The Gunfight at Campbell's Corner
Last week's episode related the story of the Campbell clan and how they turned back the constable from Walker's Settlement at Buck's Crossing. He had come to arrest Colin Campbell and others for stealing horses and had narrowly escaped bodily injury. The Campbells and their cronies had literally made him eat his warrant.
There were other recorded incidents of these ruffians running afoul of the law or simply taking matters into their own hands and settling a score with their enemies.
The red frame hotel, where the Hanover Inn stands now, was the scene of another vicious episode in the life of the Campbells and their gang. On one occasion, they were all there drinking and soon a fight was in progress. Mr. Robert Marshall, the proprietor of the tavern, and some boys from Brant who were there forced these men out of doors.
Colin Campbell, in a fury of rage, went around to the back of the tavern and tore a square picket off the fence and then stood ready and waiting outside the front door. As Mr. Marshall stepped out, Campbell struck him a heavy blow, knocking him down and crushing his forehead. Mr. Marshall never recovered from this shock and died in a few months from the effects of the blow.
Another story is told of William Everett, a former resident of Pilkington Township, who had moved to the Hanover area. Everett had ridden to town on horseback and while there had proceeded to a tavern to quench his thirst and enjoy the company of some friends. In the course of time, he became embroiled in a fight with several members of the Campbell and MacTavish families. Getting the worst of the encounter, he mounted his horse and fled for home with his adversaries in hot pursuit.
Upon reaching the Saugeen River, he found that the water had risen to a dangerous level, but he had no alternative but to urge his mount into the raging current. During the crossing, he fell from the horse, but managed to save himself by grabbing hold of the horse's tail, which enabled him to ford the stream in safety.
Finally, on June 8, 1859, a large group of constables from Walker's Settlement, with reinforcements from Kincardine, were finally ready and determined to put an end to the Campbells' lawless activities. Again, the gang was tipped off as to the imminent arrival of the law and managed to barricade themselves inside their hotel at Campbell's Corner.
When they arrived, a Mr. Jamieson, a magistrate from Walker's Settlement, drew out a warrant and hailed the building and demanded the immediate surrender of the fugitives. Campbell refused to comply and at the same time shoved a gun out of the window. The magistrate pleaded with Campbell to come out peacefully or face the consequences. This was to no avail and the ensuing standoff continued for two hours with numerous exchanges of gunfire.
While all this was in progress, some of the posse had surrounded the hotel and carrying a large door ripped off the barn for protection, they set fire to some dry brush which they threw up against the lean-to at the rear of the hotel. This quickly took hold and spread upwards to the roof and dense volumes of smoke rolled upwards.
Water was poured onto the lean-to from an upstairs window, but eventually the flames took hold and the supply of water in the hotel dwindled. Soon the whole upper half of the building was engulfed in flames.
To save themselves from being burned to death, the men came out with their rifles cocked, ready to fire if interfered with. They made a break for freedom by dashing down the side road to the north and were soon lost to view in the woods. While running, Colin Campbell and Charles McFarlane were shot in the back with a charge of buckshot from the constables' guns. They made their way across swamp land and through rough bush, reaching the home of a Mr. Wylie, a settler on the next concession, where they demanded food and shelter. Knowing they would be followed by the constables, they threatened to wreak vengeance if anyone there in the home informed on them. Knowing that the Campbell brothers and their associates were noted for carrying out their threats and so terrified were these people, that when the constables arrived some time later, they said they had never seen the fugitives and that, "They must have gone in another direction."
Colin Campbell was suffering from wounds in his back which needed attention and he eventually had to give himself up. He was tried at the next assize in Goderich and was sentenced to a term in the penitentiary.
It is unknown how long Colin Campbell remained in prison, but it should be noted that in the 1871 Census, he is shown as living in Brant Township a ways farther west. If Colin ever returned to Campbell's Corner, it wasn't for long. He tried to sue for damages done when his tavern was burned, which he felt was a wrongful deed done to him, and one he could ill afford, but he was never able to collect.
After this time, most of the family disappears from the Hanover area. Colin and his family ended up on Manitoulin Island where, according to some sources, a Campbell's Bay is named after him. It does appear that this older Colin is a somewhat reformed and mellower person, however. Other parts of the family went west to North Dakota where there were free land grants.
Most of the Campbell family passed out of Hanover's history, but the memory of their lawlessness and misdeeds has not even yet, after 150 years, been entirely forgotten. Robert Marshall, who was fatally injured at the hands of Colin Campbell, was this writer's great-great-uncle.
The Campbell name disappeared and the corners are now part of the Town of Hanover. A small, white, marble tombstone in the old Switzer burial ground to the east bears the following inscription: "In memory of Colin, son of Colin and Sarah Campbell, died 1862, aged 4 years." Besides the stories, this is all that remains of the tragedy and drama that surrounded this infamous family.