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= THE FREE PRESS. LONDON, ONTARIO, SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 1949 = Parkhill, Thorndale, j Store Opened in I860, Parkhill Boom Started = NINTH SECTION--PAGE SEVETf The G. H. Lee general store at Thorndale, built in 1861, and some years later taken over by William G. Lee, long-time resident of Thorndale. Irishman Built Tavern On Site'.of Clandeboye SURE AND 'twas a great day for the Irish and for Clandeboye when that ambitious son of the Emerald Isle, Patrick Flanagan, decided to build a tavern on the London and Goderich Road. Around that tavern grew the nucleus of what is now the Village of Clandeboye. It was in 1844 that Flanagan, a native of Mayo County in Ireland, built his tavern on the London-Goderich road close to the townline of Biddulph and McGillivray townships, and then later opened a store in conjunction with it. From that time on Clandeboye prospered almost continuously except for one setback when the Grand Trunk Railway skirted the village in 1858. The population which had been around 300 at that time dropped to 250 and then to 200, but the building of the London, Huron and Bruce Railway helped Clandeboye regain some of its former prosperity. Clandeboye, like many other parly settlements, changed its name faster and more often than an Irishman starts a brawl. First, in honor of its founder, Patrick Flanagan, it was known as Flanagan's Corners. More and more Irish families settled in the area -- attracted no doubt by the name -- and in 1857 it became the Village of Ireland, or Irishtown. Sometime in between these two the place was called McGillivray after one of the neighboring townships. The name Clandeboye came with the London, Huron and Bruce Railway around 1878. At first only the railway station was known as Clandeboye, but soon the entire village accepted it, and Clandeboye it has remained ever since. Byron Specialist Cured Blindness DR. HENRY HALL was born in Byron in 1836, He was a most remarkable man if all the stories told about him are true, but there is a great deal of mystery connected with his life although he spent most of it in Byron. Dr. Hall seemed to have a secret or an exceptional ability to restore sight. Several women, who were known to be completely bljnd, regained their vision under his care. Whether their blindness was caused by cataracts or whether it was due to something organic is not entirely known, but Dr. Hall's successes were something of wide notice in the days when few doctors could afford to specialize. The relatives of his patients expressed their • gratitude in an unconventional manner for those days. They paid him in cash. Dr..Hall moved to Peru. There he died at the age of 33. We've expanded to bring you more and more COLEMAN'S QUALITY MEAT PRODUCTS COLEMAN'S Congratulate the London Free Press on its IQOth Anniversary We're just a youngster in comparison with you - - - but for 63 years it's been our privilege to use your columns in telling all Western Ontario about our products - - - Thanks and congratulations! A view of the recently enlarged packing plant, whose increased facilities will be bringing more and more of those delightful meat products to the citizens of all Western Ontario. ASK FOR THESE COIEMAN PRODUCTS AT YOUR FAVORITE GROCERY OR MEAT COUNTER • HAMS • PURE PORK SAUSAGE • BACONS • BAKED MEATS • JELLIED MEATS • PURE LARD • BUTTER • EGGS • POULTRY and fresh BEEF PORK LAMB Government Inspected for Your Protection COLEMAN PACKING COMPANY LIMITED LONDON ONTARIO IX PARKHILL "there are no church towers which tolled great-grandfathers to their graves; no long lines of tombs, in which lie. the virtues of ancestors known only by tradition; no grey-haired friars rising up like statues before the memory; no grim sexton looking into some new-made grave waiting for his inanimate company--nothing of the dead past. Merchants and tradesmen, physicians and priests are all modern, pushing ever onwards, building and rebuilding, always active." Some poetic enthusiastic, wrote those lines 60 years ago, but in this centennial year there ert Porte. is little to be said to change the spirit, at least, of this picturesque appraisal. Parkhill has neither age nor wilderness, and although the population, once set at 1,613, has become suburban, the people now there justly claim all the reality and grit of youth. Enjoyed Early Boom Parkhill began in 1860 with the building of a store and the opening of a post office. Following that, the, settlement enjoyed a boom which lasted for many years. In West Williams, in 1851, William Jackson and his son had to chop through two miles of forests in order to reach their new home. In 1868, the first sawmill of Parkhill was built by a triumvirate composed of Robert Phippen, James Taylor and Rob- The first grist mill was erected four years before/ and William Baird had built a pump manufacturing plant in 1865. In the spring of 1867, there were 16 buildings in the course of construction, while in this year of Confederation many of the other communities had become full blown, and many of these had lived their short lives and had disappeared into the landscape again. A hotel and stables were built in 1867, and a stave factory came in '69. John Harrison built woollen mills in 1870, and the Shantz Bros, built a flax mill six years later. A foundry came in '79, a brickyard in '85 and a school in the same year. Park-hill's first mayor was elected in January of 1886, when the village became a town. Shanly's Estate Famous During Thorndale's Youth THORNDALE, a pretty community in the Township of West Nissouri, still has traces of an aristocratic past. The famed estate of the shanly's, who named the village and gave prestige to the district, still stands, almost obliterated by wild vegetation, a few miles from where one of the most famous rural shipping centres of Canada was over a century ago. The Township of Nissouri was surveyed in 1819 by Shubael Park, provincial land surveyor, and the report of his findings were such that this district, and particularly the site later to become Thorndale, became a popular settling ground. The land was "better than common," with abundance of beech, maple, elm and oak. The "soil is of a gravelly, sandy and loomy nature" and "there is very little clay soil." (This probably accounts for the absence of old brick buildings in the district.) "The water is the purest, with plenty of small speckled trout in the streams." (There is little fishing there today.) The north branch of the Thames was said to be navigable for small boats. Logans From Ireland The Logan family came to Nissouri from Monaghan, Ireland, in the twenties. In 1836, James Shanly, a graduate of Trinity University, Dublin, disposed of his Irish estates and arrived in Nissouri Township in 1837. He selected the prettiest place he could find and built a palatial home. Shanly did not practise his profession; instead he built a distillery and for many years Thorndale was known far and wide for Shanly whisky. Today, old folks recall the gay days at the Thorndale mansion, with its many quaint windows and large veranda. In 1857 James Shanly died, at 79. Mrs. Shanly died three years later. In 1899 Walter Shanly, the famous civil engineer, also died in Thorndale, at 82. They were all buried in the family plot at St. John's Cemetery, London Township. Railway Comes It was fitting that the first business place in Thorndale was to be a saloon. When the time for the railway came, Thorn-dale was merely a hamlet. Wy- to«, ricetr V)-y, «.-.-cu3 nelecfecd txo iK~ site of the station, but the people there would not sell the lot required for the construction. So the railway station was built in Thorndale, and in 1858 the beginning of Thorndale was seen. In recent years, Thorndale-on-the-Wye has become a quiet residential centre for an agricultural township. Some of the residents, like W. G. Lee, whose father built the general store in 1861, have taken advantage of the natural source of Indian relics with which to form a hobby. Hundreds of arrow heads have been uncovered along the river banks, and are still being found particularly after flood waters have washed the earth from old Indian camp sites and burial grounds. Among Mr. Lee's collection are several pieces of curious Indian pottery, beautifully carved and well preserved so that generations yet to come may reflect on the industry with which our early citizens utilized their idle time. Francis Shanly, who was one of the pioneer Irish families which settled at Thorndale. They built a large estate just outside Thorndale, named after a place in Ireland. Francis Shanly, with his brother, Walter, built the Hoosac Tunnel in the United States in 1869. His other brother, James, was prominent in public life in North Nissouri. For many years the family operated a distillery at Thorndale. Its whisky was famous throughout the district. Byron Byron Scene of Battle in War of 1812 HAND IN HAND young couples stroll leisurely along the paths that twist and turn around "Reservoir Hill," children play among the trees and flowers of one of Western Ontario's beauty spots; and in the winter skiers careen merrily down the slopes; none of them realizing that this peaceful village of Byron was a thriving industrial and commercial centre before London, and that on the hills overlooking the village was fought one of the fiercest battles on Canadian soil. At that time Byron was known as Hall's Mills because the Hall family owned and operated the village's industries. It is said that the village was renamed Byron in 1825 by Henry Niles of Nilestown. Near the present site of Bryon a small band of' Canadians made a courageous and ^successful stand against a superior force of American Cavalry during the War of 1812-14, and here too was enacted a sequel to exploits of Laura Secord. Proctor Retreats After the Battle of the Thames in October, 1813, in which the great Indian leader, Tecumseh, was killed General Proctor retreated with his defeated British forces t o w a r ds Burlington Heights by way of Longwoods Road and the Commissioner's Road. On the Commissioner's Road near Byron, a troop of volun-• teer cavalry and a detachment of militia infantry from Oxford County under the command of a Captain Carroll were attacked while convoying a wagon train of wounded men and baggage from the scene of battle. The attacking force was the advance guard of General Harrison's American Army, consisting of Kentucky mounted riflemen. Unable to retreat, the band of Canadians took up their position on top of a high rounded hill. The Kentucky riflemen dismounted, and, in vastly superior numbers, charged up the hill, only to be met by a withering hail of lead from the gallant little band of Canadian volunteers whn maae a last ditch stand around the wagons carrying their wounded comrades. Kentuckians Flee The famed Kentucky riflemen broke and fled after suffering heavy casualties, and the Canadians continued their retreat unmolested. It was during this battle that a Mrs. McNames, whose name has been allowed to pass almost into obscurity, proved the metal of which the pioneer women were made. Disregarding the bullets which whistled around her Mrs. McNames climbed up on a baggage wagon and handed ammunition to the troops and carried water for them to drink throughout the whole engagement. The "Battle of Byron" may have shrunk almost into historical oblivion due to the number of troops engaged, but it is still the proudest moment in the history of one of Middlesex County's first settlements. PARKHILL We/comes Industries Consider Our Possibilities, Low Taxation, Rail Facilities, etc. - - - on behalf of the citizens of Parkhill WE SALUTE THE LONDON FREE PEESS "our daily paper" on its 100th Anniversary Parkhill, a happy community of 1,500 population, situated in the rich agricultural district of Middlesex County. Pleasant social and recreational facilities, nice shopping district . . An ideal place to live and do business. Parkhill Second Old Boys 'Come Home Again" -- July 30, 31, Aug. 1, 2 You'll Enjoy Stopping and Shopping at Parkhill For Further Particulars A\7rite Town Clerk, Parkhill Many Happy I know that all "Western Ontario joins in saluting a paper that has done so much for the community. Thos. L. Patrick, M.L.A. North Middlesex THOMAS L. PATRICK North Middlesex EQUIPPED TO GIVE SERVICE Shown above Is a view of gome of our equipment with our modern loading station and warehouse In London In the background. One of the recent additions to our growing fleet - - -a modern covered van. London Manager: W. J. "Bill" Ormsby INTERCITY FORWARDERS LIMITED Class "A" with "C" and "D" Privileges Best Wishes London Free Press on its 100th Anniversary LONDON - - 325 Burwell - - Met. 1823 Teletype service to save you time between -- London - Toronto - Hamilton - Windsor Niagara Falls - Detroit ----- OVERNIGHT SERVICE -- Aylmer, Beamsvllle, Ingersoll, London, Brantford, Buffalo, N. Merritton, Mimico, Y., Burlington, Chat- New Toronto, Niagara COMPLETE INSURANCE COVERAGE ham, Delhi, Detroit, Michigan, D u n d a s, Falls, Niagara N.Y., Oshawa, St. Thomat, Simcoe, Thorold, Toronto, FaTis" Walkerville, Whltby, Pick- Windsor, W I n o n a, Grimsby, . Hamilton, ering, St. Catharines, Woodstock. OPERATED BY COLVILLE CARTAGE COMPANY LTD. Head Office -- 123 Duchess St., Toronto