Mayne Corners - Ghost Town Series
Mayne Corners was one of many tiny crossroads hamlets that dotted the Perth County countryside during the mid 19th century. Reportedly named after a Mr. May, who opened the village's first post office, Mayne Corners was founded around 1855, when Wallace Township was officially opened for settlement.
The residents of Mayne Corners were a mixed group, comprised of immigrants from the British Isles, Germany as well as Canadian born. The community included a store, blacksmith, post office and an Orange Hall, with James Bolton serving as First Master. A school was opened in the late 1850s. Other settlers in the area included John Ritchman and William Kenney from Ireland along with Peter Orth and Peter Erb from Germany.
By the mid 1860s Mayne Corners offered a range of services that included a shoemaker, William Drehman, several women who did weaving, two carpenters, Shepard Bolton and Henry Miller and a blacksmith, Charles Roadhouse, who also served as postmaster for a few months. Lewis Bolton was the local commissioner and conveyancer. Farming was the main activity, however a sawmill also operated for a brief period.
Unfortunately, Mayne Corners' existence as a community was extremely short lived. When Charles Roadhouse resigned as postmaster in 1866, the post office was closed and postal services were switched to Shipley, located a few kilometres up the road. A new Methodist church, built in 1876, continued to bind the community together for a time.
Today, there is almost nothing left of Mayne Corners, other than a sign and the cemetery, both of which mark the location of this tiny pioneer community. Luckily the former Methodist church, later known as the Mayne Corners United Church, was saved and enjoys a new life as a permanent part of the Country Heritage Park, a collection of restored and preserved pioneer buildings just outside of Toronto. The church still sees the occasional wedding and christening and can be booked for a variety of special occasions. The park is open to the public during the summer.
*** All historic information has been collected from www.ghosttownpix.com.
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Maynecorners - Ghost Town Series
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