Sunday 2 October 2011

Mersey Townsite, Milton, Nova Scotia


Building the Mersey Townsite 1929
Mersey Townsite 1930s
When I was 7, my family moved to Milton from Liverpool. I became friends with an old lady who lived across the street from us. Her name was Marjorie Stewart and since her 2 grandchildren lived out west, I kinda filled in as a grandchild. I paid many visits to her and have lots of fond memories of the stories she shared with me. She and her husband had moved to Queens County from Halifax, her husband worked for the Power Company. They moved to Milton in an area known as the Mersey Townsite. Until last October I never really knew where it was but had heard many stories about it from her. So last October 5th, myself along with Albert Laing and Gerry Ball visited what remains of the Townsite. It was a small housing development up the River Road in Milton, where the permanent operating staff lived for the power development on the Mersey River. The power development was a fair distance from Milton & Liverpool so housing was needed for the workers. The Stewarts, the Balls, the Laings, the Andersons, Urquharts, Penneys, and Nieforths were names of just some of the families that lived at the townsite. The houses and a school were built in the later 1920s. Eight of the houses were connected to a central sewer and water system, something not common for that time. Everyone had indoor running water and indoor bathrooms.The houses had hardwood floors, fireplaces and gardeners who cared for the properties. Maintenance for the houses was also taken care of by the power company. When you enter the property there is a circular driveway and in the center were beautiful gardens and a flag flying high on the flagpole. It was known as the "pancake". Once again the gardeners cared for this area. The properties had hedges too. They had an outdoor rink, with electricity from late October until the spring. By 1960 the families had all left and moved to Milton and Liverpool leaving the Townsite deserted and eventually many of the houses had been vandalized and stripped of all of their beauty. The houses were eventually torn down and when we visited last October all that exists are a few cements steps and cellars. It was great to visit the Townsite, it was something I had always wondered about for many years. Even better was to go with 2 guys who lived there as kids and could share their memories with me. I videoed my day with Gerry & Albert and watched it tonight, almost a year later. What a treasure!


Mersey Townsite - Pancake and Flagpole can be seen on the left!

10 comments:

  1. When I was a kid my parents took me fishing all along the river road, including #3 where the Townsite was. The big green "staff house" as they called it was still standing, along with the gorgeous rose hedges and circular driveway. My dad always fantasized about owning the property some day but died before he could attempt to make that dream a reality. Until recent years, I was still going up there in the fall and raiding the wonderful apple trees that lined the back of the property. There's a lot of wood dumped back there now, you can't even see anything anymore. Such a waste of beauty.

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  2. I always thought that this was the most wonderful spot. It should be recreated elsewhere. I loved the circle effect, so inviting. My Neighbors ( Nova and George Scobey)in Liverpool, lived there for many years, before moving to town.

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  3. If anyone has photos from Mersey Townsite and is willing to share them please let me know. I'd love to have more.

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  4. Dad used to take us fishing on the River Road all the time too. We always went in to the Fish Hatchery at Number 3 to visit the family looking after it, then drove around the loop at Townsite. There wasn't anyone living in the houses when we went, but I remember it as a beautiful place. I think there are several purple lilac trees in Milton that came from Townsite.

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  7. I mentioned the Phinney Family whose mother and a sister, Helen had bought the Guy Dexter House. Two of Tess's sons and brothers to Helen lived at the Townsite...often visited Tom and Sid's families especially at Christmas. Great for grouse hunting also.

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  8. My husband's maternal great. great grandfather, Clark Milton, was born possibly in Nova Scotia in 1811. His son. Alfred Milton was born in Hillsborough, Canada in 1851. A family story said that the Miltons had lived in New England, USA prior to the Revolutionary War in 1775 and maintained their loyalty to the King and fled to Nova Scotia. Several years ago my husband and I visited Annapolis Royal and on a day trip discovered the tiny town of Milton. We have been wondering if there is a family connection.

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  9. Tom and Jack Phinney lived there as the whole family worked for the power company. The oldest son lived in Ottawa, a research member of the Canadian Navy. Helen lived in town and was dep clerk for the Municipality. Helen taught me to drive as my Dad had no patience..

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