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A Short History of
Rawdon Township and Stirling
by Lewis Zandbergen
President, Stirling-Rawdon Historical Society
W. Hambly first described Rawdon Township in his diary of 1794; he was
the person hired to survey the area. However, the name Rawdon already
appears on a map outlining the Crawford Purchase of 1783, and appears
(along with Huntingdon, Hungerford, Sidney and Thurlow) on a map of
Upper Canada dated April 12, 1800. An official date of the naming isn't
known.
Rawdon Township was named in honour of Francis Rawdon Hastings, 1754 to
1826, "a gallant soldier, an eloquent senator, and a popular
statesman." Upon his father's death in 1793 Francis added the titles
2nd Earl of Moira and Baron Rawdon of Rawdon, York County, after his
name. Upon his mother's passing in 1808 he also assumed the Baronies of
Hastings, Hungerford, Botreaux and De Moleyns. A complete account of
the life of Francis Rawdon can be found in the history of the Rawdon
Family compiled by Stan Rawdon in 1990. A copy of this fascinating
history can be found in the Stirling-Rawdon Public Library's Local History and
Genealogy Room .
Lord
Francis Rawdon, Marquess of Hastings
A biography by Glenn F. Cartwright is available here
.
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Rawdon Township and the village of Stirling shared their history until
1858 when the village became incorporated as a separate entity. The
settlement of Stirling was made possible through the abundant water
supply from a creek (now called Rawdon Creek) which powered early
mills. In 1797 John Bleecker and Caleb Gilbert were granted Lot 11
Concession 1 in Rawdon Township. In 1803 Joshua Goldsmith was licensed
to operate a still with a capacity of 53 gallons. Samuel Rosebush
became the second still owner and was licensed in 1804; in 1804
Rosebush was listed as the only distiller in the county. The summer of
1805 must have been a dry one for little hay was harvested. Farmers
grew rye instead to feed their animals, severely impacting the
availability of rye for distilling purposes. However, by 1806, after a
recovery in hay crops once again allowed the growing of rye wheat
destined to produce the amber nectar, several distilleries were in full
production. At this time the cluster of dwellings and businesses around
the creek on the border between Rawdon and Sidney Townships was known
variously as Rawdon Mills, Fidlar Mills (after Edward Fidlar, a
prosperous mill owner), and even Seldon Mills for Seldon Hawley, a
lumberman.
Throughout the early years of the 1800s settlers continued to arrive in
Rawdon Township. By 1821 the population stood at around 200. By 1829 it
had jumped to 329. Houses and small farms began dotting the countryside
of Rawdon Township. Descendants of United Empire Loyalists moved north
as the lands to the south filled; in the 1830s immigrants from
Scotland, England and Ireland arrived escaping famine and unrest in
their home countries boosting the numbers of settlers; between 1830 and
1835 the population of the township had almost doubled from 335 in the
former to 625 in the latter. By 1839 residents of the township numbered
1,067. Upon the severance of village and township in 1858 the
population stood at around 4,000.
Stirling as a Village
Stirling is nestled in the hills of Sidney and Stirling-Rawdon
Townships; as a matter of fact, Stirling's Front Street straddles the
border between the two. The history of Stirling and Rawdon Township
have been closely twined from the very start.
But the village is rich in its own history too; it's been a settled
community for almost 200 years and its residents are proud of the many
historic storefronts and homes lining the streets, some virtually
unchanged from the way they looked a century ago. Because of several
disastrous fires little of the original shopping district remains.
Although there are several exceptions, most buildings in the downtown
area west of North Street date to around 1883. A disastrous fire that
year burned out most of the buildings from Henry Street to Rawdon Creek
and from Meiklejohn Hardware at 40 Front Street West eastward and
around the corner as far as the Masonic Hall. Similarly most of the
buildings on the north side of Mill Street bear the date 1908. Most
were rebuilt after the great fire of that year.
The first landowners were Captain John Walden Meyers (also the founder
of Belleville) and John Richard (Squire) Bleecker. By 1806 Joseph
Rosebush owned Lots 19 and 21 south along what is now Front Street West
and Samuel P. Cummings owned land surrounding the mill pond. Early
settlers included members of the Horton family whose burying ground
lies just behind the Creekside Centre at the east end of town.
By 1807 Samuel Rosebush had built a mill on the north side of Rawdon
Creek near the present James Street bridge. The rushing waters of the
creek provided power for the many mills which followed.
Edward Fidlar was a prosperous mill owner and for a time the hamlet
which sprang up around the mills was known as Fidlars Mills. As stated
previously, the village has been known by several other names.
Eventually it was decided to call the village Stirling because, as the
story goes, the area reminded the first Scots settlers of their former
home in Scotland-Stirlingshire. Stirling was incorporated as a village
in 1858.
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Parker's Mill
Presently
known as King's Mill, this building was constructed circa 1850 by
Robert Parker. The original dam is shown on the right of the photo.
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Photograph courtesy of Janet Miller |
During the decades to the 1830s, large
numbers of Scots settlers came into the area and Edward Fidlar, who
came from the Orkney Islands, was among the earliest. His further
development of the established mills in the village did much to
encourage settlement. Another early Scot was Robert Parker who came
from Ayr, near Stirling, Scotland. He arrived in 1821 to monitor family
interests in the Marmora Mine. This necessitated travel on horseback
from Marmora to Kingston a journey of some 50 miles as the crow flies
but about 75 to 80 if the trails were used. However, Kingston was the
location of the nearest bank in what was then Upper Canada.
After the mines
proved unsuccessful, Parker became involved in the timber trade. He
built a mill at Wellmans Comers, about eight miles northwest of
Stirling and exported timber down the St. Lawrence River by way of the
Deer and Trent Rivers. Edward Fidlar's invitation to move to Stirling
in the late 1830s resulted in Parker's operation of a tavern in the
village. It is through the work primarily of these two men that
Stirling received its name.
The first body officially to govern the
area at a local level was that of Rawdon Township. The first municipal
government was formed in 1850 and a town hall which also served as a
church and community meeting place was erected on Village Lot 47 of Lot
10, Concession I, Rawdon Township; the lot was purchased for about
sixty-one dollars. For the next eight years the village and the
township affairs were run from those offices which early maps show as
having been located on the triangle formed by Edward, Mill and Victoria
Streets.
In 1858, Stirling
was officially incorporated and declared a village. Boundaries were set
and Rawdon Township had to begin a search for new offices. The building
which had served village and township was sold for $1,000. Stirling's
second town hall is still standing although not in its former glory. It
has become a seed and feed store and mill.
Development
of the village and township was steady; by the dawning of the 20th
century Stirling had a population of about 1,000; today's population
stands at about 2,000 (total of 4,500 including the former Rawdon
Township population). Many of the early industries, most tied to
farming, have disappeared with time and the village serves as a
picturesque bedroom community for people working in Belleville and
Trenton.
Since 1858 we
have gone from pioneer settlement to modern flourishing town; but we
are lucky that several homes and buildings from almost any era in
Stirling's history remain to remind us of our rich heritage.
Today the
village and the township have been reunited. Stirling is an enchanting
village with tree-lined streets, limestone buildings, magnificent
Victorian architecture and turn-of-the-century storefronts. A thriving
arts community includes painters, woodworkers, writers, a flourishing
theatre, and regular musical venues.
The rural
area of Rawdon still features many fine farms set amid rolling hills.
Communities such as Harold, Spring Brook and Bonarlaw dot the stretch
of highway between Stirling and Marmora.
"Downtown" Harold
These buildings still stand in a crossroads community that has dwindled
to a wide spot in the road at Harold. The picture dates to about 1915.
From the right are the Rawdon Township Municipal Hall built 1863; the
building that for many years was the Harold Store; barns on the corner
of Highway #14 and the side road to Harold Cheese Factory. |
Photograph courtesy of Betty Bailey |
The Crowe
River cuts a wide swath across Concessions 12, 13 and 14; many
secondary creeks and streams criss-cross the countryside. Miles of
former railbed provide seasonal sports delights. Country schools and
churches still dot many of the rural corners and although the schools
no longer ring with children's laughter, many have been preserved
either as summer or year-round homes.
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Stirling-Rawdon
Historical Society email address -
history@stirling-rawdon.com
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