Early Settlement Industry

Early Industrial Growth

One of the great strengthes of the Buxton Settlement was the diverse sources of knowledge that were brought together in the refuge of the settlement. The early settlers pooled their skills and resources to build a community.

• 1851 (Fall), Buxton brickyard and kiln established by the knowledge and labour of two former slaves; 300,000 bricks produce in the first year.
• 1852, March 27: Canada Mill & Mercantile Co. was formed to establish a sawmill, gristmill, and general store. Wm. Abbott and Henry Thomas volunteered to raise the capital among prominent Blacks in Toronto and Buffalo, NY.  The venture was enormously successful, raising the necessary $3,000 in just a few months.  Within the year, the settlement had the saw and grist mill and general store. 
• 1852, a settler named Alfred West built the Temperance Hotel, a 2 story brick building.
• 1852, a shoe store and carpenter shop were also established in Buxton Village.
• 1852, Rev. King petitioned for regular postal service in the Raleigh District and opened a Buxton post office when permission was granted.
• 1852, a pearl ash factory was built under the guidance of Mr. F. Gates from Delta, Ohio to manufacture fertilizer (‘black salts’) from lumber burnt to clear the land.
• 1852, a fugitive from Georgia introduced barrel making (coppersmith) production for export to Cincinnati and Buffalo, which was a money crop more profitable than lumber.

Buxton Solves Transportation Obstacles

At a community meeting Buxton settlers voted to work together to clear the proposed Centre Road to ship their produce inexpensively — on Lake Erie.  They organized teams and cut the road (Centre Road) from the 7th Concession past the 14th Concession to Lake Erie.  The pearl ash from the elms alone was sufficient to cover the cost to build the road.

However, due to drainage problems, the road was difficult to traverse much of the year (mud).  Therefore, the settlers petitioned Raleigh Township and obtained permission to build a tramway along the road. In 1854, the settlers organized into teams and in one month a track was laid from Buxton square to the Lake Erie cliff edges.  The tramway permitted a team of oxen to haul huge cargos on wagon beds on the greased wooden rails.

An Economic Loss for Buxton

In 1859, the ringing of the mission bell awakened and warned the settlement of a fire in their midst.  As residents rushed from their homes to investigate, they saw a tower of flames in the night sky near the Town Square — the pearl ash factory was ablaze!  Men quickly armed with pails and sped through the bush to reach the fire with hopes of putting the fire out –or at the very least to contain it.  Unfortunately, the pearl ash factory could not be saved and a source of income was lost to the community.

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website created July 2008; updated November 2009; by Lori Gardner