Every Barn Tells A Story

Jeff Green | Feb 10, 2021

Anyone who takes a drive through the countryside in Frontenac can see that barns, and the remnants of barns, dot the countryside. Sometimes they are the only reminder of the sometimes harsh life led by settlers, who worked the often unforgiving land, back in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

Early last year, the intrepid folks at North Frontenac Historical Society and Archives (NFHSA) wondered what kinds of stories those barns could tell if someone just asked them who had lived there and how they got on.

They decided to do the next best thing.

The barns in North Frontenac are “a tribute to early farmers and pioneers in our community. They continue to be an integral part of active farms, are useful for small livestock and small farm operations, serve as landmarks in the countryside, have the potential to be reused and repurposed if not an active farm, and have historic research value”, said Brenda Martin of the NFHSA, in an application to the Ontario Historical Society for an award that the book the produced last year, “Memories of the Farm”, has been nominated for.

NFSHA volunteers had a list of 45 barns that they were planning to investigate when they started the project, but by the time they had finished publicising their project, through the Frontenac News and Social Media, that had risen to 70.

The COVID-19 pandemic made their research efforts, last summer, a lot more complicated than they had expected.

Undaunted, they found they could do document based research online and over the phone, and they found that since photography work, and visits, could be done outdoors on farm properties, health guidelines could be followed with respect to sanitation and mask-wearing.

“We had to be careful, because many of our members are in their 70's and 80's” said Brenda Martin.

Once the material had been gathered and put together, “Memories of the Farm” had ballooned to 340 pages.

Below is an excerpt from the Mundell farm entry in the book.

William Gilmour Mundell (1842-1930) married Mary Jane Ryder (1842-1919) and settled this location in the earliest years of the pioneer land settlement in North Frontenac. Family archives show the original Mundell men were stone masons involved in the construction of Brewers Mills locks on the Rideau Canal. The original Mundell family settled in Washburn.

The barn W.G. constructed here in North Frontenac supports this information. For the stone foundation is as solid today as it was some 150 years later. Mostly W.G. Mundell’s time on this land is now a mystery, except the couple was here by the year 1867 for it is known that John was born on this land. The Mundell homestead was left by W.G. during the first few years of the 20th century when the entire family relocated to Plunkett, Saskatchewan by 1910.

William John Mundell (1891- 1971) was born at Donaldson in what was known as the “White House” at Fish Creek Road. (William) John returned to Ontario for love more than for the rough farming here. He wed Minnie Sargeant in 1916. After the sale of his homestead in Saskatchewan, together they resettled his Grandpa Mundell’s old homestead.

Baby Alma, with Mother Minnie and Great Grandmother Thompson (circa 1919) Bill and Minnie were a formidable team. They both possessed exceptional skills and a sense of prosperity. Extremely diligent and hard-working, they turned the old homestead into a comfortable and profitable farm.

They raised two children: Clara Alma (1917-2015) and Thomas John (1922- 2016). On the farm Bill and Minnie kept a team of horses, some sheep, six to eight cows and a couple of pigs.

They cut pulpwood in the spring and drew it by hand sleigh to Ompah Siding in the winter to be loaded on the train.

They bought a lightning evaporator and produced quality maple syrup. Bill and Minnie were community-minded citizens of Donaldson. Bill served as a Councillor and Minnie kept records. They donated the land for the Donaldson Town hall.

The first Donaldson Hall (1927) was moved by Bill Mundell to this site and used as a maple sugar camp when the new hall was built. It was used until the mid-1960s and is still standing (Photo courtesy of Murray White)

Bill and Minnie valued education and instilled a wealth of knowledge or practical proportions to their children. As a grandson and great-nephew, James marvelled at their logical abilities. Watching them do longhand division well into their nineties as accurately as my power calculator. James knows that he was just a few months old when his Great Grandfather Mundell passed in April 1971. His legacy of honest hard work, value for education and civic duty lived on through his children Alma and Tom.

David White, John and Elizabeth Mundell (Ryder), William Mundell, Minnie Mundell (Sargeant), Alma White, (Milton) Bill White, Morley White (1948)

Great Grandmother Minnie was a remarkable lady; well skilled with fine detail work in sewing such as crocheted curtains and table coverings. She could split wood as well as a man and impressive straight cut saw work.

In the kitchen she made moist molasses cookies with divinity icing, three-tiered Christmas fruitcakes and flaky pastry pie crusts. In 1967 Bill and Minnie sold their property to their son, Thomas John and they moved to Perth. The home was then used as a summer spot for Tom and his family between 1967-1986. Many family functions took place in the log kitchen. Minnie and Bill refurbished in 1920s.

Tom’s daughter Gayle fondly remembers the sweet smell of cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon coming from the cupboards. Bill and Minnie were real caretakers. They kept their lives neat and filled with purpose. Diligently they performed their daily chores with purpose and poise. The buildings still left standing on this homestead show the extreme care taken and despite the wear of time, they endured well.

It has been three generations since the farming stopped however pioneer zeal still exists within them.