History of Ridgeville

In 1853 the land where Ridgeville is located was surveyed by Charles K. Fell. The land was owned by Jonas Steele. Originally called “Steele’s Corners” likely  because the first general store was owned by Jonas Steele. He was a merchant for twenty-four years, a Justice of the Peace for thirty-six years and the first postmaster 1865-1874.

August 1,1865, the first post office was under the name of Ridgeville, likely named after the Fonthill Kame-Delta.

The Ridgeville general store was destroyed by fire twice. After the original store burned, George Townsend Jr. rebuilt it  and sold it to his brother Sandford, who turned it  into a grist mill. When Frank Williams purchased it  he turned it  back to a general store and was postmaster 1898-1924. His daughters Catherine and Florence sold it to Clark and Lane on January 1,1925. In November 1926 it was sold to J.M.B. McClelland who was postmaster 1925-1965. Then his wife was postmistress until February 1969. Then Mrs. E. Finnegan ran the post office for three years, Mrs Lena Polowniak 1972-1979, E.P. O’Neil for a year. Lena returned in 1980 to run the store while her daughter, Anna Lucas was postmistress.

Ridgeville was the site of the first telephone in Pelham.. In 1893 a long distance line was installed  in the home of  Judson C. Crow , who was also the treasurer of Pelham township. The original house burned.

The original telephone office in 1898 was operated in the home of Miss Hattie Mitchell, which later burned.

George Arnold succeeded Mr. Crowe. In 1897 telephone service became available to the area. A small switchboard was installed in his home..

In 1903 home telephones were installed with about 89 subscribers. Telephone service was available 8am-8pm Mon-Sat, 2-4pm on Sun. By 1906 twenty-four hour service was available. Harry Hill managed the switchboard until the property was sold in 1918.

David Pollard became local manager in 1918 with about 400 subscribers. The telephone exchange was moved to his home at 320 Canboro road. The exchange remained here until 1944.

Miss J. Easterbrook succeeded Mr. Pollard. The exchange was moved to the home of Wilson Smith at 316 Canboro road.

By 1929 there were about 553 subscribers, 1948 about 1000 subscribers. 1954 began dial service.

The first recorded town meeting in Pelham was in 1807. The clerk’s name was Samuel Beckett.  In 1848 a by-law was passed to raise funds for the construction of a town hall. Before that it was believed the meetings were held at 358 Canboro road. The property was registered to Ernest Martin on May 17,1802. Later it became the property of the Lindsay family. The township Hall had a post office and at one time the fair was held here. The building still stands at 358 Canboro road.

The cemetery was first known as the Beckett’s graveyard. The first marker noted was 1829. Samuel Beckett gave one acre of land for a cemetery. The first record is April 1891. It was transferred to the Board of Trustees for one dollar. It became Dawdy’s burial ground. In 1895 a deed registered from W.E. Wellington and Edward Morris to Richard Dawdy, Trustee, Board of Dawdy’s burial ground. The cost $137.00 for one and three quarter acres of land.In 1923 the name was changed to Hillside Cemetery.

The Ridge farm  at 398 Canboro road  was built about 1880, Victorian architecture. The house was built by Josiah Ward. Josiah was the son of Richard Ward and Ruth (Hoag) Ward. They moved from Columbia, New York and settled in Pelham about 1832.

Josiah was a blacksmith, then employed as a dredge manager for John Brown, a Welland canal contractor. Josiah purchased 200 acres of land in Ridgeville in June 1863. Josiah married Ruth Beckett, a seamstress. They had three children, Hannah 1848-1934, Annie-Jane, and Adeline 1857-1917. Hanna married Delorma Stone, Adeline married Frank Hutt, Annie Jane married Dorwin Snyder of St Ann’s. Josiah died May 8,1903, his wife Ruth died July 28,1891.

After Josiah Ward died in 1903, Frank Hutt bought the house and land. He operated a coal business near the railway line. Alandis Crowe bought the property and established a canning factory. He had canned surplus produce in a shed behind his  home on Cream street then moved the operation to Canboro road on the site of the present post office in Ridgeville.  There he had access to the railway spur line to bring in coal and ship out cans. Other owners of this cannery was Canadian canners and Vineland canning. The cannery in Ridgeville closed in 1929.  The railway spur line  was built about 1897 . It went from Chantler up to Brown Brothers nursery. It was used to transport produce, nursery stock and lumber.It delivered manure from the Toronto stockyards to farms in the area.

The cannery was sold to Ernest Eric Morse, a lumber merchant. Mr Morse moved his lumber mill from his farm on Welland road and Effingham road. In 1931 Mr. Morse was killed in a car accident. It was then sold to Frank Lindsay for a lumber company. A sawmill located behind the Lindsay building was operated by John Goodwillie. The railway line went past this building., across Canboro road, across the Bishop property, across highway 20 to the Pelham gravel pit. The Browns Brothers nursery loaded nursery stock and fruit onto the railway cars.

There were four blacksmith shops here. The first operated by Clark Ward,the second by brothers Peter and Jack Brown, who, also had a wagon making business attached. This building later became Central garage, The third was run by Mr. A. Nelson and last one was operated by Eugene Davis.

L. Brown operated a grocery store and first sawmill on the Lewis Morgan property on Canboro road.

Tom Watts came from England in 1912. He and Frank Williams established the Watts Nursery Company in 1916. Their main crop was roses. Later grew nursery stock and fruit and later evergreens. This nursery was located canboro road and centre street.

John Eastman was the manager of the Ridgeville concrete company which was purchased by Tom Bishop in 1912.

The Ridgeville Women’s Institute was organized October 26, 1937.The meeting was held at the home of Mrs Lyle Savigny. There were 26 charter members.

There was a hotel across the road from Central garage building on Canboro road. It was operated by George Holditch, this hotel burned. Another hotel was located on the south east corner of Effingham and Canboro roads. It was once operated by Mr. Dochstader. It had a veranda with a white picket fence. People tied their horses here.

The first school was built of logs in 1780. It was located at Canboro road and Cream street. Between 1820-1830  a frame school was built on Centre street on the present school site, however, it was destroyed by fire.

In 1873 a red brick school house was built. Miss Coleman taught here from 1885 for eleven years. There were 40-50 pupils.

In 1923 a frame school was built near the  red brick building. In 1956  the frame school was moved and a two room addition was added to the red brick school.

The bandstand was located across from McClelland’s store. The band concert on Saturday night was the place to be. The band was formed around 1900 and was active until 1930s. There were about fourteen members. The band’s first leader was George Lymburner of Fonthill, succeeded by W.A. Phillips of Thorold. In 1907 girls were introduced to the band. The last leader was Percy Beckett of Fenwick.

Some of the band members were: Bill Hicks, Walter Crowe, Ed Crow, Harry Rice, Anna Farr, Claude Farr, Clair Haist, Bill Rice, George Hicks, Wes Horton, Lloyd Beckett, Harold Brown, Clifford Farr, Hagar Horton, Ernest Brown, Sheldon Shapland, Marjorie Hiscott, Dora Hicks, Fred McQuiggan, Percy Beckett.

List of Names associated with early Ridgeville

Anderson, Joseph, blacksmith, wagon maker

Anderson, Oscar, blacksmith

Armburst, A.N., township clerk

Armbrust, John, labourer

Armstrong, Wm, farmer

Beckett, Samuel, farmer

Bishop, Thos, concrete blocks

Bradshaw,Hiram, farmer

Brasford, J., tanner

Brown, L.F., proprietor planning mill

Brown, Peter, blacksmith

Brown, Robert, wagon maker

Burgess, Wm. labourer

Crow, John B.

Crow, Judson C. school teacher

Cushing, Pierce wagon maker

Dressel, Peter, tanner

Fry, William teacher

Haist, Michael, farmer

Hall,Robert, farmer

Hill, S.W., tanner

Holdrich, Robert, general merchant

Hyatt, Augustus, agent

Johnston, James, shoemaker

Klager, J. grocer

Lindsay, Reuben, farmer

Merritt, Franklin, speculator

Moore, Whitson, farmer

Nelson, Albert, farmer

Nelson.Geo, blacksmith

Rinker, Rolson, general merchant

Rogers, Wm. labourer

Servos, Jas, painter

Steele, Jonas, J.P., postmaster

Swayze, Samuel, farmer

Taylor, J.B., general store

Thompson, John carpenter

Thompson, J.H. postmaster, grocer

Townsend, George, grocer

Tunnicliffe, John, farmer

Vanevery, William A. farmer

Ward, Clark, blacksmith

Ward, Josiah, farmer

Williams, F.C. general store, post office

Willson. Z, tanner

References:

“History of Ridgeville” Herald January 1961.

The Herald Centennial Edition part two August 1967

“Ridgeville from settlement to township centre” by Doris L. Eller

St Catharines Standard January 30, 1961.

“Pelham as it was and is” by Mrs Lindsay circa 1960.

Pelham Historical Calendars 1981, 1982, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993.