South Himsworth Township History,
Parry Sound District

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History of South Himsworth Township, Parry Sound District

This article first appeared in the November 1998 newsletter, Volume 14 - Number 2

Some of the area in north east Parry Sound District was surveyed in 1862 by a party from Eganville including John McMullen, his two sons-in-law, John Beatty and Edward Floyd, and John Jessup. In 1864, John Beatty and his wife returned to be the first settler in this northern district. In 1876 when Charles Chapman P.L.S. was commissioned to survey Himsworth Township there were no settlers in the area east of the Nipissing Road. The Nipissing Road was surveyed in 1866-67 and construction was begun in 1870 on the sixty-mile road from Rosseau to Nipissing through bush, swamps, black flies and mosquitoes. Charles reported that the condition of the road held him back for weeks! Many of the early settlers of South Himsworth traveled via this road. The railroad reached Barrie in 1867 but did not reach Gravenhurst until 1875. Most travelers set off from Rosseau, which could be reached by steamer from Gravenhurst. Families often trudged on foot beside a jumper or crude sled drawn by oxen. Immigrant sheds had been set up at Rosseau for families who wished to wait for their men folk to at least get a cabin built.

It is reasonable to claim that David Purdon was the first to clear land in 1877. The Purdon family had settled at Macdonald's Corners in Lanark County in 1821.

BARRETT SETTLEMENT located on the boundary between Gurd and Himsworth Townships, on the sixth Concession, Lot 27, and straddling the "Barrett Road" from Commanda was the earliest centre supporting the early settlers. The Corkery, Weiler, Fischer, Hummel, Barrett, Kelly, Geisler, Sloman, and Conrad families had farms grouped around the Barrett Road Settlement. The first mass was held in June 1877 at James Barrett's home, celebrated by Bishop Jamot of Bracebridge. A post office was opened in July 1879 with James Corkery and then Thomas Corkery were postmasters until the office closed in 1896. A school was built in 1884 on Lot 33 Con 6 called S.S. # 2. A log church was built in1883 on Lot 37 Con 7 and a cemetery started. The remains of a six foot commemorative cross which was erected in 1967 stands in this abandoned cemetery in long grass and weeds. At least two river drivers are buried here. Near the abandoned cemetery sits a huge pile of stones. The priest asked the farmers who were clearing their land to bring stones for a church. The church was never built. When the railroad came through to the east of Trout Creek, it was the end of the Barrett Settlement. By 1896 after the post office was closed, the settlement had ceased to be the centre of the community.

 

This information has been taken from a centennial history of South Himsworth Township: "The People of South Himsworth" Published in 1990. It is available at the Township Office, P.O. Box 159, Powasson, Ontario P0H 1Z0. 137pp. Not indexed. Cost $30.00 plus $5.00 postage. This book is full of wonderful old photographs.

 

Family histories vary in completeness but include the following: (I have included the last place of residence before settlement in South Himsworth where available): ALBRECHT (Kitchener) ; ALSTON (England); ANDISON (Bracebridge); ARMSTRONG (Kells, Ireland); BORE (BOWER) ; BRADLEY (Fitzroy Harbour); BRAY (Goderich); BRIGGS (Lanark Co.); BRISSON; BURNS (Douglas); CARMICHAEL; CARR (Oxford Co.); CLARK ; CLOSS (Lavant Twp,Lanark Co.); CONRAD (Prussia); CORKERY (Peterborough); COUTTS (Toronto/Caledon); COWDEN ; DAGENAIS (Ireland/Osceola,Renfrew Co.); DUNN (Ireland/NY/Quebec); FRASER;(Renfrew Co.); FREDERICK (German/Pembroke); FYFE (Perth); GARLAND (Pinkerton, Bruce Co.) GAUTHIER (Casselman/Cornwall); GEDDES (Lanark Co.); GEISLER (Germany/Bruce Co.); GOUGEON (Point Alexander,Renfrew Co.) GRASSER; HAGGARTY (Arnprior); HANRAHAN (Mt. St.Patrick, Ottawa); HANSELMAN ; HAWMAN ; HENDERSON (Scotland/Renfrew Co.) HILTON; HOGAN (Co.Wicklow, Ire/Renfrew Co.); HOLTFORSTER; HOWE (England/Grey Co.); HUMMEL (Germany/Kitchener); HUMPHREY (Cobourg, Ont); HUNT (Collingwood); IRWIN (Mono Mills); JARDINE (Carleton Co.); JOHNSTON (Pembroke); KEALL (Bracebridge); KEOWN (Simcoe Co./Franklin Twp, Muskoka); KUNKEL (Bruce Co.); LANGFORD (Quebec); LAUGHLEN (Toronto); LAWRENCE (Peel Co.); LEGASSIE (Quebec); LINDQUIST & HAGLUND (Sweden/Winnipeg); LIVERMORE (England/Muskoka); LOXTON; LOY (Preston/Huntsville); MAKINS; McCARTNEY (Scotland/Wingham); McCHARLES Scotch/Nova Scotia); McDANIEL (Carp); McQUOID (Pickering) ; MICK (Renfrew Co.); MOLONEY (Penetang); MORROW (Orangeville); MUNRO ; NADROFSKY (Poland); O'SHAUGHNESSY (Oro Twp. Simcoe Co.); OLDFIELD (England/Oshawa,Ont.) OSBORNE (Bruce Co.) PAUL (Lanark Co.) PEEVER (Fitzroy); PHILLIPS (Wales/Montreal/Orangville); PIPER (Piperville, OttawaValley); PURDON (Lanark Co.); RATZ (Germany/Waterloo Co.); RICH; ROBINSON (Westmeath, Renfrew Co.); ROBSON ; ROSE ; SCOTT ; SELWOOD ; SHELLEY (Stratford); SKUCE (Combermere); THOMPSON (Sliver Lake, Ont.); TOPHAM (Mayfield,Peel Co.); TOWNS ; TRUSSLER (Waterloo Co.) VANMIERO ; WAY (Campbell's Bay, Quebec); WEILER (Maryville, Waterloo Co.); WIGGINS (Whitfield, Quebec); WILSON (Brampton); YOUNG .

 

Schools of South Himsworth Township

Source; "The Lunch Bucket Chronicles", ISBN 0-921165-13-7, published 1990

The Township of Himsworth was surveyed in 1876 78 by Charles J. Chapman. By the 1890s, settlement had reached numbers that accommodated a division at Con 18 creating North and South Himsworth. In 1962, the South Himsworth Central School was opened and the rural schools were closed and students bused to school.

S.S. # 1	Maple Hill: Lot 21 Con 20. In 1891 a frame school was built on land donated by Art Purdon. Early families in the area were" Bowers; Skuce; Aston; Phillips; Kerr; Briggs; Geisler; Purdon; Fraser; Gougheon, Bartrow.
S.S. # 3	Hummell: Lot 25 Con 6. The Hummel school was built in 1899 on the farm for Joseph Hummel. Early families include Weiler, Hummel; Conrad; Rick; Albreight, Mechefeske.
S.S. # 4	Keown or Grasser’s: Lot 6 Con 5. Built in 1904 on land owned by Harry Butcher. Early families were Keown, Grasser and Hunt.
S.S. # 5	Livermore (Tin School): Lot 5 Con 11. In 1925, the school was closed for November and December because of a diphtheria outbreak. Early families were Howe; Mick; Humphrey; Croteau; Rick; Loy; Livermore and Ebby. This school became the home of Mr. & Mrs. D. Weiler.
S.S. # 6	Trout Creek. In the 1880s, when the railway pushed through a fine log structure was built to accommodate the railroad construction gangs. When the workers moved on the building became a school for the children of the pioneers. Soon a new site was chosen nearby and a two-room school was built in 1893. Trout Creek was incorporated as a town in 1913 and the school became an urban institution. The old log school of the 1880s was taken over by Mr. Stevens for his blacksmith shop. Later it became a garage for the Fischer family. The building is still standing (1990) serving as a woodshed and storage area.
S.S. 8	Powasson. The first school in the Powasson area was a log school built in 1882 on John Clark's farm opposite the Powasson Union Cemetery. In April 1890, with over 40 students it was decided to divide S.S. # 1 and form S.S. # 8. A large two-story frame school was built. Two more rooms were added in1901 and in 1907 another two rooms were added to provide continuation classes.
S.S, # 9	Sharp's Corners. Lot 28 Con 18. A neighbourhood "bee" built this school in 1895-96 on land donated by Tom Harrington. Some of the local pioneer families were: Peever, Bradley, Anderson, McDaniel, Gauthier, Stillaway, Vester, Hughes, Stillar, Johnson and Johnston. The school closed in 1962.

It should be notes that members of early families moved about the north east of Parry Sound

 

Local Histories for this area include:

"The People of Himsworth"	1991 Available at Township Municipal Office
"Lunch Bucket Chronicles"	1990 Published by Gai-Garet Design & Publications, Box 424, Carp, Ontario. K0A 1L0
"Powasson"	1905 1980" 1980? OOP
"Behold Our Golden Valley - 1879 1983"	by Josephine Grawbarger 1984
"Pioneer Days in the Township of Nipissing"	Published by Nipissing Council 1974
"Reflections of Restoule 1850 1990"	by June (McVeety) Hampel 1991, Publisher Aylmer Express Ltd., Aylmer, Ontario.

 

 

Cemeteries in South Himsworth Township

The following is a listing of cemeteries that can be found in "These Our Ancestors Were". A transcript of tombstones locate in public cemeteries in the districts of Muskoka and Parry Sound. This book was published in 1976 by Herald-Gazette Press, Bracebridge and was compiled by The Senior Citizens Genealogical Society, Ontario Cemeteries , Parry Sound Ontario.

Trouth Creek United Cemetery	Lot 26 Con. 5.
Sacred Heart Cemetery	Trout Creek, Lot 26 Con 4,
Holines Union Cemetery	Himsworth Village, Con 7. Lot 4 Con 7
St. Joseph's Cemetery	Powasson, Lot 20 Con 13
Union Cemetery	Lot 21 Con 12,