A Stop at Banner

I discover so many interesting places when I'm not looking for them, just passing through on my way somewhere else. An example is the hamlet of Banner, on Co. Rd. 60 and 15th Line in Zorra (formerly North Oxford) Township, which I would never have seen if I hadn't been on my way to Ingersoll on "60." 

Settlers arrived in early pioneer times at the intersection that became known as Spearman's Corners. A log school was built on the Joseph Spearman farm ca. 1840, replaced by a frame building in 1851. Eventually, the school site changed to make room for a playground. A brick school was built at the new site in 1900 and remains there to this very day. 

S. S. 2, North Oxford. 

Our ancestors were profoundly religious. Hence, one of the first buildings in any pioneer community was the church. At Banner, we find North Oxford Wesleyan Methodist, founded in 1857, surrounded by a cemetery.

There was also a New Connexion Methodist Church across from the school building. The two congregations united in 1874, after which services were held in the Wesleyan church and tea meetings were held in the New Connexion structure. In 1893, the New Connexion building was purchased, renamed the "Shareholders of Oxford Hall," and moved to its present site west of the church. From that point onward, it was used for meetings, concerts, and so on.  

The intersection was renamed Banner when a post office opened in 1893. One story claims the postal department thought Spearman's Corners was too long a name. Another story claims that Joseph Spearman himself thought the name too long. At a community meeting, Mr. Minklar suggested the name "Banner." The origin of the name appears to be unknown. 

The northeast corner has this monument to Sarah Clark, postmistress from 1893 to 1914, when rural mail delivery replaced her post office. Sarah also had a store, started by the Patrons of Industry. There was a blacksmith in the community, and Banner Cheese Factory was about a mile north. The latter closed in 1958.

A woodyard and shipping station owned by Armon Clark was on the railroad just to the south of the hamlet. Known as Patton's Siding, the station acted as a shipping point for Banner farmers. A man named James Clendening met the train and picked up mail for the Banner Post Office. For outgoing mail, Clendening hung a mail bag on a hook at the side of the track for the train crew to snag as they puffed by.  

The sparse remains of Ontario's crossroads reflect an early twentieth-century shift in how people lived, worked, and traveled. Many early hamlets thrived because they were situated a day’s horse-and-buggy ride apart. But, as roads were paved and automobiles became common, rural residents were no longer forced to rely on a small general store such as Sarah's. The blacksmith was no longer necessary. The schoolhouse closed, replaced by a larger consolidated school; it appears to be a home. Only the church fulfills its original purpose, with an attractive website. 

Those wishing to know more about Banner - or Zorra - should check out the numerous historical resources available on the Oxford County Library website here. Beware of conflicting accounts, though; such is the nature of the historical record.