Otonabee Township

LANG MILL
Lang Mill was built in 1846 by Thomas Short

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Otonabee Township

Otonabee Township is situated in the area east and south of the city of Peterborough. The township has Rice Lake as its southern boundary and its western boundary is the Otonabee River, on the north is Douro Township and to the east is Asphodel Township. With the Indian River coursing from the north to the south through the villages of Lang and Keene. The name "Otonabee" is believed to be Indian , the translation being"Flashing Waters Running Fast"

The township was surveyed in 1819 by Col. Richard Birdsall.

The settlement of the township began immediately as the first settler was George Kent who was here before the surveying was completed.

The next year 1820, a few more settlers arrived in Otonabee, some were single men and others brought their families. Their names were John Walstead, Major Design, Thomas Carr, John Nelson and his sons Andrew and William, John MacKintosh, Mr. Lindsay, Ambrose Mayett, James Beckett, Thomas Nelson, George Esson and his sons Thomas, Alexander, Daniel and Robert, John Fife and sons John, William, Thomas, Hutchinson and David Alexander, James Foley, John Stewart, William Sowden and Ralph Davidson. There were also the following single men, Robert Redpath, James Hunter, George Banks, Nicholas Bullen, Robert Ferguson, Robert Hyatt, Lieut. Jenkins and Mr. Collier.

Prior to 1825 only these few adventurous settlers were found in Otonabee, and the entire number of settlers in all the townships north of Rice Lake did not exceed 500 at this time.

In the fall of 1825 Hon. Peter Robinson brought 415 families from Ireland to settle in Peterborough County of these 51 settled in Otonabee Twp. Some of these were James Keefe and son John, John Galvin, John Kenally, John O'Leary and sons Daniel, Patrick and John, Patrick O'Brien and sons William and John, John and James Slattery, James Condon and sons Richard, William and Joseph, Micheal and Maurice Landrigan, Thomas Murray, Edmund Dillon and sons Mike and Pat, Patrick Heffernan, Thomas Hallahan and sons Mike, Dennis and James, William Cleary and sons Timothy, John and William, John Sargent and a cousin John Sargent, Patrick Crowley and sons James, David, Mike and Pat, Thomas Egan, Richard Powers, John Clancy and sons William John and Thomas, Maurice Roach and brothers Pat and William, John McGrath, James Hanlon and sons Mike, Maurice, Richard and Thomas, Thomas Condon and sons James, Bartholemew, Patrick and John and George Buck.

There were several families who came out in the period of 1825 to 1830 through the Private Scottish Emigration Societies. Some of these were the family of James and John Miller and their sisters, Peter McIntyre, Duncan Comrie and son William, Duncan Drummond, Archibald McNevan, William McNevan and his wife and six children, Alex Bowie, Robert Brown, William and Thomas Barrie, Robert Carter, and son Robert H.Carter, George Erskine and son Edward, David Henderson, George and Peter Gillespie and Alexander son of Peter, John Laing , John Lawson, James McNeil, John McCraw, John and Thomas Richardson, Andrew and Archibald Shearer and Alexander Speirs.Also settled in by 1830 were several families from Ireland such as John Beavis, John Bennett, Jeremiah Chase, Barney Drum, James and William Foley, William Hare, Nicholas Keating, William Morgan and the Stewarts who settled in Otonabee West, William, Richard and Alexander.

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The Village Of Keene

The village of Keene was founded by Dr. John Gilchrist who built a grist mill on the Indian River about 2 miles north of Rice Lake in 1825 and later a saw mill and tannery around the mill pond. For years the village was known as Gilchrist's Mills. However, the doctor himself changed the name to Keene after a village in New Hampshire were he had been born in 1792. The first store was opened in Keene in 1829-30 by Dr Gilchrist. By 1846 Keene was listed as having 2 churches, 1 grist mill, 1 saw mill, 1 tannery, 1 distillery, a carding machine, 4 stores, 3 taverns, 1 wagon maker, 1 blacksmith, 2 General Stores and a Post Office.

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The Village Of Keene - 1872

Near Rice Lake, by the Indian River,
Stands the thriving village Keene,
Tradesmen of all kinds within her,
Good as any elsewhere seen.
For worship there three churches stand,
Grist and saw mills in her too,
A tannery also close at hand,
And a shingle factory working true.
Five stores likewise in her are,
With drugs and goods of every kind,
Two taverns where, at any hour,
Travellers good refreshment find.
Steam navigation is there too,
To carry goods across Rice Lake
To Harwood to the cars, which through
The whole Dominion luggage take.

by Alexander Graham.

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The Village Of Lang

Surveyors designated an area about 2 miles north of Keene on the Indian River as a mill site. Sometime around 1823-5 a saw mill was built on the east side of the river and a log house on the west side. Thomas Short built the dam, and owned the saw mill. In 1846 he built the stone grist mill still standing today. The village was originally called Allendale Mills, it was later renamed after Squire William Lang who built the carding mill one mile north in 1845. Mr. Short had a number of industries grouped around the flour and oatmeal mill in Allendale. A barrel factory was located down the river a short way and the flour mill, oat mill and barrel factory were connected by a narrow railway. Elm staves were cut in the saw mill, piled onto hand cars, and pushed out to the shop, where they were made into barrels which were then run to the flour mill to be filled. He also had a foundry making castings, etc.

Like most country villages, Lang had several industries. There was also a tannery, and a blacksmith shop. A carpenter and repair shop, with a blacksmith shop was owned by William Hastie, where anything from caskets to carriages, wagons to wheelbarrows, and other necessities were built.

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Early Industries in Otonabee

Mills

Thomas Short's Sawmill at Lang built in 1823.
Dr. John Gilchrist's saw mill at Keene built in 1825.
Dr. John Gilchrist's grist mill at Keene built 1827.
William Lang's carding mill "Hope's Mill" built in 1832
Thomas Short's grist mill at Lang built in 1846

Distilleries

There were 2 Distilleries operating in 1840,
One was owned by Dr. Gilchrist.

Taverns and Hotels

The Rubidge House built in 1825 by Capt. Chas. Rubidge.
A tavern was run by Mr. Archibald Nelson abt 1829 in Keene.
The American House run by John McLachlin.
The Victoria House owned by John Gall abt 1864.

Carpenters

Some of the carpenters of Otonabee were Andrew Forsyth, Donald McIntyre,
James Steele, James Stevenson, William Hastie, Robert and David West.

Shoemakers

In 1864 Keene had no less than four, David Armstrong, John Barnet, Dennis Mahoney and James McCann.
James Sinclair and William Lumsden were saddle and harnessmakers.

Blacksmiths

Keene had several Blacksmiths, Alexander Laing, Mr. Bennett, George Connel, Harry Cruikshank,
Thomas Wedlock, Lou Burley, Charles Ellis and Harold Roach

Dressmakers

Mrs Chisholm was a milliner and dressmaker in 1869. Mrs. John MacFarlane also a dressmaker,
taught girls the trade. Another dressmaker was Mrs. Annie McIntyre.

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Lang Century Village

Situated about 10 miles south-east of Peterborough is the Lang Century Village. A living museum, on the banks of the Indian River, nestled amongst the trees with Lang Grist Mill to the south, it gives one a feeling of serenity and permanence. It seems to be the result of a natural growth of a small village over the years, so well does it blend into the landscape. It is representative of a small pioneer community, spanning the period of 1820 to 1898.

A few of the sites are:

The Fife Cabin home of David Fife dating back to 1820.
The Fitspatrick House built in the 1840's.
The Milburn House circa 1870.
The Inn dating to the 1830's containing 14 rooms.
The Log Barn is from the 1820's.
The West barn circa 1850 displaying early tools of farming.
The East barn circa 1890 displaying farm machines and buggies.
The small cider barn.
The shingle mill powered by a White Steam engine.
The Blacksmith shop dates back to 1859.
The General store circa 1858 and Post Office.
The Town Hall built in 1871.
William Hastie's carpenter shop circa 1860.
The South Lake School built in 1886.
The Glen Alda Church dates back to 1898.
The Hope Saw Mill built around 1832.
The Lang Grist Mill circa 1846 and one of the last operating mills in Canada.

The Village is open weekends from Victoria Holiday Weekend until Thanksgiving Day. During July and August it is open every day Often on Sundays there are special events and demonstrations and displays. There are swimming and picnic facilities and a refreshment booth. Visitors will find an enormous range of skills and crafts. Quilting, Candle making, Old Time Music, Butter Churning, Sheep Shearing, Spinning and Weaving, Wool Dyeing, Harness making, Soap making are all demonstrated at times throughout the summer.

It is a place to go and reflect on what hardships our forefathers endured to leave their homeland and come to the new world and make this country what it is today. It is very interesting to see how tasks which must have seemed impossible at the time and with the limited tools were completed with ingenuity and neighbourly help. To see how land was cleared without the tools of today. To learn how to build a house or barn out of the forest surrounding you. To show your children the simple things like where milk really comes from. How logs were turned into boards or shingles. It is a place to shown your children how wool from sheep can be turned into clothing.

The people who built this country are gone but here we can go back in time and look through a window to our past. On some days you can actually step through the door and things seem to slow down to the pace of the quiet tranquility of a stroll through the village to a time gone but not forgotten.

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