year old
cedar trees were discovered clinging to a rock face on the escarpment
nearby.
St. Helena road is an extremely steep road off
Concession 2 where it circles the edge of the escarpment, near
Dufferin School. One of the first sawmills was built up in the
bush where that road heads up over the escarpment. Owned by Tom
Hume, it was a busy mill, supplying lumber to many of the local
people. Another sawmill in the area, run by Mr. Cruickshank, made
barrel staves.
Also in the area was a stone quarry, originally
owned by James Hume. Stone from this quarry was used in 1866 to
build Boston Presbyterian Church on the 3rd line. Many local area
bridges also used this stone.
The Beardmore leather tannery in nearby Acton
was advertising in 1875 for "good hemlock bark for which
I will pay five dollars per cord at the Acton Tannery if delivered
in summer." Hemlock bark cleared by Speyside area settlers
was hauled along the narrow rough road through the bush from Speyside
to Acton, and used in the manufacture of sole leather for shoes.
While much of the land around Speyside was rocky
bush, when the early farmers cleared it of stumps and rock, they
found it to be excellent farm land. According to the 1877 Halton
County Atlas, hops were grown in the Speyside district, and dried
by local farmers in their own kilns. Two drying kilns existed
on the property of Robert Dredge for many years after they had
outlived their usefulness. An obituary for Alexander Livingstone
who farmed 100 acres of Lot 15, Concession 2, notes that "he
was a farmer and gardener at Speyside. He originated the Glen
Mary strawberry and grew it to perfection for years on his farm."
The one remaining vestige of the old village
is the local general store. Opened originally by John Crawshaw,
on land purchased from Ephriam Moore, one of the earliest settlers,
it has run in that location under a number of owners, two of them
being the Douglas Family and the Kelly Family. The building was
moved back from the roadway when 17 feet was expropriated from
property both sides of the highway in 1942 when the road was paved.
Across the highway from the store was the original
log cabin post office, established in April 1873 with Robert McPherson
as the first postmaster. The story goes that the postmaster could
neither read nor write, but depended on school children to tell
him the names on the letters! Robert McPherson was followed by
James Conley, January 1884-January 1888, whose daughter Catherine
carried on until April 1889. John Plank was postmaster from July
1889-February 1891, followed by James Martin, May 1891-March 1904,
and Alexander McDonald, January 1905-1914, when rural mail delivery
was started. This spelled the demise of many rural post offices,
and Speyside was one of there fatalities.
300 acres off #15 sideroad was owned for many
years by Dr. H.A. Beatty, Medical Adviser to the C.P.R. and head
of the Toronto Humane Society. His love of animals led him to
establish here a home and cemetery for stray dogs.
In 1873, School Section #10 was established from
parts of Sections #1 and #5 (Ligny and Waterloo), both of which
were considered too distant for the growing number of pupils at
Speyside. During 1873, a frame building was constructed about
one mile south of the village crossroad, on Concession 2. Called
Dufferin School, the building was opened in January 1874. In 1903,
renovations were made to the frame building, covering it with
a brick veneer, and adding new entrances to the rear of the school.
Originally with stairs and a porch across the front, new rear
entrances on each side of the building, one for boys and one for
girls, were deemed safer that the high front stairs.
One teacher, nineteen year old Elizabeth Smith,
who taught from January to December 1878, left an account of her
Speyside days. They are published in the book "A Woman With
a Purpose, The Diaries of Elizabeth Smith 1872-1884." Elizabeth
Smith later became one of the first women in Ontario to graduate
with a medical degree.
Dufferin School saw many area young people cross
its doors, and many happy times were held in the rural school,
which was a focal point of the village.
In the name of progress, a new five room public
school was opened in 1960. Built north of the crossroad towards
Acton, the new school meant the bussing of pupils from the District,
and the closing of four area one room schools, including Dufferin
School SS#10. The school was sold and became a private residence.
The "new" Speyside School has also closed its doors
as a public school.
Dufferin Public School - Esquesing Township - School Section
No.10
Although still noted on the Ontario Road Map,
Speyside is just a ghost of the village it once was. All that
remains commercially is the corner store. Even the historic St.
Helena's Road has been closed to vehicular traffic, but is accessible
to the Bruce Trail and a beautiful walk along the top of the escarpment.
This pamphlet was written by Dawn Livingstone
for the
Esquesing Historical Society
1996 (Online version 4 June 1997)
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