GC4E1XX Ramara History - Ramona - Union Church Yard (Traditional Cache) in Ontario, Canada created by Be-Strong-Carry-On!

GC4E1XX ▼

A cache by Be-Strong-Carry-On! Message this owner

Hidden : 6/9/2013

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

The history of the Ramona Union Church yard is one of compromise and cooperation.

This series of caches will take you to some of the many Historic locations around Ramara Township. The first settler in Mara arrived in 1823; Rama’s settlement began in 1836. Each of the sites we have chosen were significant prior to 1900.

As each of these locations is historically significant, please pay extra attention and do not unnecessarily disturb anything at the site. In the case of active cemetery caches, please be respectful of any mourners that may be present and wait to make your "find" until they have left. It goes without saying that dogs should not be taken onto cemetery or historically sensitive grounds.

Each cache placed in this series is small or micro-sized. As much as most people prefer larger cache containers, we felt that the smaller size allowed for the least disruption of the historic location.

The first exploration of the Black River region, in 1826, was for the purpose of finding a navigable route from Lake Simcoe to Ottawa, rather than for settlement. It wasn't until a settlement survey was completed in 1834 that the first white immigrants began moving into the area. Many of these first settlers were British Officers who received land grants as repayment for their services to the Crown. The land was classified as poor, being of primarily pine timber and swamp.

Many of these men abandoned their plots as unusable as farmland - four of the original seven land-claimants sold their land to the Rama Native Band. This isn't surprising, as 4,519 acres of Rama Township are classified as swamp-land.

The census of 1840 shows a white population of only 14 people. Ten years later that number had fallen to 8. The enumerator for the 1851 census noted that the settlers in Rama had "no direct roads to their dwellings" and that it was "impossible for a person unacquainted with the locality to discover these clearings without a guide to conduct him through the bush".

The largest wave of immigration, in the second half of the century, brought settlers into the area from famine-ravaged Ireland and poverty in Scotland. They came in search of fertile farmland and the promise of their own homesteads. These hardy men and women made their way north from Toronto or West from Montreal by train and steamship. They then traveled on foot through the heavy bush and swampy landscape until they found a piece of land to which they could lay claim. They painstakingly cleared out the bush and made themselves a home. Early stories tell of land so wild that settlers took turns keeping fires burning all night to keep the prowling wolves at bay.

Others moved from elsewhere in the province to seek work in the booming lumber industry. Over time, more immigrants moved into the region to support that industry and provide needed services such a stores, schools, community centers, post offices and churches. A number of small communities grew in the once barren landscape: Coopers Falls, Ramona, Housey's Rapids, Fawkham, Rathburn, Washago, Atherley, Longford Mills, Udney.

By the turn of the century, the "boom" years of timber and mining were winding down. The large numbers of itinerant workmen left the region in search of jobs elsewhere or the larger quantities of farmable land offered further west in Manitoba. Those settlers that remained were dedicated to their communities.

The small communities clung together and each developed at its own pace. Over time, as transportation and communication improved, the isolation between the individual communities lessened and quality of life and sociability improved.

Ramona United Church / Union Church Yard

The history of the Ramona Union Church yard is one of compromise and cooperation.
In 1899, an acre of land along the Center Road just south of the community of Cooper's Falls was allocated for a church yard. As two distinct denominations existed in the community, the land parcel was split in half. The Presbyterians received a half acre of land and built their timber framed church at that time.

The same year, the Wesleyan Methodists erected a log church on the adjoining half-acre. In 1908, the Methodist log church was replaced by the brick structure that still stands today.
As with all of the churches in the region, both the Presbyterian and Methodist churches remained "mission churches" governed elsewhere and opening and closing as the population and religious trends fluctuated. Eventually, the two congregations either combined or parishioners moved to attend services elsewhere. The Presbyterian structure was dismantled and the current brick structure became a United Church.

The cemetery is still active, although there have only been 71 burials in over one hundred years. The earliest recorded internment was in 1899, the most recent was in 2012.

For more information about the history of Rama or Ramara Township, see:
Reflections of the Past : the story of Rama Township

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

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Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)