In 1878, Adam Nelson built a grist and saw mill on Shannon Creek marking the beginning of Nelson. The year 1882 saw Nelson an incorporated town of over 1,000 people. It was the judicial county seat for Dufferin County, and it had a land titles office, saw mill, grist mill, and cheese factory. Its weekly newspaper, The Mountaineer, was published from 1880 to 1884.
Nelson was on a regular stagecoach route to Miami, Lintrathen, Campbellville, Carman, Salterville, Warrington, Lowestoft (Roland), and Opawaka. It had Anglican, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches, and supported lodges of the Masons, Orange Order, IOOF, and Royal Templars of Temperance.
The Canadian Pacific Railway bypassed Nelson in 1883 and the people gradually moved their business places and homes to other locations, the majority going the Morden. One of the buildings abandoned at the site was the courthouse which, being a substantial brick structure, could not be moved. The last building was moved away in 1905. The community was later named Dunston. In 1958 this commemorative plaque was erected in memory of the pioneers under the auspices of the Dunston community.
Nelson Residents (1884)
This list of Nelson residents is drawn from the 1884 Henderson’s Directory and Gazetteer.
Resident |
Occupation |
James Aitkens |
Contractor |
Alan Joseph Adamson (1857-1928) |
Farmer |
E. M. Allen |
Blacksmith (Allen & McIntyre) |
Edward A. Bailey (1837-1918) |
Editor |
George Beasley |
Plasterer (Brunsden & Beasley) |
Walter Blanchard |
Bailiff |
J. T. Blowey |
Furniture |
James Rippoth Bonny (1850-1924) |
Civil servant |
Richard Brunsden |
Plasterer (Brunsden & Beasley) |
Con Clerihue |
General store |
James Clerihue |
General store |
George Cochrane |
|
J. J. Cochrane |
Deputy sheriff |
William E. Cochrane |
Shoemaker |
C. F. Collins |
Clerk of Carlton Municipality |
J. Colpitts |
Cleric |
Thomas Seymour Coppinger (1860-1940) |
General store (Meikle & Coppinger) |
Thomas Duncan (c1850-1910) |
Blacksmith |
C. R. Dunsford |
Banker |
Albert Eaton |
Real estate agent |
David Ferguson |
Carriage maker |
Norton Flemming |
Miller |
John Fox |
Contractor |
James Hugh Fraser (c1927-1899) |
Miller |
Julius Frazelle Galbraith (1854-1934) |
Publisher, Mountaineer |
W. Garrett |
Blacksmith |
T. B. Godfrey |
Hardware |
W. M. Haley |
General store (Haley & Sutton) |
A. Harris |
Agricultural implements (A. Harris & Son) |
John Henderson Haverson (1854-1932) |
Barrister |
James Aaron Hobbs (1863-1932) |
Pharmacist |
Fremont Irwin |
Agent |
J. P. Irwin |
Agent |
G. J. Jackson |
Photographer |
Alexander Johns |
Hotelkeeper (Johns Brothers) |
M. C. Johns |
Hotelkeeper (Johns Brothers) |
Andrew Laughlin |
Registrar |
George Leary |
Postmaster |
H. S. Lemon |
Barrister |
Corbet Locke (1854-1932) |
Barrister |
G. T. Lundy |
Hotelkeeper |
H. B. Martin |
Professor of music |
James McCann |
Bartender |
Benjamin James McConnell (1861-1923) |
Physician |
John McGregor |
Harness maker |
H. McIntyre |
Blacksmith |
John Brown McLaren (1855-1916) |
Barrister |
Harry Meikle (1857-1931) |
General store (Meikle & Coppinger) |
William Morrison |
Builder |
Wilfred Pirt |
Agent |
Johnston Rinn |
Livery stable |
Joseph Rinn |
Stage proprietor |
M. B. Rombough, DLS |
Land surveyor |
George Ruddell |
Carpenter |
John Henry Ruddell (1859-1906) |
Harness maker |
William Hall Salts (1856-?) |
Hotelkeeper |
William Steele |
Cabinet maker |
W. J. Sutton |
Banker (Haley & Sutton) |
T. Underwood |
Carriage maker |
J. T. West |
Watchmaker |
James G. West |
Auctioneer |
David Henry Wilson (1855-1926) |
Physician |
Robert Wilson |
Physician |
T. N. Wilson |
Cleric |
See also:
A Manitoba Ghost Town by Hartwell Bowsfield
Manitoba Pageant, September 1956
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Nelsonville Cemetery (RM of Thompson)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Mountain City (RM of Stanley)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Dunston Community Hall (RM of Thompson)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Stephen Town Site (RM of Stanley)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Thomas Anglican Church (131 Eighth Street, Morden)
Sources:
A Sketch of Both Sides of Manitoba by Jeff Gee, 1981, page 134.
Henderson’s Manitoba and North-West Gazetteer and Directory, 1884. Manitoba Legislative Library.
“Judge Locke, aged Manitoba jurist, dies in Vancouver,” Winnipeg Free Press, 9 February 1932, page 10.
“Evacuation of Nelson” by Howard Winkler, Winnipeg Free Press, 7 May 1953, page 25.
“Cairn will mark site of Nelson,” Winnipeg Free Press, 4 June 1958, page 13.
We thank Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 11 September 2023
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