North Augusta, Augusta Township, Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario, Canada

Notes:
North Augusta is a settlement located in the township of Augusta, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, in Eastern Ontario, Canada.[1] An unincorporated place and police village, it had a population of approximately 550 at its height in the late 1800s.[3] The community was originally called Bellamy's Mills after the Bellamy family who purchased a mill here around 1812. North Augusta is located about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of the city of Brockville and 19 kilometres (12 mi) northwest of Prescott. Kemptville Creek begins near the community.



History

18th and 19th centuries

North Augusta was first settled by United Empire Loyalists who received land here as grants for their loyalty to the Crown after the Revolutionary War. The community began to grow around a saw mill that was erected in 1811 by a man named Daniel Dunham.[3] A year after the mill was constructed, Dunham sold it to the Bellamy family; the original name of North Augusta was Bellamy's Mills named after this saw mill.[3] The Bellamys soon established a grist mill on one of their properties and began to purchase other properties within the area. Other Loyalist settlers were drawn to the area, and other pioneer industries and businesses set up shop around the mills.[3]



In the mid-19th century, the village boasted a blacksmith, cooper, tannery, carding mills, a shingle mill, post office,[4] schoolhouse, churches, a temperance hall and a general store on top of the pre-existing saw and grist mills.[3] Opening in 1848, a hotel operated in the village with an adjoining frame tavern for a period of time.[3] The temperance movement, which was popular in the area at the time, led to the tavern's closure; many residents fought and succeeded in restricting the inn's distribution of alcohol. The inn was no longer able to sell alcohol during cattle fairs, which was its prime source of revenue and as a result it was shut down.[3] The building which once housed the inn was destroyed in 1902 and but was rebuilt by the former innkeeper's widow. The structure became a private residence.[3]



In the late 19th century, the usual businesses were still in operation in the village, however the village had greatly expanded. At this time, North Augusta had its own newspaper in print, called the North Augusta Hustler which was later called the North Augusta Citizen.[3] The village was now home to a carriage factory, five general stores, a barber, two hotels and a cheese factory. The population at this time was listed as 550 individuals.[3]



20th century

At the start of the 20th century, North Augusta became a police village and the population of the village had dropped to 500 people.[3] Additionally, there was a decrease in the number of businesses present in the community. In 1903, the saw mill ceased operations after it burned; it was not rebuilt because much of the virgin forest had been depleted.[3] With improved transportation, the other businesses in the village began to slowly close as residents could travel for goods, or import their goods from other locations.[3] In 1909, a bank opened in the village and in 1915 a two-storey school was built. It eventually became a continuation school.[3]



In the later parts of the 20th century, the community had very few businesses still in operation as pioneer trades became obsolete and roads were improved even further.[3] Many of the stores closed, and the school, factories, and mills had all ceased operations.[3] Bellamy's mill (bought and donated by Dr. Charles William Elliott Danby*) was moved to Upper Canada Village, an open air museum, where it was restored to mid-19th century era and equipped to run by steam or water power; it was used by the Upper Canada Village to produce flour for its bakery and to grind feed for their animals.[3]



Dr. Danby was the grandson of the Very Reverend Mark Danby, buried in North Augusta.

Latitude: 000000, Longitude: -75.738056

---

Quick Links

• What's New
• Search
• Surnames

• Calendar
• All Media
• Sources

Contact Us

Contact Us
Our Surnames
Our Stories

Webmaster Message

We make every effort to document our research. If you have something you would like to add, please contact us.