Millbank, Perth County, Ontario1849 - 1902 |
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Origin and Names
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In 1850, a general store was opened by Mr. William Rutherford in what is now Millbank, Ontario. In this enterprise was associated with him Mr. James Reid, now and for nearly fifty years treasurer of Mornington. In 1851, he opened a post office, with himself as postmaster. Previous to this period be had formed a partnership with John Freeborn, and erected a saw mill. During 1849, a grist mill was also built by the same firm. Those enterprises were of great importance in a new county, and gave Millbank a commercial supremacy, which continued to grow for several years. Apart from the mills erected by Messrs. Rutherford and Freeborn, a factory was built by Mr. Jacob Kellman, where large quantities of agricultural implements were manufactured. This industry at one period employed forty men. The building, which is of brick, is now deserted and still stands by the stream, a monumental ruin, significant of the mutability of all human enterprise. In Millbank, also, were a carriage and waggon factory, flax mills, several stores, hotels, and a school in which were three teachers. This pretty village was the home of several hundred souls, and for a while very prosperous. The Stratford & Huron railway, passing two and a-half miles away, ruined it. Its day of greatness and the dreams of its citizens of future importance alike have departed and gone. Several buildings yet remaining, once the centre and scene of commercial life, are now deserted and tottering to decay. Present population is about 175. Also see: 19th Century Mornington, Perth County, Ontario and Milverton, Perth County, Ontario Link: Anglicans in 19th Century Millbank, Ontario |