Who put the bell in Bellrock?

Jeff Green | Sep 08, 2011

One hundred and fifty years later the question remains.

The hamlet of Bellrock is currently home to 63 people, according to Virginia Lavin, one of the key organizers of the 150th Bellrock anniversary celebrations, which are slated for Saturday, September 17.

Bellrock, located just west of Verona, was once a thriving mill town and trading centre in its own right, and its location on the Napanee River was instrumental both in its commercial past and the fact that it remains one of the prettiest spots in Frontenac and L&A Counties.

“It used to be a very active place for French, English and First Nations traders,” said Virginia Lavin, “and at one time the river’s name was bilingual. It was known as Deep Eau, which later was anglicized to Depot River before being named the Napanee River.” The name Depot has survived as the name of a number of feeder lakes in the region, including 2nd and 5th Depot Lakes.

“But what we do not know is the origin of the name Bellrock. It too could be anglicized from the French ‘belle’, but we don’t know,” said Lavin.

While there are three local historians who will be conducting tours as part of next Saturday’s festivities, the origin of Bellrock may be revealed by some younger community members. Students at Prince Charles School are taking part in a story writing contest this week about how Bellrock got its name, so there will be an answer to the 150-year-old question, though it might not be a historically accurate answer.

But perhaps taking literary license in explaining the name of the place is fitting in Bellrock’s case, since the hamlet has been employed by some of Canada’s literary heavyweights, and this literary history will be the subject of evening readings that will be one of the highlights of the anniversary celebrations.

Fred Colwell will be reading from “The Skin of the Lion” the book that made Michael Ondaatje famous and was the prequel to his subsequent novel “the English Patient”. The latter won the world’s most prestigious annual prize for fiction in English, the Booker, in 1992.

Patrick Lewis, the protagonist in “In the Skin of the Lion” comes from “Depot Creek” a logging and milling town where youngsters would skate on frozen ponds lit by burning cattails.

As well, some of the works by the late author Matt Cohen, will be read by Wayne Grady, a well known Kingston-based author in his own right. Both Cohen and Ondaatje lived in the vicinity of Bellrock and used the historical village in their fiction. Helen Humphreys will be reading from Stan Dragland’s “The Drowned Lands”, and Merilyn Simonds and Jennifer Bennett will also be contributing readings.

The anniversary celebration will start with opening ceremonies at 12:30 p.m. at the Bellrock Hall, located in the converted Bellrock schoolhouse. Any funds raised at the event will go towards ongoing renovations to the schoolhouse/hall, which has received a boost with a $67,000 Trillium grant to cover some of the needed upgrades.

After the ceremonies, Ron Moyer, Doris Ritchie and Lynn Hutchison will present historical tours of the village.

Artisan booths, including weavers and spinners, a soapmaker, blacksmith, rug hookers, fiber arts, herbalist, books, and preserves of jams, jellies will all be featured in the park area outside the hall. There will also be historical displays, including butter churning, sauerkaut making, and more.

There will be games for children, including the kinds that would have been common 150 years ago: three-legged races, sack races, egg toss, etc., in addition to hay rides.

All events throughout the day are free, and there will be a canteen on site as well.

At 4pm the winner of the “How Bellrock got its Name” contest will be announced, and at 5pm a pulled pork supper will be served, at a cost of $10 for adults and $5 for children, followed by the free readings by local authors that were referred to above.

In order to raise money, aside from accepting donations, a raffle is being held, with prizes that include a $100 food basket from Local Family Farms, an outdoor fireplace from the Verona Hardware store, and donated locally-made pottery. Raffle tickets and dinner tickets are available at Local Family Farms. For further information, call Virginia Lavin at 613-374-2344