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Welcome to Hampton History 101
• Hampton founded in 1840 by
Henry Elliott.
• Hampton Post office opened 1851.
• Parkland in the centre of village is part of the original
Elliott property.
It was donated to the community by Mrs. Charles
J. Kerslake and
her brother, Dr. Jabez H. Elliott.
• Until 1974 Hampton served as a seat of government for
Darlington Township.
I would
like to take you back to February 1825. It was a very, very
cold winter in Darlington. One snowfall of 4 feet. At this time
there were practically no settlers in the township of Darlington
except along the waterfront. In 1829 there were only 350 inhabitants.
Wm. Lee of Clarke had begun the erection of a mill on the creek
about 5 miles north of Bowmanville, with John Allin as builder.
Mr. Henry Elliott came from Devonshire, England in 1831 saw an opportunity
to go into business for himself with the opening up of the center
and rear of the township, and in 1840 bought from Mr. Lee his property
of 60 acres through which flowed the creek. The nearest house to
the south was that of Duncan Malcom two miles away on the road to
Darlington, (today Bowmanville), along the westside of the creek.
Farther up the creek on the next concession Michael Cryderman, the
grandfather of J. Hebert Cryderman, had build and was operating
a saw mill. The Scugog road was not opened until about 10 years
later. The deed to the property Lee to Elliott is dated August 15th
1840. While still working for Bowman and Co. Mr. Elliott moved the
frame of the mill out to the west bank of the creek. During 1841
the machinery was brought from Cobourg and the millstone from Port
Hope, a tub wheel was installed for power, and the mill began operation
in the fall of 1841 with a capacity of 40-50 bushels a day. Entries
in the mills account books show purchases of wheat at 4 pound 9
shilling and rye 2 pounds 3 shillings per bushel in October 1841.
Next I will reveal to you all the business transactions of the Elliott
Mill. This historical data was reprinted by the Canadian Statesman
in January 1937.
Some more recent events that changed the face of Hampton.
The Hampton Junior Public School was erected in 1955 on Ormiston
Street and was later expanded WITH an addition in 1969. The Municipal
Offices of Hampton were erected in 1958 on the West side of Scugog
Street. In 1975, Hampton became recognized as a village actively
involved in sports through the erection of the Darlington Sports
Centre.Many elements of pre-1900’s vintage still exist at
the present time in Hampton. The village plan and layout of the
streets has remained essentially the same. The Canadian Northern
Railway that withdrew its services in the 1930’s left behind
a legacy of bridge towers and clear areas of land. Buildings in
which businesses were housed are still present. The building, which
was once the Hampton Creamery, still stands. The home and wagon
shop of Cephas Johns is still occupied. The hotel, which was once
situated where today’s United Church stands, was moved in
1873. The hotel was partially disassembled in the mid 1900’s
and what remains on its site now is the home of Mr. & Mrs. Gerald
Balson. Mr. Balson agreed to let us know all about his special
home, it has a most remarkable history.
Beer, E.J. |
Hotel |
Clarke, T. |
Blacksmith |
Cole, F.A. |
Postmaster & Tailor |
Cole, J.Y. |
Hides |
Elliott, Henry |
General Store |
Elliott, John |
Grocer |
Elliott, Thomas |
Flour Mill |
Goodman, C.J. |
Agent-The Federal Life Assurance Co. |
Groat, G.E. |
Shoe Maker |
Hasting, E. |
Pump Manufacturer |
John, Cephas |
Carriage Maker |
Katerson, R. |
Furniture |
Pennington, A. |
Carpenter |
Reid, W.C. |
Nurseryman |
Scott, A. |
Carriage Maker |
Taylor, D. |
Woolen Mill |
Thomson, S. |
Harness Maker |
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In our village, now called Hampton, the first Darlington Township Hall was
constructed in 1855. In 1856 the Cambrian Wollen Mills was
established. This business was located a mile and a half out of the village.
There were six hands employed at the mill and a "very extensive business" was
done. It is important to mention that in 1853, William Vanstone , who owned
a waggoneers shop, sold his property to Cephas Johns, who maintained the
shop for about 30 years. In 1858 the ambitious Henry Elliott built again,
this time it was a building block design to house a general store. The
village of Hampton contained, in 1865, two general stores, one grocery,
three shoe shops, two wagon shops, one blacksmith shop, one tailor shop,
two cooper shops, one cabinet shop, on tannery, two hotels, and one school.
The school house, when first constructed, was intended for use as a hotel
but later the decision was made to use it as a hall of learning. West of
Scugog Street, on 6th concession, the Hampton Creamery was constructed
in 1870. In 1873, one of the hotels was moved to the south-east corner
of Kerr and Scugog streets. This was done to facilitate the construction
of the new Bible Christian Church during the year of 1874. This Church
became a Methodist Chapel in 1884 and a United Church in 1925. Also in
1873, Mr. Katerson succeeded a Mr. James Cryderman and established an undertaking
and furniture dealing business. I believe there is still some furniture
from that time in some living rooms in Hampton. As you can see, Hampton
has a very interesting history. I hope this is not too dry but the interesting
stories are still to come. All this information is from the Trent University
Archives.
Our Post Office
In 1851, a Post Office was established at Hampton. At that time the name of
the village was changed from Millville to Hampton. Mr Henry Elliott was the
first Postmaster.
He and his son Henry Jr. were the Postmasters until 1915 except for a short
period about 1895 when Frank Cole had this position. The two Elliotts' were
Postmasters for almost 64 years!
In 1915, Mr. W.W. Horn was appointed Postmaster, a position he held until 1937.
During this period, the office was located on the east side of the street in
the Horn Store which was destroyed by fire in the winter of 1983.
On March 18, 1937 George Barron was appointed Postmaster and the office moved
across the street to Barron's Store. His son H.A. (Pete) Barron succeeded him
on March 26, 1945. On August 17, 1971 the Post Office was moved to the new
federal building on Temperance Street, now called appropriately Millville Avenue.
Pete Barron moved in with the new office. In September 1981, Mr. Barron retired
and was succeeded by Mr. Blair Moffat as Acting Postmaster.
Mrs. Nancy Pella was appointed Postmistress on January 4th, 1982. Mr. Salter,
Mr. Greenway and Mrs. Elaine Wotten were the rural mail Contractors for many
years on the Hampton R.R. No.1.
When the Enniskillen Post Office was closed in 1986, the mail for the customers
of that community was transferred and delivered from Hampton. We hope our Post
Office will remain in our community for many years to come.
Georg Krohn.
More detailed history is found here (updated to this site on March
2003)
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