Perth Road Village History
~ As told by Linda L. Caird ~
Perth Road Village and area has existed as far back as 1792. It is noted that the religious charge for services go back to 1792, although it was not called Perth Road at that time.
There is a deed which exists for the land presently owned by the Votarys - it is deeded from King George III of Great Britain and Ireland and the Province of Upper Canada to Anne MacDonnell in 1802.
The Perth Road (County Road 10) had only came as far as Loughborough Lake in 1864 and was later taken over by the counties. It was finished in 1874 as a main artery linking Cottage Country to the city of Kingston as well as Westport and Perth.
Other Hamlets in the area existed before the road was completed. It was stated that in 1812 John Freeman married Jane Ruttan and came on horseback to settle in Wilmur. Other families in that area later were Ackroyd, Hogan, Rea and Vallier.
The Draper lake area had John Harlor Shales and Mary settled there in 1868, also others to follow.
Other areas are Leland, Maple Leaf, Missouri - Hamlets where there once were Churches, Schools, Cheese Factories, some Post Offices, also some sawmills.
The village of Perth Road in the 1878 atlas has names of some of our ancestors. You can picture them using horse and buggies. Some names on the atlas were Jabez and James Stoness, John Roberts, Cloughs, Sears, Rea, Votary, McFadden and Darling.
The 1st house was on lot 19 Con. 9 where Wilmur Road and Perth Road met the Leland road at that time. In 1878 it belonged to Theo Votary - the house later burned down.
There were many businesses at that time - Jabez Stoness ran the Farmers Inn, which was an actual Hotel, I was told it had a bar in the front and rooms upstairs for travellers to rent, so they could rest from their long journey from Kingston to Westport, or even to the Perth area. (Thus the road came to be called The Perth Road).
Jabez later closed the Hotel business because of (unknown) circumstances. He then started the stage coach run, carrying mail and passengers to Kingston. At first three times a week - then daily. Upon closing the Farmers Inn there was a interesting tale about Whiskey Barrels being rolled down the hill into the swamp. Jabez was also Reeve for a few years as were others - will mention those later.
James Stoness and his wife Mary (Buck) operated the Post Office on the east side of Perth Road. Mary did some dressmaking (not sure if there was a store there at this time). That is why the village was called Stoness Corners for a time in history - because there was a Stoness on each side of the road.
According to archives Perth Road Post Office (yes there was one once upon a time) was named such on June 1, 1874 before it was called Lapum - a name I never heard before. It is possible it was an area somewhere around Perth Road.
There were many businesses in Perth Road - Blacksmith shops, stores (I have knowledge of at least 5 stores in the village), Cheese factory, Garage - Service Station (they even sold gas), Sawmills, Mica Shop, dressmaking - seamstress. There were many Churches, Schools (one room), Post Office and even a Doctors office.
The first car in Perth Road was owned by a man named John Silver (Model T Ford). The second was owned by Jabez Stoness (McLaughlin), as told to me by Harry Votary. We will get to other firsts later.
The mines in the area brought many more Settlers - besides Trimmers, Peabodys and others already mentioned - there was Roberts; Harris and Peters came from England.
There are a lot of other names - stay tuned as I have other stories to tell - some are by resources- some by word of mouth and some I knew (years ago, of course). I have tried my best to give information as I understand it, and as honestly as I know how. Next time I have more to tell about School, Businesses and people of Perth Road Village and area.
* If you would be interested in more local history, or updates to this page, please let drop a line to "David" using the "Chair of Stewards" email.