SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: The global reach of settlers from what was then a market town in Surrey extends more than 3,000 miles to a small farming village in Canada, as DAVID MORGAN explains
Long drive: Croydon, Ontario
Jump aboard a flight bound for Toronto Pearson International Airport. On arrival, hire a car and head out north-east on highway ON-401, with Lake Ontario, the smallest of the five Great Lakes, on your right. Drive past Brighton, but before you reach Odessa or Kingston, leave the highway at exit 579 and take County Road 14.
After about 15 miles you will arrive at Croydon, Ontario. A journey, in total, of about 3,400 miles.
The sheer variety of names given to the towns and villages in this area is a reflection of the origins of the vast numbers of immigrants who settled in this part of Canada. Place names such as Sterling, Norwood, Tamworth and Cardiff reflect the origins of folk who travelled from Britain. Just a little to the north, Deux-Rivieres, Rapides-des-Joachims, Fort-Coulange and Chapeau show the influence of a different part of Europe.
Croydon, Ontario, is a small hamlet, with a few scattered residences set in a rural, agricultural landscape. The Salmon River, flowing through the settlement, is now an attraction for tourists wishing to fish or cycle or hike.
Croydon is situated in Lennox and Addington County. The origin of that Addington name is Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, the Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1801 to 1804. The Lennox name came from Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, a British Army officer and later politician who was vocal in his support for the colonialists in the American War of Independence.
No one is certain of the origin of the name Croydon in Ontario, but it is a reasonable assumption that it came from England.
County town: Addington and Lennox county, in red, at the other end of Lake Ontario from Toronto
A look through the available records show that Croydon, Ontario, was never more than a large village.
At one time though, it was the home of some industry which was based on water power generated from the river.
Some of the old Croydon houses built in the 19th Century have recently been modernised.
The old Post Office and accommodation for the postmaster, situated close to the bridge over the Salmon River, sold recently for almost Can$1million – around £560,000 at current exchange rates.
Another Croydon property consisting of three bedrooms and three bathrooms, currently advertised by the Remax estate agents, is listed at Can$1,099,00. “Immerse yourself in idyllic country living,” is one of their strap lines being used to attract a buyer.
For the 19th Century pioneers and settlers who made Croydon their home, life was anything but idyllic. Even when the forest was cleared and cabins erected, life was still a struggle.
The old Post Office: this bit of Croydon real estate recently sold for around £560,000
A local history book explained the difficulties of the settlers, as they moved into the area. As well as newly arrived immigrants, there were many loyalists, who had moved up from America following the revolution.
The spring of 1785 was a turning point in their fortunes. The clearings in the forest were still small, with lots of roots and stumps meaning that spades, and not ploughs, were the main tools of the newly arrived subsistence farmers. The basic food staples were Indian corn and wild rice. The grains from these crops would generally be pounded into flour on a flat stone by hand.
Exactly when Croydon came into existence wasn’t recorded. However, East Camden, a small town about 11 miles, away was begun in 1787. Newburgh, another village about eight miles away, was founded in 1822. Enterprise, just down the road from Croydon, had a population of 150 by the early 1860s.
One of the most important businesses of any settlement at that time was the Post Office.
Settlers in and around what was called Thompson’s Corner, where a general store had opened, petitioned the authorities to have a post office. The locals were unhappy at travelling the eight miles to East Camden just to collect their mail.
The petitioned request was granted. Thompson’s Corner wasn’t considered to be the best name for a settlement with a Post Office, so Thompson, together with another senior resident, Mrs Edward Cox, came up with the new name of Enterprise. The villagers liked the name and strove to live up to the promise of its potential.
A man named Campbell, who was running the store at Thompson’s Corner a little after this time, was beginning to feel the pressure of competition to his business, and he decided to move to Croydon. On this evidence, Croydon was certainly in existence in the early 1860s.
The only Campbell name in the 1869 directory for Croydon was James Campbell, a farmer. Maybe he was a son of the shopkeeper?
The Ontario Gazeteer and Directory from 1869 described Croydon in a short paragraph:
“A small village in the township of East Camden, County Addington, 15 miles from Napane the County Town. The Salmon River provides excellent manufacturing facilities. Woolen, paper and saw mills are required in the neighbourhood. Population 100.”
In the details about the village, the Post Office was being run by Ira Williams, who was also a general merchant, a commissioner of oaths and a conveyancer. Not much happened in Croydon without Williams knowing about it.
The Napanee Bee: an Ontarian local newspaper from 1851
There were nine farmers on the list of inhabitants, two wagon makers, a cooper, a tailor and a carpenter.
John Williams was the proprietor of the flour mill and M Smith was the mill’s agent.
Georges Estes was the proprietor of Croydon House and Mrs McCabe was the proprietor of California House. There were also two teachers and one Wesleyan clergyman, Rev Edmund Rupert. Rev Rupert would have travelled the area as part of a Methodist Circuit.
The 1873 edition of the directory showed that the village had developed a little more, although its population was still given as 100. Now there was a woolen factory and a saw and a grist mill.
An 1878 map of Croydon also revealed further details. The school was built on the other side of the river to the main village. Just to the north of the bridge stood a cheese factory by the river.
A milk inspector’s report from 1892 showed that he visited the Croydon factory and tested the milk. He was pleased with the way in which cheese makers in the area were doing all they could to produce high-quality products, but he was critical of some of the farmers who were still sending their milk to the factories neither aerated nor strained. There were still farmers transporting milk in rusty cans where the acid in the whey had taken all the tin off.
On the outskirts of the village was an Orange Hall. This reflected the protestant affiliations of the population at the time. The Orange Order was strong in this part of Canada. July 12 parades were a common feature in towns and villages.
Provincial record: the Ontario Gazeteer and Directory from 1869, a sort of 19th Century Wikipedia
The outbreak of World War One saw a great burst of patriotism in Croydon. The Red Cross Society had a very active branch in the village. They decided to support local mothers whose sons had been sent to France with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Among many fundraising events was one where Mr and Mrs William Smith opened up their house and garden in June 1917 for a social. Among the highlights of the evening were, “attractive booths, fishponds and fortune telling”. The society proudly announced a list of equipment which they had purchased for the Red Cross.
The local school teacher, Miss Rockwell, had suggested to the society after it was set up that a Mite Box be placed in the school for the children’s pennies: $20 was collected from this initiative. A Red Cross orchestra was organised by Miss Josephine Lamey, including the men of the community who hadn’t gone abroad to fight. They accepted invitations from various places to play in money-raising events.
As in many places worldwide, life was never the same after the Great War. The decline of Croydon continued for the rest of the century and beyond.
Today Croydon is just a small community. There are a few home-based industries, with beef and dairy farms. Some of the small farms also focus on cash crops but everyone who knows Croydon speaks of the beautiful Salmon River.
On the Naturally L and A website, Croydon is described as a “a farming community that welcomes. Friendly residents and a rich history make Croydon a great place to visit or live”. Fancy a trip?
David Morgan, pictured right, is a former Croydon headteacher, now the volunteer education officer at Croydon Minster, who offers tours or illustrated talks on the history around the Minster for local community groups
If you would like a group tour of Croydon Minster or want to book a school visit, then ring the Minster Office on 020 688 8104 or go to the website on www.croydonminster.org and use the contact page
Some previous articles by David Morgan:
- Racing against the great Spitz at a Games scarred by violence
- The day Norwood-born Burke defeated Hitler’s Germany
- Addiscombe cycle shop-owner who had record-breaking career
- Swimmer who made a splash with Tarzan at Paris Olympics
- The church fire that consumed a thousand years of history
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
