Kincardine Ontario's
First Settlers

Kincardine Ontario's first settlers using a bit of savvy and some luck created a future for themselves and their families on the Lake Huron shoreline.

On March 5, 1848, two adventurous men set out on a voyage that would signal. the beginning of a new settlement on the Lake Huron shoreline.

William Withers and Allan Cameron had spent the winter in Oxford County gathering supplies and preparing for life in the last unsettled region of what would become the Province of Ontario. As winter's end approached, the brothers-in-law headed to Goderich. There they anxiously awaited the breakup of the ice and good sailing weather.

Early on the morning of March 5, 1848, Withers and Cameron boarded Captain McGregor's schooner and sailed northward to begin their adventure. The same day, McGregor dropped them on sandy stretch of land near the mouth of a river.

As the two men stood on the beach surrounded by their gear, they must have stared at the heavily timbered lands crowding the shoreline and despite their excitement, may have been a little overawed by the tasks which lay ahead. They also knew they would be the first of a legion of settlers who would be soon arriving to call this place home.

Their first objective was survival. Therefore, they needed a place to stay. They cleared brush, cut some trees and erected a crude shelter for their first night in the Upper Canadian wilderness.

The next day, they began work on a more substantial dwelling. When completed, it would serve as Cameron's residence and as a place of business. It would become an inn and tavern serving the needs of the wave of settlers that soon would arrive.

Meanwhile, Withers walked the river's edge looking for a suitable place to build a sawmill that could serve the needs of the settlers. A short distance from the mouth, he discovered a narrows, which, when dammed, could provide the power to run the mill. The mill was complete and ready for business in early 1849. But there was a stumbling block on the horizon.

In their rush to get the mill ready, they had neglected to secure waterpower rights from the Crown Lands Agent in Goderich. Once the agent became aware of the mill, he issued an order to Withers requiring him to comply with regulations or move his mill.

Nature Provides a Little Bit of Luck

Fate provided Withers with his answer for the land agent. Heavy rain and a mild spring created a flood on the river. The raging torrents ripped the mill from its location and carried it downstream. For Withers, the situation was simple. He moved his mill to a new location just east of the town plot on Concession 2 south of the Durham Road. When the prospective settlers arrived, Withers' mill became a successful business.

On March 5, 1848, William Withers and Allan Cameron became the first settlers in the area that would become the Bruce County town of Kincardine.

A version of this story first appeared in my Local History column in the Owen Sound Sun Times on April 3, 2002.

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