Skip to content

St. Johns West

Thorold Township and Town, 1786-1932 Published by John H. Thompson
morningstar-mill
David Stephen / Thorold News

The village proper now lies wholly within Thorold township, and therefore has to yield to Beaverdams its claims of priority of existence. Just beyond the Pelham boundary, however, were some of the oldest industries of this district. The Short Hills, with their rich farming land and springs of water, led some of the best of the Loyalists to make their homes there; and soon their agricultural labours proved so profitable they were able to establish their own factories and shops, and had no longer to go to Niagara for every manufactured article that they needed. Abraham Overholt, one of Butler’s Rangers, owned much of the land in this vicinity, while Samuel Street’s crown grant also lay in this fertile region.


Including the one or two important industries that were within Pelham township, St. Johns at one time possessed five grist mills, all within one mile, on the Twelve Mile Creek. These were known as Darling’s, Burgar’s, Street’s, Davis’ and Beckett’s. Richard Killens and John Street each built a distillery, while Russell Rich had in operation a sawmill, a blacksmith shop, a stove foundry, and a machine shop, where ploughs and mill machinery were manufactured. 


John Darling, whose grist mill was in existence in 1801, built a sawmill farther down the stream. The Overholts also had a sawmill, and Samuel Darling built a foundry which was managed by Paul Hewitt, while Howd’s axe factory was in operation, and Brooks & Haney’s woolen and carding mills were also among the most important manufactories. Robert Abell’s hat factory was another early industry. John C. Davis’ tannery was in existence early in the century. There was ready sale for all the wares made at St. Johns, and some of the manufacturers became wealthy, among them Thomas Fletcher, who made a fortune out of fanning mills.


The village boasted two general stores, one owned by Zenas Fell, and the other by a man named Terryberry. There were also three tailor shops and a harness and saddler shop.


In 1849, we find that the population of St. Johns was 150. The industries are spoken of as the five grist mills, three sawmills, a tannery, a cloth factory, and a foundry and machine shop. The village possessed by this time a handsome brick church, belonging to the Wesleyan Methodist denomination.


In later years, the only industries at St. Johns were a grist mill, a woolen mill and a wagon shop; and two groceries took the place of the general stores.
Yet the village was not lacking in prosperity. It gave up its manufacturing simply because it found that tilling the soil was a more profitable occupation, and because, since the country became opened up, manufactured articles were more easily procured than in the early days. One need not go farther than St. Johns to find a practical refutation of the idea that agriculture, properly carried on, no longer pays. On every side are found prosperous farms, while the handsome homes of the owners would grace a city street.


The villagers were very proud of their school, which was one of the nine mentioned by Gourlay in 1817. Among the pupils who got their primary education here were Dr. Fletcher Haney and Dr. Henry Haney, and two ministers, who have held high positions in the Methodist Episcopal church of the U.S., the Rev. William Brown, M.A. and the Rev. Albert R. Rich, D.D.