Элизабеттаун-Кити: История и судьба поселений в восточной части Онтарио

Township in Ontario, Canada

Elizabethtown Kitley is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. Its southern border lies along the St. Lawrence River and it extends north into many rural hamlets and villages. The township was created on January 1, 2001, by the amalgamation of the former Township of Elizabethtown and Township of Kitley.

During the time of its settlement in the late 1700s, Bellamys Mill would have been situated among thick forest with small spring fed streams whereas currently, the site now sits on a lake called Bellamy Lake. The lake was the result of damming, which created a large swamp. By the mid 1800s, the village had its own post office; the original grist mill had been destroyed, and a shingle mill was erected nearby. At this time, Chauncey Bellamy established a frame sawmill as well as a new grist mill. Around 1866, a woollen mill was constructed. The woollen mill burned in 1883, and the other mills ceased operations shortly after. At this time, Bellamy and another local man opened and operated a cheese factory in the community. The three storey tall factory burned down once but was rebuilt; it operated until 1937 when it closed and was later demolished. In 1840, the Roman Catholic congregation of Bellamys Mill built a stone church on a hill overlooking the millpond measuring 34 by 53 feet with a large steeple. By the mid to late 1900s, all the businesses including the church had disappeared from Bellamys Mill. Like many other pioneer communities in the area, improved infrastructure led to its obsolescence and decline. Today, the area exists as a rural residential community. Almost none of the original structures remain except in ruins, aside from three small graveyards still standing in the area. Currently, the former site of the settlement is a campground and park.

The area that would become Newbliss was settled mostly by Loyalists or immigrants from the British Isles who received their land here as grants from the Crown. Newbliss had two schoolhouses to serve the community, each its own section. The first school was built around 1830 and was titled S. S. #5 Newbliss School. It is believed the first schoolhouse for S. S. #5 was made of log, however no records of the school exist. as well as its own schoolhouse. A cheese factory also operated from Newbliss consisting of three buildings. The main building was later turned into the general store, however the building burned down in the 1980s. The curing building was converted into a home. In the late 1850s, Newbliss received its name when an Irish immigrant from Newbliss, Ireland who was a respected citizen began calling the community Newbliss after his former home. The congregation had been in existence for around forty years, having services in the schoolhouse. In 1910, a large shed was added to the ground for horses and in 1930 a parish hall was built. Charles Sanford Luckey, was released from the Central Prison in Toronto and made his way to Newbliss, Ontario where his father, John Luckey and his second wife Martha Luckey lived in a farmhouse with their daughter Mary Ann "Minnie" Luckey. Charles had just served a year for larceny and was known to be on bad terms with his father. Shortly after two o'clock in the afternoon, neighbours noticed smoke emanating from the Luckey farmhouse. When they arrived on scene, the neighbours realized the entire interior of the house was completely engulfed in flames. Luckey's last meal was a bun and tea before he read from the bible, recited hymns, then was marched to the scaffold for his execution.