The Hamlet
of
Kendal, Ontario
The Early 1800’s
In the early 1800’s Kendal was once call “Watertown Mill’s” it is approximately seven miles north of Newtonville. Kendal was a booming village now it is considered a hamlet.
Nestled in a valley in the Township of Clarke, in Durham Country, Ontario lays this little hamlet of Kendal. Settlement in this area actually started in the 1840’s. Theron Dickey who owned much of the land in the area, built a gristmill and by the 1860’s Kendal had become an industrious little town. There were two saw-mills, two cooperages, four shingle-makers, three carpenters, a wagon shop, a lumber dealer, a drug-store, a tailor’s shop, an implement factory, a printer, three shoe makers, a harness shop and two blacksmith shops.
Dense forests ran along the Ganaraska River banks and it appears that Kendal had a thriving shingle industry that was the principal source of income for the early settlers. However as the felling of the forests progressed, the mills around Kendal gradually disappeared. Some were burned down and not rebuilt.
The Post Office
On February 1st, 1857, the Kendal Post Office was opened with Mr. W. Trull as Postmaster, Folks called at the post office for their mail, and the practice was kept up until 2002, when residents in the village were provided with government mailboxes erected at the original location of the Post Office on what is now called Old Mill Street. Rural residents used to have their mail delivered by horse and buggy on unplowed roads, which must have been a real hardship. Nowadays the mail is delivered to outlaying areas by car. How times have changed. The Post Office was located at the General Store on the main Street, and has been moved to various locations over the years. In 2004 we proudly relocated the Post Office to the Kendal Community Centre building where it is still located today in 2011. Sherrill Souch was one our Postmasters for many years up till she retired in 2010.
The Churches
As far as can be established, the first church in the Kendal community was the New Connexion, which was located on the Elliott Farm and was commonly called ‘The Elliot Church’ due to the fact that the Elliot’s had donated the land. In the 1850’s a group of folks began gathering in the home of Mrs. W. Payne and later at Francis Armstrong’s home. Out of these meetings was born the Union Sunday School; which met for some years in the Temperance Hall in Kendal. This building was later destroyed by fire.
In 1859 there were nine appointments on the Newcastle Circuit. One of the appointments was Kendal. There were two ministers in charge of eleven local preachers and one exhorter. They conducted ten services every Sunday on the Circuit.
In 1870 the Presbyterians and the Methodists held meetings to discuss the building of two new churches. Local contractors were chosen and Mr. Cooper, a Presbyterian was contracted to build the Methodist Church, and Mr. Jackson, a Methodist, was contracted to build the Presbyterian Church. They worked together and both churches were ready for divine worship within weeks of each other in 1870. The Methodist church was located on its present site and the Presbyterian on the front street, where Mr. James Hoy lived out his remaining years and now today 2011 where Gary and Sheila Hannah now reside. Sheds were built at both churches for the convenience of the horses and buggies. The shed at the Presbyterian Church was the old-fashioned one, open at one side. The Methodist Church had a large enclosed building on land donated by Daniel Comstock. With the advent of the automobile age, this shed was sold and removed. Mr. Theron Dickey donated the land for both churches with one proviso – that a spire was to be placed on the Presbyterian Church.
In 1917 it was found of necessity to close the Presbyterian Church and the congregation united with the Methodist congregation. These two churches were the first to unite in Ontario under the arrangement of the two congregations. The minister at the time was Rev. J. E. Griffith. In 1925 the United Church of Canada came into being and the Kendal Church became one of the many churches comprising this denomination.
As was commonly found in settlement communities, church organizations were a strong link that held folks together.
Community Organizations
In 1895 a society called the Kendal Youth People’s Society of Christian Endeavour was organized in Presbyterian Church.
The Ladies’ Aid was an organization for women in both Methodist and Presbyterian Churches. They held socials, teas and various entertainments to raise money for the churches. After the union of the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches in 1925, the Ladies Aid became known as the Woman’s Association or W. A.
In 1962 the United Church Women came into being. It includes all women of the congregation.
The Epworth League was an organization for young people and met on a weekday night. It was well attended for many years with as many as thirty or forty young people present.
The Young People’s Society took the place of the Epworth League and was an active organization for many years. As young people moved away and interest lagged, the Society was disbanded due to lack of leaders.
The Canadian Girls in Training (C.G.I.T.) is a church organization for teenage girls. After union in 1925, the C.G.I.T. flourished under capable leaders such as Miss Hazel Clark who taught at the Sixth Line School for a number of years.
Schools
In the earliest days the pupils of Kendal and Sixth Line attended a school known as Number 13 on the sixth line. In 1866 Kendal was ‘paid off’ and this school was no longer called Number 13, but became Number 21. A frame school was built at Kendal and became Number 13. This school remained in use until 1961 when a modern school was built across the road from the old school. Mr and Mrs Robert Youngman lived in the old school house for his remaining years, and then it was sold in 2009 to unknown owner. The new school at Kendal at first consisted of two rooms, but as more rural schools closed, it was necessary to add two more rooms and in 1968, an auditorium was built, which it is now the community centre today. The Kendal School had a very active P.T.A., which contributed much to the life of the school. The school was closed due to a drop in enrolment in the mid 1990’s and the students sent off to Newtonville and Kirby Public Schools. The building sat empty for many years.
The Kendal Community Centre
In 1999 a group of women Sylvia Neal, Sue Bujold, Alice Todd, Sheila Hannah, were sitting around having coffee at Cathy Picco’s home on Water Street discussing their community needs, when Cathy announced, “this is an election year, they want our votes! So let’s do it” and the result of much hard work and planning was the establishment of the Kendal Community Centre where we are able to gather together as a community on many occasions. Euchre parties, darts tournaments are all part of the community centre fun, along with youth and adult activates and dances, organized by the Kendal Hall Board. The Kendal Lions Club meets in the Centre on the first and third Wednesday of each month. Each for a few years on the third Saturday in July, the board of Kendal Community Centre organized their annual Kendal Day to raise funds for the Community Centre. Then the Kendal Lions Club was formed and then joined in with the centre to host Kendal Day. There were games, food and fun abound all day long under the guidance of a band of volunteers from our community, and the event culminates with a community BBQ and dance, with incredible foot-stomping music being provided by local people of which were terrific musicians, and of course our very own young country singer, whom we all hope will make the top of the charts Mike Pollard and his brother Rob who playing the guitar. Do to the lack of volunteers Kendal Day was cancelled with many disappointments of the people in the community.
The Hotels
At one time Kendal was quite a lively place with three thriving hotels. The first hotelkeeper mentioned in the township records was one, Jeremiah A. O’leary. William Trull was also listed as a hotelkeeper in later records. In 1863, Edward Theobald was granted a licence, which cost $20.00 to operate the Kendal House, believed to be the building on the main street known today as Old Mill Street. This building was torn down about 2002. An invitation to a dance was found in an old house that reads as follows, “Sir yourself and lady are respectfully requested to attend a Ball to be given at the Kendal House, Kendal, March 13th, 1863. $1.50” John Emerson, was the owner of the Kendal Hotel and it subsequently run by his granddaughter Mrs. George Clark (Pearl Stewart). The Queen’s Arms Hotel was also on Main Street, and was operated by John Carscadden. The building burned down in the late 1960’s. The third hotel was King William Third Hotel and James Kerr and Thomas Henderson are listed at the hotelkeepers of this establishment.
The Lodges
At one time there were two lodges in the district. The first was founded on December 26th, 1845. It was known as the Enniskillen Lodge No. 405 and was located north of the village. The first hall was build on the corner of the H.M. Jennings farm, south of Elliott’s Church, later moving north to the McLean farm, then west of McLean’s School on Wesley Elliot’s farm, where it remained until 1927.
The other Lodge was founded on March 1st, 1858 and known as Kendal Lodge No. 905. At that there were nine members. One of the older members was William Hammond who never became Worshipful Master but was a great worker. On February 10th, 1881, the Lodge bought the New Connexion Church. The Trustees of the Church and the Trustees of the Orange Lodge were witness to the transaction of sale. In 1927 these two Lodges were amalgamated, the Enniskillen Hall being taken to Kendal. The part of the building had forms the stage and dressing rooms until 2007, as of the remodelling of the hall the stage is now the new kitchen and washrooms, and some of the material was used to form a smaller portable stage of the present Orange Hall in Kendal on Old Church Road in which in now called Kendal United Church Street. The names of the streets were changed in 1999 do to the 911 system. The Lodge is called Loyal Orange Lodge. L.O.L. No. 4 taking the number of the Enniskillen Lodge. For a number of years this Lodge had a Fife and Drum Band under the leadership of Hartwell Lowery. Kendal L.O.L. No. 405 celebrated its 100 Anniversary in their Hall on December 12th, 1945.
The Lowery family has played a prominent part in the life of the Orange Lodge in the Kendal district. John Lowery was Master at Kendal for twenty-five years and his son Hartwell Lowery held the same position from 1931-1933. His son John Lowery is also a member of the Kendal Lodge. In 1880, after considerable effort, the Lodge organized a Brass Band, which had good success for several years. They attended picnics, July 12th celebrations, church functions and on several occasions, serenaded the newly-weds in the surround locality. However the young men of the Kendal area heard the cry, “Go West Young Men, Go West”, and many answered this call and the remaining members found it difficult to continue with the band. The instruments were disposed of with many regrets and fond memories. The Kendal lodge then reverted to the Fife and Drum Band, and they can still be seen parading around our village at various times in the year.
The Royal Templar’s organized to combat drunkenness among the men, no women were accepted at first, but were accepted later to encourage the men. The building where they met was burned in 1889. The members of the lodge met in a hall, which stood next to the present Orange Hall. This building was sold and the lumber was used to build a house.
The Women’s institute
The women’s Institute was organized in 1914 and was made up of women from Kendal and Starkville communities. During World War I the Institute did Red Cross work and later helped in getting hot lunch programs in rural schools. They also helped many needy families in the community. After some years this Institute was disbanded. However, on September 25th, 1937 the women’s Institute was again organized.
In 1939 there were three groups in the Institute; north, south and the village. During the war years 1939 – 1945, the Institute members once again did the Red Cross work. Through the untiring efforts of our Institute, streetlights were installed in Kendal, and help sent flood victims in Winnipeg in 1950. They also aided those who suffered in the mine disaster in Springhill, Nova Scotia, and of course aided shut-ins at Christmas and needy families throughout the year.
The secretary of the Institute organized a lending library consisting of fifty books and gradually more books were added, with members taking turns being the Librarians. Although much interest was shown at first, the people of the community finally closed the Library and the books were disposed of. The building was located on Old Mill Street where Dave Delaney presently lives 2011-07-13.
Kendal’s Store
The first record of a store in Kendal was one run by W.W. Trull in 1858. This store was located at what is now 48 Old Mill Street and was operated on and off over the years until it finally closed down. Later Christian and Cecile Perron bought the building and after a few years, reopened the store as a restaurant in the summer of 1999. In May 2004 the restaurant was closed and the building subsequently sold to Martin Zegers and turned into apartments and sense been resold. The Kendal Variety was opened in the 1970’s and housed the Post Office for a time.
Social Life
One hundred years ago the social life of the community centered on the home and immediate neighbourhood. There were parties, quilting bees and gatherings around the neighbourhood. At the churches there were suppers and ice cream socials and these practices still continue, with neighbours dropping by to visit without special invitations and in the summer neighbours can be found gathered around communal bonfires.
Baseball, baseball, baseball!
Kendal is renowned for its baseball teams and has been for many years. The teams are part of leagues and in 1969 the Kendal Midget Team won the Ontario Championship, by beating a team from Courtright, Ontario. This was the first time the trophy was won by a team east of Toronto! On summer evenings and on weekends, the roar of cheering crowds resounds across the village.
The Harvey Jackson Memorial Park
Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Jackson family donated the land on which the Harvey Jackson Memorial Park stands today. This donation was in memory of their son Harvey, who was killed in the First World War on October 16th, 1918. This park is one of the finest parks in the district. During the summer an Annual Fried Day was held in the park culminating with a big concert held in the Church Shed. Today picnics and bonfires are held here, League baseball games played on the excellent baseball diamond and annually the local Public Schools in the Township of Clarke hold their sports day. Today the municipality maintains the park along with the Kendal Baseball Association.
Industries
As we have mentioned, in the early days of the settlement there were a number of industries related to both the lumbar and grist mills in Kendal area. Later the tobacco industry sprung up and the Foster family from Virginia owned some of the tobacco farms. They employed many local people, and in the late 1960’s their farm on Newtonville Road closed down. Still today one can still see the tobacco houses on that site. In about 2007 the township order the water tower to be tore down do to safety reasons for the village children playing.
The Diamond Jubilee
The celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of Kendal United Church in 1930 was crowned with success far beyond the most sanguine expectation of the church and Board who fully endorsed the enterprise from the beginning. Great praise is due to the members of the various committees who worked so unitedly and untiringly towards the high objective set before them.
The Honor Roll
A Memorial Tablet, made by a local resident, Mr James Ardron, honors the memory of two local boys, who gave their lives in World War l…
The inscription reads,
“TO THE HONOR AND GLORY OF
JAMES HARVEY JACKSON
18TH BATTERY C.E.F.
KILLED IN ACTION OCTOBER 16, 1918
AND
ROBERT EDMUND PATTON
175TH BATTERY C.E.F.
DIED IN FRANCE NOVEMBER 7, 1918
THEIR NAME LIVETH FOREVER MORE”
Sir Thomas Stanton, K.C.M.G., F.R.C.P., D.T.M. AND H.
Thomas Stanton was born in Kendal, on November 14th, 1875. His father was Thomas Stanton who ran a general store, and his mother was Margaret Chestnut who had a carriage shop east of the Kendal store. Thomas was such a shy lad that his father had to walk to school with him for the first three days. At the age of eleven, he was enrolled in Port Hope High School. Upon completing high school, he taught at Kirby School to earn money for medical college. Graduating from Trinity Collage in 1899, Dr. Stanton served as a house surgeon at the Hospital for Sick Children and the General Hospital in Toronto. In 1901 he became surgeon on the liner, the Empress of China. In 1905 he then went to England where he became the house surgeon in a Hospital for Tropical Diseases and was selected as Instructor of Medical Students. Two years later he was sent to the Institute of Medical Research where he searched for the cause of Beriberi. Living in a jungle hut for a year, he endured great hardship. While there, he noticed that men working on a new road fell down from weakness and staggered like drunken men. Their joints were swollen and they were suffering from Beriberi. Dr. Stanton proved that eating a staple diet of rice from which the outer layers had been removed caused this disease.
He also classified the mosquito that causes malaria or jungle fever so that serum could be developed and people given inoculation. In 1917 he found a cure for a fatal disease that appeared in workers on rubber estates. In 1926 he was made Medical Advisor to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, a position he held until his death in 1938.
Finally for his great efforts in Medical Science King George V knighted him. Sir Thomas Stanton married Dr. Elizabeth O’Flynn, M.R.C.P., and a child specialist in 1930.
The times of London, England said of him: “It is not too much to say that Stanton was beloved by everyone with whom he came in contact. No one who met him could fail to be impressed by his great professional eminence, keen sense of humor and warm kindliness. He never thought evil of anyone, and yet was undoubtedly a good judge of character of others. Sir Thomas Stanton was indeed a great man”.
Let us hope that he was inspired by the lessons studied in Kendal Methodist Sunday School, which he attended every Sunday as a lad. He died in London, England on January 25th, 1938 and his name appears on the Stanton monument in Orono Cemetery.
Pioneer Families of Kendal
Alexander families were very populated here in Kendal at one time. The Alexander Brothers had a store many years ago. Some of the family went to Western Canada. Some remind here George Alexander and his family were one of the families that remind later in years they would come to Kendal for their summers in the old family homestead.
Boyd in the archives the first Boyd was James Boyd – Cooper – 1866. William Boyd had a farm north of Kendal and some Boyd’s lived in the village.
Blue The Blue family came from Scotland. In 1889 the township Records showed that Peter Blue was granted a license to operate to operate a hotel in Kendal. Later in years Mrs. Annie Blue ran this Hotel.
Bryson Samuel Bryson came from Belfast, Ireland in 1836 at the age thirteen. He married Ann Hoy and their son Samuel Bryson Jr. lived in Kendal for many years.
Bullied The Bullied`s came from Devonshire, England, they settled on a farm east of Kendal. The remaining daughter of this family Frances, (Mrs. John Jackson) died in 1968 at the age one hundred and four years, believed to be the oldest persons in Canada.
Cathcart
Carscadden, Carson,
Conclusion
To this day, July 25th, 2011, there are still many settle families living in Kendal and the surrounding area of the village.
The whole character of the village has undergone many changes. The village in 2004 had sixty-three houses in 2011 we how have sixty-seven homes and five streets, the Kendal United Church, the Orange Lodge, the Kendal Baseball Association, the Kendal Variety Store, that opened in the 1970’s, and the Kendal Community Centre, that opened in 2000, the latest addition was the Kendal Lions Club in 2004, which they hope to serve the community well over the years to come.
Kendal Lions Club was held their Charter Night on Saturday October 23rd, 2004 at the Kendal Community Centre; it was a great night the hall was decorated with al the Lions colors with grace.
Kendal Lions Club Charter Officers where:
President Jack McOustra
1st Vice President Duke Paul
2nd Vice President Monte Rose
Secretary Kimberly Chant-Allin
Treasure George Ioanidis
Tail Twister Rob Pollard
Lion Tamer Joan Paul
Directors:
Ron Robinson
Kaye McOustra
Shirley Smith
Sherrill Souch
Sheila Hannah
The charter members were:
Angela Austin, Chris Austin, Marina Bannan, W. Joseph Bannan, Fulton Burton, Kimberley Chant Allin, Jennifer Gouldburn, Michael Gouldburn, Suzsanne Guymer, Tony Guymer, Jim Hallowel, Gary Hannah, Sheila Hannah, George Ioanidis, Dawn Langille, Patti Lucas, Jack McOustra, Kaye McOustra, Duke Paul, Joan Paul, Cecile Perron, Christian Perron, Mike Pollard, Rob Pollard, Terry Rigger, Bob Robinson, Shirley Robinson, Ron Robinson, Carol Robinson, Debra Rose, Hetty Rose, Monte Rose, Shirley Smith, Jim Souch, Sherrill Souch, Gary Woodbeck and Judy Woodbeck
Overall, Kendal is a quiet village, where we can share hospitality of our neighbours and we are proud to call home.
Extracts and quotations have been taken from
Kendal Hills; Centennial Edition
by Miss Catherine W. Stewart, Second Printing 1975
Updated by Sheila Hannah 2011
and new photo’s added from local people.
