The former Township of Grey was the last farming area of Huron East to be opened to settlers. Named after the second Earl of Grey, the township was part of Ontario often called the Queen’s Bush, and not part of the Canada Company’s, Huron Tract. It was the third largest township in Huron County comprising approximately 64,750 acres. This fact coupled with the government’s apparent indifference to promoting land sales in the area meant that lots were not officially put up for sale until 1854. Undaunted, several individuals and families simply moved in and established homesteads.

The first European recorded to have settled in Grey was named Beauchamp. He first established himself in the Henfryn area near the northeast corner of the township but moved to a location west of Cranbrook where Beauchamp Creek was probably named after him.

This pattern of squatting on land and creating a homestead became commonplace and was to cause some families later trouble. The government of the day often obeyed an unwritten rule that an unofficial settler could keep land if it was developed according to regulations and a purchase agreement completed. Unfortunately not all government agents and speculators were particularly scrupulous about such unofficial ‘rights’ and several instances of occupied land being sold to non-settlers are documented. Although land sales were not officially begun until 1854, the number of unofficial settlers must have been significant. By 1856, there were sufficient settlers for Grey to become a municipality in its own right. Prior to this the area was governed from the Township of McKillop, part of the Huron Tract named after one of its directors, Thomas McKillop.

Expansion came rapidly with the chance to acquire secure title and by the early 1860’s, more than 2,000 people occupied over 20,000 cleared acres of farmland. A decade later, the population was close to 4,000, and nearly 30,000 acres of land had been cleared.

The pace of development was partially fueled by Canada’s increasing population, but two other facts played significant roles. First and foremost was the fact that with the exception of areas in the east and southeast the land was well drained and fertile, with abundant supplies of hardwood to construct buildings and eventually fuel steam-driven mills of all sorts. The second was the township’s location. With access from both Guelph to the east and the Huron Road to the south, the new area could be settled from two directions simultaneously.

Much of the earliest settlement was from the east. The second documented settler, John Mitchell, came from this direction to take up land in the vicinity of the current village of Molesworth, in 1852. Regardless of the direction in which they arrived, settlers were soon producing good crops composed of everything from wheat and hay to potatoes and white turnips. Early on, the area saw a heavy increase in livestock and this has continued to the present day with pork production, as well as beef and dairy herds, making significant contributions to the local farm economy.

Much of the early political discussion in municipality centered on the state of the roads and bridges in the township. Well-maintained roads continue to be important to the inhabitants of Grey to the present day. From the beginning, councilors also concerned themselves with the less fortunate of their neighbours. Until well into the 20th century, nearly every council meeting recorded money, groceries or tax relief being provided to local ratepayers in financial difficulties. School affairs also occupied significant time on the agenda and over 40 per cent of many of the budgets prior to the county school boards.

The township never developed a dominant urban center although the Village of Brussels, incorporated in 1872, would serve much of that function later in Grey’s history. The joint destinies of the two were further sealed in 1864 when John Leckie, the son of one of the early settlers in Grey moved to Brussels. Leckie was a man of considerable energy and as a justice of the peace, grain dealer and manager of the first Bank in Brussels, he played a significant role in the village’s development.

The area had its share of smaller communities however, and for a time all played a significant role in the lives of the settlers. Molesworth, located near the northeast corner of Grey, served for many as the gateway to the north of the township. Located on old Highway 86, the village is split between Huron and Perth Counties. The name commemorates the surveyor responsible for much of the first work in the area. The local Post Office begun in 1856 adopted the Molesworth name also. The village could soon boast of a lumber mill, blacksmith shop, two general stores, as well as a cobbler and tailor. Later, a cheese factory was established and developed a good reputation, earning the British Empire Medal for its product on two occasions.

All are gone now, but a feed mill established by W. Lamont in 1924 has grown into a significant enterprise called Molesworth Farm Supplies. The village also hosts the only gas pumps located in Grey and the Molesworth Bowling Lanes, much loved by area children for birthday parties featuring ‘glow in the dark bowling’ and by adults in rural and surrounding areas.

Other villages which once featured thriving businesses but now quietly exist as residential areas include Moncrieff with its architecturally significant church now a private home, and Henfryn consisting of a few houses surrounded by farms. Some places have vanished but survive in memories. Morrisbank, Jamestown and Morrisdale all had mills and hotels as well as other businesses but are now known only to local residents. Two others, McNaught and Ethel Station, disappeared after passenger trains no longer operated.

Besides Molesworth however, three other villages have retained a presence as more than delightful residential areas.

Walton is located in the southwest corner of Grey where County Roads #25 and #12 cross. Walton has the distinction of once being located in three separate jurisdictions, the former Morris, Grey and McKillop Townships. Located on the ‘North Gravel’ (County #12) it served as an entry point for settlers moving north from the Seaforth area and its hotels acted as way stations for travelers moving between their homesteads and the more established Huron Tract. Originally called Biggar’s Corners, after the owner of a local tavern, John Hewitt changed the name to Walton and he laid out a town site in 1862. The same year saw a post office established in the village. Walton took advantage of its location and in a little over a decade had three churches, a sawmill, a school, two stores and several other businesses. The school, two churches and many of the businesses have closed but other enterprises have taken their place. Within half a kilometer of the corner where Walton first started, one can find two mills, two trucking companies, a farm machinery dealership, a daycare center, a community hall and a well equipped ball field, as well as several other enterprises attesting to the continued vitality of the community.

The hamlet of Cranbrook is located near the center of Grey, where the Cranbrook Road and the McNabb Line intersect. Originally intended as the main settlement for the township it was surveyed as a large town site in 1855. Its official name was ‘The Town Plot For Grey’ but it was usually referred to as ‘The Plot’. The name ‘Grey’ was also used after the designation given to the post office, established in 1854. In 1878, the village and the post office were renamed Cranbrook after an English community. A hotel was built in 1854 and was the site for political activities of all sorts including council meetings. A flax mill was soon established on the banks of the Maitland River and was a major source of employment for many years.

Three churches were constructed over the years with only the 1865 Cranbrook Presbyterian Church still in existence, although altered. The first school in the village was built in 1867 and replaced in 1895. That same year a combined store and residence was built on the northwest corner and it is still in use with the store converted into an apartment. Other businesses established, at one time or another, were lime kilns, a chopping mill, saw mill and a cider mill, and both a wagon shop and a blacksmith shop to serve the growing farm population.

Despite its early start and official designation as the main urban area for the new township, the village was fated to be bypassed in population and economic vitality by nearby Brussels. The decision by Huron County, to change the route of the ‘North Gravel’ (now Brussels Line) to run through Brussels, meant that the north-south traffic which would have benefited Cranbrook fell to the more westerly village. Cranbrook’s fate was further sealed when the Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway took a design detour ran through Ethel and Brussels in the early 1870’s. Although Cranbrook is now primarily a residential area, several small service businesses are located in the village.

Ethel, the village that became the economic heart of Grey after the incorporation of Brussels, grew up around a sawmill established in the early 1860’s by Jonathan Carter. This was located where the Maitland River crosses what is now County Road 19. In 1863, Carter was named the first postmaster calling the postal station, Carter’s.

William Spence, the second occupant of that post, changed the name to Ethel in 1867. He also became active in the village’s economic life, became a local merchant and established a pottery. He was also the Clerk of Grey Township for several years and died in 1902.

The river was dammed and a gristmill established by the mid 1870’s. Power from the river was quickly overshadowed as an economic driver by the arrival of the Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway in 1873. The station was located in a small hamlet called Tindell less than a kilometer south of Ethel. That name was changed to Ethel Station by the railway.

At that time, steam power was also coming into its own. As early as 1872, John Cober was using steam power for his sawmill and carriage works. With steam came the threat of fire and on occasion, help combating this menace was sent by train from Listowel or Brussels.

For a while, the village grew quickly. In 1886, agitation to build a proper township hall was documented in the Brussels Post. Interestingly, one of the arguments used was that it was not appropriate for councilors to have to spend a day around the hotel (read – tavern) where meetings were held. In 1892, after much discussion, the new community hall and township office was opened on the west side of the village.

About the early 1900’s, Ethel reached the peak of its population and economic activity. A Bank of Hamilton branch was established and two large business blocks were built. A variety of shops and businesses were established including a blacksmith, a milliner, a barber and a general store. There were mills for work and a dancehall for play. The new Community Hall was rented to a variety of groups for meetings and public entertainment and a library was established.

The sense of prosperity and permanence was an illusion as the forces that stifled many small southwestern Ontario villages were already in motion. Better roads and better motor vehicles meant that travel was easier. Large companies with the advantage of economy of scale left small-town businesses unable to compete. The railway was in decline and with it, the small communities that depended on it.

Grey ward is now what it has always been, one of the most productive agricultural areas in southwestern Ontario. The continuing importance of livestock is underlined by the fact that the third largest stockyard in Ontario is located in Grey just to the west of Brussels. Farms of all types are supported by many small industries catering to the needs of the agricultural community.

 

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