200 Questions for Highland Groves and extended area,  “Who knows this Area?’

     These questions are about Highland Grove and surrounding areas.  The questions may need refining, rethinking or elimination.  Everyone is encouraged to submit questions and or answers.

Questions

1. In what year was the Cardiff mines opened?     (1956)

2. What was the chief material mined at Cardiff?   (Uranium)

3. Who was one of the earliest postmasters in Highland Grove? (Elmer Hughey)

4. The letters in IB&O stand for...(Irondale, Bancroft, Ottawa)

5. In what year was the general store in Highland Grove started?       (1895)

6. The “Robin Hood” of Cardiff and area was... (Walter Kidd)

7. In 1900 deer licenses were established, two deer per license cost....( 25 cents)

8. The now ghost town of Cheddar opened a uranium mine in 19.... (1939)

9. The original name of Wilberforce was...  (Pusey)

10. What did Wilberforce Veneer specialize in making? (Veneer)

11. When did the IB&O last run through Harcourt?  (March 30, 1960)

12. What kind of company bought the high quality railway ties? (US razor blade company)

13. Why did the IB&O train stop east of Diamond Lake? (cold water spring)

14. What caused the ‘end’ of the railway? (highways and truck transportation)

15. The nickname of the IB&O was... (I. B. and Slow)

16. German prisoners in WWII worked north of Harcourt at... (Standard Chemical logging camp)

17. Many ‘imported’ young teachers in the area ended up getting ...(married)

18. The I.B.&O connected in Halibuton with the ...(Grand Truck Train)

19. With luck, taking the 11 am train from Bancroft gets you to Toronto at ...(9 pm)

20. The first I.B.&O train was called the ...(Mary Ann)

21.  The fastest time for the I.B.&O to cover 51 miles was ...(4 hours)

22. The town of Cardiff named after ...(Town Cardiff in Wales, England)

23. Where was the railway station in Highland Grove (Location of old township garage)

24. Where was the cheese factory (Location of the old Orange Lodge)

25. Name an early blacksmith  (Sanger Laundry, brother of Frank who owned the store)

26. Who owned the dance hall? (Peel family)

27. Where was the Orange Hall? (On present library property, close to Loop Road)

28. Where was the restaurant in HG?  (On Sucie Rd, owners Kirk and Mable Watson)

29. Where was the first church? (Anglican and just north of Rowley Rd.)

30. Who bought the property for the Deer Lake Cemetery? (Watson family)

31. Name an early midwife in HG.  (Mrs. Robert Drury)

32. How many stores did HG have at one time? (Three)

33. Who owned the grist mill? (Elwood Peel)

34. Who owned the sawmills? (Frank Laundry and Bill Ayotte, Jahel Breckenridge)

35. First couple to be married in Catholic Church was… (Roy Marsh and Violet Hogan)

36. Where was there a corduroy road? (Meteorite Road)

37. Where is a haunted house? (old Chamberlain House)

38. The first phone in HG was …. (Railway station)

39. Where was Leafield? (3 miles north of Highland Grove)

40. Who looked after the Deer Lake Post Office (Ogilivie Family)

41. Where was the Lewis Line? (Ojibway road)

42. Where was the ice cream stand? (owner John Covert, 90 degree turn H.G.)

43. Who went to the farms and picked up cream? (Alphonse Coe)

44. Who delivered meat? (Ken Lewis)

45. Where is ‘going down the track’? (South Baptiste Road)

46. Who was the travelling minister? (Rev. Gander)

47. Who was one of the first teachers at S S # 2 Cheddar School? (Ethel Ogilivie)

48.  Where was the first municipal equipment yard? (Tom Elliott’s Driveway)

49. The community of Cheddar was initially called… (Wood’s Corner)

50. Why is the Red Cross Outpost building unique?  (Ontario’s first Red Cross Hospital)

51. How many times is the Essonville church scheduled to be used? (Xmas and Memorial Day)

52. Magnificent Road used to be called…(West Line)

53. Where was the Kidd Schoolhouse initially built? (Cheddar Road)

54.  Where in Harcourt was there a ‘hot pond’  (Finlays Sawmill)

55.  Where was the dump in HG? (On Sucie Road)

56. Who owned the shingle mil?  (Albert and Elmer Hughey)

57. How long was the Peterson Road, competed 1863? (101 miles)

58. Ends of the Peterson Road? (Ottawa and Opeongo Road to Muskoka Road)

59. Was the Peterson Road a success? (No, fire and wilderness destroyed most of it)

60.  What major road went through Kennaway? (Peterson Road)

61. What was the best wood for corduroy roads? (Cedar, resists decay in water)

62. Monck Road was to be a major link between…(Lake Simcoe and Ottawa)

63. Monck Road was built because…(fear of American invasion)

64. Burleigh Road ran from …(Burleigh to Wood’s Corner, on to Peterson Road)

65. Road linking Gooderham, Tory Hill, Wilberforce, Harcourt and Highland Grove? (Loop)

66. Who was the step dancer in Harcourt?  (Archie Sweet)

67.  Where was the Highland Grove Raceways?  (Jack Sucie Property)

68.  Who ran the HG raceway?  (Donny Bamford)

69. What was one of the first settlements in Harcourt area?  (Kennaway, before 1850)

The following may or may not have answers, give them a try

  How did Highland Grove get its name?

  When was the loop road paved?

  How often did the trains run?

  How long to travel from HG to Bancroft?

  When did IB&O install tracks?

  When were the tracks removed?

  How much was a train ticket?

  Was HG ever incorporated?

  Who was the first mayor?

  Did HG ever have a community council?

 Why did settlers come to the area?

  How much land was given to settlers?

  Name 5 prominent families who were early settlers.

  When did electricity come to HG?

  When did telephones come to homes?

  How did neighbours communicate before telephones?

  When did  TV come to HG?

  Name one exciting thing to happen in HG.

  What tragedy has happened in HG?

  Who was the biggest employer in HG?

  What was the top grade reached in HG schools?

  Did the early schools produce students who went to high school?

  Was education important to the community?

  What types of community celebration, if any, happened in HG?

  Who had the first car (or truck)?

 What was the first model car in HG.?

Year that Mitchels purchased land from Drury family?

How long did the Mitchels live in the farm house? Year leaving?

Did Mitchels own cottage(s) across Deer Lake?

If you have more questions and answers, please write them down and submit to Joanne at the library.

Many pieces of information have been taken from Valerie Smiths two publications

History of Wilberforce Elementary School and Surrounding Communities