Day Trips: Thorndale and Thamesford

The story of Thorndale, West Nissouri,* begins with the Shanly family of Ireland. James Shanly, his wife, and children sold their property in the Emerald Isle, made the arduous journey across the Atlantic, travelled by canal from New York to Lake Ontario, went on to Hamilton, then rode a cart over what passed for "roads" to London. 

In the spring of 1837, James scouted for a country property. Supposedly captivated by the beauty of blooming hawthorn bushes on a scenic lot overlooking the Thames Valley, he purchased 600 acres on the west side of Concession 2 West Nissouri (now Nissouri Road in Thames Centre) just north of Thorndale Road. On that site he built a large frame home with a servant wing and wide veranda. Some historians suggest he named his new home Thorndale after his old home in Ireland. But the estate name was likely a romantic description of the locale.

Although he was a lawyer in Ireland, Shanly changed careers in Upper Canada by founding a distillery on the banks of Wye Creek. For a while, Thorndale must have been associated with Shanly whisky. It was probably better than home-made rotgut, since settlers travelled miles over the trails to sample James' potent refresher. They even filled their stoneware jugs to take it home. Unfortunately, the Shanly distillery didn't prosper for long. Other distilleries were built on better roads with more accessible markets, and James was forced to close. 

The family also failed at farming. Other settlers were making a go of it, but the Shanlys considered it beneath them. Eventually, the family abandoned their rural property, and the grand country home called "Thorndale" is long gone. Fortunately, we still have the Shanly "Town House" at 301 Piccadilly Street in London. Although it was built about 1872, the Shanlys purchased it in 1875.

The Shanly Town House, an Italianate mansion with an imposing Classical Revival portico added in the early 1900s.

Back in West Nissouri, a village grew east of the Thorndale estate. The impetus was the building of the Grand Trunk Railroad through the township. The GTR planned to build a station at Wyton, in the township's southwest corner. The Scatcherd family, landowners at Wyton, had built a bustling community, and it probably seemed like a logical place for a depot. The Scatcherds, however, rejected the railroad's financial offer and held out for more.

Too bad for them. Railroad officials built a station at Thorndale, where the Logan family, early landowners, offered their land cheaper than the Scatcherds and divided their property into village lots. In 1858, a station and freight sheds were built, so that local pioneers could ship their timber, livestock, and farm produce by rail.

The name Logan pops up throughout Thorndale history. For example, William Logan operated the first saloon. In 1960, a schoolteacher and principal named Ila Logan, who had married into the family, channeled her strong interest in local history into the writing of Through the  Years in West Nissouri, 1818-1967, a book available in local libraries.

Thorndale, Illustrated Historical Atlas of Middlesex County, 1878. Note the landowner, William Logan, on the northeast corner lot. Nearby William Street no longer exists. 

Perhaps this village should have been named Loganville after its founding family. But when a post office opened, it took the name Thorndale after the nearby Shanly estate. This wasn't just sucking up to the elite. The Shanly family had by this time produced prominent civil engineers influential in railway development. James' son Frank became a civil engineer and railway contractor and surveyed the Great Western Railway. His brother Walter eventually managed the Grand Trunk before going on to become a Member of Parliament.**

So much for the village's founding. Nowadays, Thorndale has about 1,200 people and has become a commuter town for London. You know what that means. Lots of this:

New "luxury" townhomes at Thorndale.

But a few interesting older structures remain:

Mount Olivet Masonic Lodge was established in Thorndale in 1873. This battle-scarred building is on Harrison Street.

St. George's-on-the-Wye Anglican Church at 172 King Street. The first Anglican mission in Thorndale was established in 1856 at the home of Edward Logan (yes, the Logans again). Later, services were held in the GTR freight sheds or the schoolhouse. This church was built in 1862, and the narthex in 1968.

Thorndale United Church (formerly Methodist) at 245 King Street dates to 1879. The 1986 narthex makes it a bit tricky to view this original round stained-glass window.

The United Church parsonage, just to the east of the church across Maria Street.

Loyal Orange Lodge #248, built in 1874 at 237 King Street. Founded as West Nissouri L.O.L. in 1839 and closed in 1980. Western Archives has some of its records.

Then there's the war memorial below, situated in its own parkette. I never list names, since this blogger does such a fine job of recording Ontario's cenotaphs and I don't need to repeat his excellent work.

While the railroad built Thorndale, as it did so many other villages, its heyday ended by the '60s because of the rise of auto travel and truck transport. The last station, built ca. 1915, was decommissioned in 1965. Interestingly, neither the railroad nor the station has been forgotten.

First, there's a long mural on the feed mill facing the railroad tracks. In 1999, mill owners Dick and Trudy Nieuwland commissioned artist Fred Harrison to paint a railroad scene on the side of the mill near where the most recent station stood. The mural is now faded, but you can still see the station and a steam engine.

Nearby is an historic plaque explaining the importance of the railroad to village development:

There's also a walking path running along the railroad tracks, which I would walk daily if I lived there:

That wasn't the only historic plaque in the village, by the way. There are others on the walking path and elsewhere, interpreting local history for pedestrians.  Thanks to the Lions Club and Thames Centre.

As for the station itself, the Byway family moved it to a private location and preserved it. Why? Joe Byway worked for the CNR and wanted to save the station from demolition. More recently, after Joe's widow decided to downsize, Sheldon Morris of Morris Insurance moved the old building to his property on 23rd Line north of Thamesford. See here and here for some media coverage of that event.

Photo courtesy of Heather Phillips

Note: Sheldon has a lot of neat stuff. I trotted into his office to ask permission to take a picture of the old station, not realizing he has a large collection of vintage cars and antiques. Thorndale isn't even his only railroad station:

London Junction Station with its restorer, Sheldon Morris.

Sheldon kindly gave my friend Heather and me the grand tour of what must be one of the world's most unusual insurance offices. But Morris Insurance deserves its own post and will get one shortly.

Since we were close to Thamesford, we visited it too. Thamesford is in Zorra Township, Oxford County, and I generally pass through it on my way to Woodstock. It turns out there's more to it than I thought. It's larger than the village of Thorndale, at about 2,600 people. Not surprisingly, it's situated on the Thames River, which provided water power for pioneer industries. And since settlers forded the river here, it became "Thames Ford."

A postcard so generic it could be any river anywhere. But it says Thamesford, so Thamesford it must be. Author's collection.

In about 1859, a wooden dam was built across the river to create a mill pond. Soon Thamesford Mill was born, which by the 1870s was shipping flour as far as England and the Caribbean Islands. George Hogg and family operated the mill from 1917 to 1970, which is a good run for a family business. Later, in 1981, it was sold to Feed and Garden Centre, London, and operated as Thamesford Feed Mill. It finally closed in 1993, and while local heritage preservationists campaigned for restoration and designation, it was demolished in 2012. The site, east of the river on Milton Street, is now the location of an auto repair shop, but you can see what the mill looked like here. Might have made a good small inn. Too bad.

Illustrated Historical Atlas of the County of Oxford, 1876. Note the grist mill and mill pond at centre.

Naturally, I visited a pioneer cemetery, St. Andrew's. There was a Presbyterian church here on Delatre Street East (which, according to the map above, was once spelled De Laytre). The original St. Andrew's was built in 1847, rebuilt in 1875, and dismantled in 1938. The cairn below was erected in 1957.

A sad tale. First minister Niel Bethune was only here a year before succumbing to smallpox. His widow and children returned to their native Scotland.*** 

Now, for downtown Thamesford, featured here in 1909: 

My view from approximately the same spot in fall of 2026. Note that the fieldstone-covered building on the left is still present.

At the west end of the village is the most spectacular building in the village, St. John's Anglican Church, built in 1861 out of beautiful fieldstone, using the labour of the parishioners:

With a carriage-alighting stone preserved out front:

And a graveyard tucked in behind. I can't resist photographing the "white bronze"  (actually zinc) monuments,  probably supplied by the White Bronze Monument Company of St. Thomas. I have also discussed them here, here, and here. So many rural cemeteries seem to have one or two.

*West Nissouri amalgamated with North Dorchester to become Thames Centre in 2001.

** There's lots of information out there about the Shanly family and early Thorndale. Besides the above-mentioned Through the Years in West Nissouri, by Ila Logan (John Eedy, 1967), there's also, just to name a few:

Richard White, Gentlemen Engineers: The Working Lives of Frank and Walter Shanly. University of Toronto Press, 1999.

John J. Leverton (ed.), West Nissouri Township: 1818-2000. West Nissouri Historical Society, 2003.

https://www.ilovethorndale.ca/about-us/history-of-thorndale/ 

https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/shanly_francis_11E.html

*** https://www.standrewscemetery.com/

The 2026 MCA Cemetery Tour: Brrrrr and Beyond

It's that time of year again, when dedicated tombstone tourists lace up their walking shoes and head to Delaware to board the bus. On October 17, I joined the Middlesex Centre Archives Cemetery & Heritage Tour, along with about 30 other bundled-up tourists who braved 10° C weather to visit our local pioneers. 

Our first stop was Birr (yesterday it was brrrr) United Church Cemetery. I've visited this cemetery many times before, mainly to see the oak grave marker of pioneer George McConnell. Here's one of many photos I've taken of it over the years:

At one time, many grave markers were of wood, for the obvious reason that trees were the one resource our ancestors had in abundance. Most of these markers have not survived, of course, but this one has, since the Birr Women's Institute set it in cement in 1924 and the cemetery board had it incorporated into this brick cairn in 1986. George McConnell, by the way, lived up near Elginfield and operated a small tavern. Rev. William Proudfoot, the early pioneer preacher, is said to have stayed overnight at McConnell's and, later, in his diary, praised the supper of "venison and tea for 1 s. 6d." *

I've also photographed this 1988 cairn, which contains the bell from S. S. # 5, Birr School. When the school closed, former pupil John Haskett purchased the bell at an auction. After his death, his sister, Neva Loft, donated the Bell to Birr United Church, to be erected in the cemetery. 
 

As for the former Birr United Church, built in 1879 as a Methodist building, it's across Thirteen Mile Road and renovated into a gorgeous home. A fabulous example of adaptive reuse:

But I never object to going back to places I like, even cemeteries. This time, I photographed a few other graves, including that of John Griffith, a weaver from Birr, Ireland. Griffith, who operated a small shop on the cemetery property, is credited with naming the community after his old home.

These monuments are for Thomas Langford and his wife Martha Parkinson, who departed Mountmellick, Queen's County, Ireland, and arrived in the former London Township with their four sons in 1827. Thomas' sister Maria and her husband Isaac Langford died of cholera on their own voyage to Canada, leaving eight orphaned children. Someone, perhaps Thomas, picked up the children in Hamilton, brought them by ox cart to London Township, and dispersed them to various family members. Among the adoptive parents were Thomas and Martha, although they'd had five more children of their own after settling in London. Then poor Thomas was injured by a falling log at a barn raising and died on October 23, 1838.** Stories like these make me so glad I'm living today. 

I've discussed "white bronze" (actually zinc) monuments before (here and here), but I keep finding more of these markers, probably built by the White Bronze Monument Company of St. Thomas:

A close-up of the figure above. An anchor is a symbol of Christian hope.

Another white bronze monument nearby is dedicated to Catherine Morrow, who died in 1883, aged 28. Her marker also has an anchor, among other symbols and inscriptions:

This gravestone bears the name of the monument manufacturer. C. Miller & Co., Ingersoll, which also operated under the name Dominion Marble Works, produced ornamental stonework and gravestones. The company exhibited at Ontario agricultural fairs, hoping folks would remember their name when it came time to order a grave marker.

To the rear of the cemetery is a pump with the initials "BT." Below it states "Pat'd. 1918." The pump was made by Beaty Bros. Ltd. of Fergus, Ontario, founded in 1874 by George and Matthew Beatty. In 1918, the company secured the Canadian patent for a double-acting pump. Eventually, George's son William Beatty held over 300 such patents. Pumps say "BT" instead of the whole name because the pump parts are so small. The company amalgamated with General Steel Wares in 1969.

Our next stop, Birr Trinity Anglican Cemetery, was just down Thirteen Mile Road to the west. I'd never been to this cemetery, and I was intrigued to discover it was much larger than I thought, stretching a long way back from the road:

This was once the site of Birr Trinity Anglican Church, a Gothic edifice that opened January 18, 1880. It was designed by London architect Thomas Tracy (1848-1925), who also designed the London Mechanics' Institute on Dundas, the Grigg House on Richmond Street,  and the 1878 High School at Dufferin and Waterloo.***

Birr Trinity Anglican, from the tour flyer.

Sadly, attendance in this church declined in the 1970s, and it closed for regular services. For years it remained available as a chapel for the cemetery and for special occasions like weddings and memorial services. At some point, however, it was demolished. Today, only the steps remain, leading to nothing:

The highest point in the cemetery is the mound on which the church stood:

The most remarkable monument here is undoubtedly that of the Hobbs family, constructed by Hayes Brothers of St. Marys. While it's not unusual to see the Independent  Order of Foresters (I.O.F.) insignia, I've never seen it with a stag's head before. Impressive.

Also of interest is this monument to William Clark, complete with sailing ship:

And here's William's wife Margaret, complete with bird (I think). Note, however, Margaret's monument tells us more about William than his wife. Clark was "Late a deputed Officer in H Majesties Revenue Coast Guard, England." Sounds like he served in the English anti-smuggling maritime service. And he was so darn proud of it he bragged about it on his spouse's grave. 

Next, our group arrived at Melville United Church**** Ivan. Here we enjoyed coffee and tea prepared by the church ladies and had a chance to see the sanctuary. Not to mention warm up for a few minutes.

There's no danger of Melville United going the way of Birr Trinity Anglican for some time. It's still a going concern.

With a simple, yet beautiful, interior:

The congregation even built a new side entrance in 2016, in a style and colour that complements the main building:

The most interesting grave in the adjoining Ivan Cemetery is likely that of little Jimmie Johnson, age 7, who perished in the Victoria steamship disaster, May 24, 1881. 

Jimmie's one-year-old sister Margaret was also thought to have drowned, but was revived and died in 1976 at the age of 96, the last known survivor of the disaster.*****

Another sad tale happened to the family below, although the marker doesn't record it. Mrs. Bessie Argo, wife of the Rev. Argo of Melville Church, went to London with three others on December 19, 1906, to buy presents for the Sunday School children. On their return home, as they approached the CPR crossing on Richmond Street, they heard a train whistle. The driver whipped the horses, but Mrs. Argo couldn't wait. She was so frightened she jumped out of the cutter and was killed instantly. The horses became excited and overturned the cutter a short distance away. Rev. Argo was left with five motherless children but was given a plot in the cemetery for free. ******

Last, our tour arrived at Melrose Cemetery at the corner of Egremont Road and Vanneck Drive. This corner was once the heart of the flourishing pioneer village of Melrose. Here a Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1872 and later became part of the United Church. 

Melrose United Church ca. 1930, from the tour flyer.

In 1961, a construction team working for the Department of Highways was widening Hwy. 22 (Egremont Road) near the church. Their work involved digging a ditch along the church's wall, which unfortunately resulted in the displacement of the wall and the discovery of quicksand along its base. 

Now if you're like me, you're surprised to hear we have quicksand in Middlesex County. I suppose I've seen too many Hollywood films and goofy old TV shows in which people were sucked into a bottomless pit. After thinking it over, I suppose quicksand can happen anywhere groundwater saturates the soil, making it unstable. It wouldn't have to be particularly deep.

At any rate, no one was allowed to worship in the church again. It closed and was demolished soon afterwards. The brand new organ was donated to Kilworth United and a stained glass window in memory of Mr. B. L. Cohoe was transferred to Hyde Park United.*******

So our tour saw another cemetery with a gaping hole where the church used to be:

This cemetery's celebrity is Robert Boston (1836-1922). Starting out as a Lobo Township councillor and reeve, Boston later became Middlesex Warden in 1889. He won a by-election in 1893 to become MP  for South Middlesex but didn't stand in the 1895 general election. Instead, he became Governor of the "London Gaol" from 1897 to 1906. "Mr. Lobo" was respected for his distinguished public service. Robert never married, and is buried with his sister Jane, who acted as his "hostess." ********

Below is the grave of Christian Boston, with what I think is a willow and a lighthouse. If that's a lighthouse, I suppose it would symbolize a guiding light through dark times, or perhaps a soul finding its way to a safe harbour in heaven. 

A lot of young children are buried at Melrose, a reminder of the days before vaccines:

Thanks to Krista Taylor, Middlesex Centre archivist, for organizing another interesting tour! Not to mention volunteers Bev Hughes and Glenn Scarborough, who provided interesting commentary at the cemeteries. 

* Jennie Raycraft Lewis, Llyndinshire: London Township, 1967, p. 46. 

** Alice Gibb, ed., London Township II: Families Past and Present. Arva, Ont.: The London Township History Book Committee, 2001, p. 246. 

*** The church has a brief write-up in Nancy Z. Tausky and Lynne D. DiStefano's Victorian Architcture in London and Southwestern Ontario: Symbols of Aspiration. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1986, pp. 220-222. The writers noted the church has "an aura of Gothic mystery."

**** In 1869 the church was named Melville, probably after either Andrew Melville or James Melville, prominent Scottish Presbyterians. The Heritage of Lobo 1820-1990. Ilderton, Ont.: Lobo Township Heritage Group, 1990, p. 102. 

***** Daniel J. Brock, Fragments From The Forks. London: LMHS, 2011, p. 312.

****** The Heritage of Lobo, pp.102-103.

******* Above p. 101.

******** Above  pp. 268, 290.