Chesterville is a village in the township of North Dundas, within the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. It is located north of Morrisburg, west of Cornwall and south-east of Ottawa. The village is situated along the South Nation River.
History
Early settlement The land in what would become Dundas County was granted in 1784 to United Empire Loyalists, most of whom had fought with the King's Royal Regiment of New York during the American Revolution. Chesterville's first settlement was located along the South Nation River on Lots 17 and 18, in Concession 4 of Winchester Township, which was formed in 1798 from the northern portion of Williamsburg Township. The plot of land was originally granted in 1797 to Maria Anne Duncan, the daughter of UE Loyalist Colonel Richard Duncan, and namesake of Mariatown. Most of the land around Chesterville in Winchester township was originally granted to loyalist veterans and their children: lots north of the river in the 5th concession were originally granted to the Hon. John Munro, and lots 12-19 in the 7th concession to Sir Alexander Mackenzie.
Chesterville pioneer George Hummel purchased the west half of the property from Maria Anne’s estate around 1822 and went about erecting a mill, while John Pliny Crysler purchased the east half of the lot. The loft of Hummel's homestead served as the local gathering place during the early years of the village, and political meetings were often held there. Much of the land Hummel initially purchased was eventually sold off to pioneering settlers, often for a low price, and the land on which the community hall currently stands was once sold by Hummel for a "single barrel of whiskey".
Around 1825 or 1826, two Merkley brothers travelled from Williamsburg down the Nation River and established a camp with plans to build a mill on the banks of the river near Hummel's property. In December 1827, the Merkley brothers, Jacob (1794-1827) and Michael (1797-1827), travelled to Waddington, New York along with Solomon Sterns to secure supplies for a raising bee, but on the return trip a snowstorm blew over the St. Lawrence River and their canoe upset, drowning all three men.
Around 1828, Thomas Armstrong and his son John established a saw mill and later a grist mill on land purchased from George Hummel that the deceased Merkley brothers had intended to use, and by 1838 it had attracted many settlers to the area, the settlement subsequently being named Armstrong's Mills. The original mills built by Armstrong burned in a fire around 1867. Many Irish immigrants settled in Chesterville in the 1830s-50s, some fleeing the Great Potato Famine. Many of these Irish settlers were Catholics and established St. Mary’s Catholic parish in the area. The settlements of Limerick, Boyne, and Connaught were originally settled and named by these Irish pioneers.
In the early days of the village, the post and mail had to be collected by individuals from the mail office in Morrisburg or Cornwall, but in 1845 a post office was opened in the village under the name of Winchester and the mail was delivered by horseback from Morrisburg.
Historical records suggest that although the post office and village were officially named Winchester, the community was known locally as Chesterville possibly as early as the 1840s, and for a short time as Hummelville. The name East Winchester also seems to have been briefly used during the 1860s and 1870s. The 1851 census notes the village as Chesterville and several documents from 1855 and 1863 use that name. The Canada Directory of 1857-58 notes that Chesterville [Winchester] “has a large trade with the surrounding country which is well settled. It has a tri-weekly mail and a population of about 500”.
In July 1872, a telegraph office was opened in the village. Because the names of many local communities included the name Winchester (such as Winchester Township, West Winchester, East Winchester, North Winchester, and Winchester Springs), the Montreal Telegraph Company suggested that the name of the village be changed to avoid confusion. After a petition was circulated, the name was officially changed to Chesterville in 1875.
In 1887, the Canadian Pacific Railway opened a station in the town, leading to further settlement and incorporation as a village in 1890. The town hall was built in 1867 and was subsequently used as a fire hall, jailhouse, court house, and movie theatre, and currently serves as the heritage centre and village museum.
Local families Many of the original early settlers in the Chesterville district were Scottish and Irish immigrants as well as some Loyalist Germans from Williamsburg, Matilda, Stormont, and Grenville.
+ Early Settler Families of Chesterville Hummel Armstrong Bigford/Bickford Merkley Moran Ouderkirk Curran Forward Coyne Marcellus Kearns Clement McCloskey McMahon Casselman Rae Harper Dillabough Rose Bogart Wheeler Servage Jordan Droppo
Following the destruction of the Second World War in Europe, many Dutch families immigrated to Canada in the early 1950s-60s, settling in the Chesterville area. Many of these immigrants would go on to become successful and prominent members of the community, and Chesterville district continues to be home to a large Canadian-Dutch population. Chesterville held an annual Dutch Dance for many years at the local Legion.
+ Dutch Settler Families of Chesterville District Vanden Bosch Van Kessel Derks Schoones Logtens Van Delst Byvelds Vloet Scheepers Brugmans Hoogeveen Verhoeven Van Dongen De Jong Geertsma Sanders Berkers De Rooy
Great fire of 1909
On 6 April 1909, part of Chesterville's business section was destroyed by fire. Newspaper accounts state that the fire started at the north-east corner of King and Water Streets (now 1 King Street) in a wooden-framed building that contained the tailor shop of W. J. Nash on the first floor and the Masonic Hall on the second. The flames travelled in two directions: East down Water Street to the Chesterville Record office, which destroyed the printing presses; and North up King Street, jumping from one building to the next until it reached Ralph Street. The King Street businesses affected (in order from Water Street to Ralph) were: Nash's tailor shop, Wilford Saucier's jewellery store, Isaac Pelletier's confectionary and fruit store, Gordon Robinson's blacksmith shop, Joseph Fisher and Colborne Robinson's butcher shop and the Sanders, Soule and Casselman general store.
The village could do very little to stop it, as they had only one hand pump and pails for water. This was the second major fire on that they had seen in a short period; exactly three weeks earlier on 16 March, fire broke out at the North end of King Street, burning down the Temperance Hotel and Foster's Hall and damaging the CPR train station and water tower.
Following these incidents, the village quickly took steps to improve their fire protection. In May, a by-law was prepared by the village council to mandate that only "fireproof" buildings (such as brick and stone) could be constructed in the business section of town. In the summer of 1909, the village purchased a steam pumper fire engine. Frank McCloskey was appointed fire chief and formed a brigade. However, the first fire hydrants were not installed in the village until 1916, when Hires Condensed Milk Co. (later Nestle) installed a water main along Queen and Main Streets.
After losing their printing presses in the fire, the Chesterville Record staff worked from a temporary office in Thomas McMahon's blacksmith shop on Main Street south of the CPR line. They resumed printing on 6 May 1909. Because they were so quick to return to business, news articles and advertisements exist that tell the progress of the town's recovery from this disaster.
In the year that followed, new buildings were erected to replace those that were lost. Sanders, Soule and Casselman rebuilt their store on its previous site (south-east corner of King and Ralph, now 19 King Street). The Fisher Block was constructed next door, and Joe Fisher and Isaac Pelletier continued their businesses there. It burned down in 1989 and now serves as a parking lot. A new office for the Chesterville Record was built at what is now 7 King Street. Part of the building was rented out by Wilford Saucier, who carried on his jewellery business. The Record remained there until the summer of 2018, and the office was demolished in December of that year. The Hamilton Block, built by Wesley Hamilton, replaced W. J. Nash's tailor shop on the north-east corner of King and Water Streets. It includes what is now 1, 3, and 5 King Street.
Later history In the early 1920s, Chesterville became the first town in Dundas County to get a paved road, and the village flourished with businesses.
On January 1, 1998, the villages of Winchester and Chesterville were amalgamated with Winchester and Mountain Townships to form the Township of North Dundas.
Ice storm of 1998
Between January 4 and 10, 1998, over 80 millimeters of freezing rain fell in the area, greatly damaging the power grid and infrastructure. Hydro poles and power lines were crumpled and broken. Shelters were established throughout North Dundas, and Chesterville hosted 100 beds, 75 at the Fawcet Pub, and 25 at the Legion Hall. The village power grid was restored on January 10, but many individual homes were without power for further days. 114 soldiers from the Royal Canadian Dragoons were billeted at North Dundas District High School during Operation Recuperation, the largest peacetime deployment of the Canadian Army. Prime Minister Jean Chretien visited the area along with Ontario Premier Mike Harris.
Military history Early militia The military history of Dundas County and Chesterville dates back to the early settlement days, when Loyalist veterans of the American Revolution were granted plots of land in Upper Canada and raised a local militia. Some of the earliest land grants in Winchester Township were to veterans of the Revolution, and many more were veterans of the War of 1812. Dundas County had raised a militia as far back as 1788, and during the War of 1812 the men fought with the 1st Regiment of Dundas Militia. Many of these veterans would be granted plots of land in Dundas County, settling in Winchester Township. Early War of 1812 veterans and settlers in Chesterville District include Henry Hawn and William Casselman who served with the Dundas Militia, and as many as 10 veterans of the war later lived in the village, including Henry Ouderkirk, a veteran of the Incorporated Battalion, who was one of the first inn keepers.
Early settlers of the village included British Army veterans as well, including John Irwin Ker, formerly of the 57th Regiment of Foot during the Napoleonic Wars. His son, John Irvin Ker, left Chesterville and fought in the American Civil War with the 4th Minnesota Infantry Regiment.
From 1829 to 1836, No.9 Company of the 1st Dundas Militia served both Mountain and Winchester townships. In 1837, the Dundas County Militia was reorganized into two battalions with the 1st Battalion (Winchester and Williamsburg Townships) commanded by Col. John Crysler and Lt-Col. J. McDonell. No. 3 Company under Capt. John Merkley and No.10 Company under Capt. Robert Gray were now located in Winchester Township and headquartered in Chesterville. The companies were called out with the Embodied Dundas Militia and served during the Rebellions of 1837–1838 at the Battle of the Windmill and Prescott. Over 50 local men served in various militia regiments during the Rebellion.