Gone

A wicked wind blew through our area this past weekend, taking down many tress, and to my dismay, the big red barn at Swords.

 

 

 

The sound that mammoth structure must have made while coming down...well, I can't even imagine.  Huge, pounding timbers and screeching metal.  The wind that day sounded like a freight train through the trees; the barn coming down would have been other-worldly.

 

 

 

I visited Swords today to see the fallen barn.  As I walked all around it, I felt my heart heavy in my chest.  I'm sad to see such a landmark go.  It makes me think of the life the barn once had, the purposes it served and the lives that depended on it.  This barn held stories that I don't even know, and beyond that, was a permanent marker in many people's mental maps of the area.  Driving through Swords now, one might not even know such a thing as a massive red barn ever stood there.

 

 

 

I'm reminded of the importance of telling stories - connecting with those around us who know the local history of where we live.  I feel a connection to this place that I haven't felt in any other place I've lived.  I think that's because of the accessibility of it's history- it's still on the surface, so to speak, and I can visit and wander in it.  I am also connected to several people who can tell me stories of days gone by.  That history holds an importance that goes beyond words, deep into the heart and soul of the people that have lived, worked and loved here.  Beyond that, it stretches to the present and future generations.

 

The big red barn at Swords is just a old structure that gave way to time and the elements, sure, but to me it represents so much more.

 

 

MINE

My son Henry has very recently internalized the concept of "mine", and he often walks around the house holding a favourite toy saying "mine, miiine" over and over again.  This is, of course a normal part of toddler development, and an opportunity to teach about mine, yours and sharing, but it also reminds me of the way I feel about Swords.

 

 

 

I woke up the other morning with a desire to visit "my" Swords.  Now, I know there are many people in the area and beyond that can lay more claim to it than I, but I still feel a strong connection.  I feel drawn to the place, and when I see footprints or evidence of other people at the site, I think "no! Mine!".  Just like Henry and his toys.

 

 

 

This time last year my interest in Swords was just beginning to spark.  With the snow melting, my desire to be up there has returned. My goal this year is to find out more about the personal stories of Swords.  When I look up at he windows in the old store, I can feel the lives that have gone before.  There is a strong presence  there.

 

 

 

Our neighbour has many things to share with me, and we spoke at Christmas about getting together sometime to chat.  I think I'll have to pay a visit soon.

A Mid-Summer Dream of Swords

I had a dream about the old general store at Swords last week.  In it, someone was restoring the entrance, and it was all locked up - everything changed.

I am often by Swords on my runs, and so I had to go around the back for a peak at the door in my dream. It was changed.  The tether that keeps the door latched was gone.  I'm not sure what else has changed - if anything.

Swords right now is leafy green and lush.  The only building making is presence fully known is the general store.  The others are shrouded in the verdant leaves of summer.  The second house isn't even visible from the road.  One would not know it, or its outbuildings existed, so deeply hidden in the woods they are. 

Summer holds Swords' secrets close.  And the deer flies and mosquitoes make sure no one sticks around too long to investigate further.

Look close and you can see the peak of the blood red staircase in the second house. Every time this staircase catches my eye, my stomach flips.  I'm always caught off guard.

The Third House, and a sad story...

Find all of my posts on Swords in one place - The Swords Project


In a previous Swords post, I wondered what had become of the third company house build by the railroad.  I think I have my answer.

I have a picture of the general store in which a roof is clearly visible, but seems too close to be that of the house that is beside the store now.  I just finished reading this:

"In 1944, Frank Helmkay and his children, Isabel, Bernadette, Donna and Edward were living in the "company" house adjacent to the store when it burned at Christmas time."

This story becomes doubly sad when you consider that poor Frank's wife had just died that summer after the birth of a baby.  She had also finished her Christmas shopping before she died, and the family lost everything when the house burned. 

So, maybe that solves the mystery of the third house.  It seemed strange to me that the other two and the store have survived, but nothing remained of the third house.  I had always assumed that it was located farther south, rather than directly beside the store.

If my assumption is correct, the house would have stood on the far right of this photo.

When I think about where I live, it's rather isolated. Quiet, little traffic. I can't imagine the bustling centre it used to be, not all that long ago.  Again, I'm reminded of the hopes and dreams, sadness and joy that has gone before me.  Lives beginning and ending in Swords, and increasingly fewer people left to tell the story. 





Source of information -
Christie Historical Committee, Meanderings and Memories, 1894 - 1995, Christie Township

Ghost Stories

Find all of my posts on Swords in one place - The Swords Project



We drove up to Swords late yesterday afternoon to walk down the Seguin trail.  After our walk we poked around the old buildings a bit, because I can't go to Swords and not look around.

Looking east down the Seguin trail on the West side of Tally Ho/Swords Road.

The stone house on the east side of the road was built along with the enormous red barn by David Sword after his orginal "Riverdale" home, a two story brick house, burned down in 1918.

The stone house.

Crumbling outbuildings between the barn and the stone house.

The barn.

My husband, reluctant to come along with me in the first place, has had his curiosity piqued. He shares my wonderment at the memories that have been abandoned here.  Shook his head at the projects left to rust in the front yards of the two houses. The layers of new upon old tell a story of attempted restoration, and then abandonment once again.

He commented that he wanted to go see what is in that old barn. As soon as he said it, the wind started working on the mammoth structure. Creaks and groans and bangs emitted from it's depths. We moved on.

Back across the road we looked again at the old general store, and then moved down the road a bit to look at the old houses. I wanted to get some pictures of the outbuildings that are crumbling into the ground on the farthest side of the second house.  

The two houses directly to the south of the general store were built in or around 1894 for the employees of the lumber company.  Originally there was a third house, but I don't know what's become of it. 

The house immediately beside the general store.

The second house.

If you look closely you can see clothing hanging on the wall. 
These clothes still have dry-cleaning tags attached.

Sheds and other unidentifiable structures to the south of the second house.

Of course my camera batteries died during this trip. This seems to happen to me frequently, doesn't it?  Walking back to the car, it hit me.  Every single time I've some to Swords I've battled dying batteries.  When I visited the Swords school, I even popped brand new batteries out of the package into my camera - they died.

I'm not saying that there are ghosts up at Swords; I'm not even sure I believe in them.  I'm just saying that it seems odd that for whatever reason, events and coincidences align themselves in such a way that my camera batteries will die every single time I'm at Swords.  Strange, right?


Source of information -
Christie Historical Committee, Meanderings and Memories, 1894 - 1995, Christie Township

Swords General Store

Find all of my posts on Swords in one place - The Swords Project

When the railway brought lumbering to the area in 1894, a store and three workers homes were built on the west side of the Tally Ho/Swords Road.  The store was directly south of the railway (now the Seguin trail).  A Mr. Saunders and a Mr. Rand managed the store until Thomas Sword bought it in 1900.  The store carried everything from feed and flour to hardware and groceries.  A post office was also run out of the store.

The general store acted as a meeting place for the residents of Maple Lake Station, and they would gather on Friday or Saturday nights, depending on the train schedule.

When Thomas Sword died in 1921, his wife Eliza "Lyde" Sword ran the store with the help of her brother, Walter Cornish.  After taking over the store, she decided that she would no longer carry tobacco in her store. She soon learned the error of her ways, though, when a local man begun to sell tobacco, along with a few other sundry items out of his home.  Lyde began to stock tobacco once again.

In 1928 Lyde was granted permission to install a gasoline tank after petitioning the town council.  It was at this time that she remarried to a George Walton and the couple continued to run the store for a couple of years.

The general store was sold in 1930 to John Lawson.  John's son, Wilson and his wife Harriet ran the store from that time until it closed for good.  I'm not sure when the store ceased operation, but my Granddad remembers going into the store for hardware thirty-odd years ago when he was building cottages on Mutton Lake.

The building was a permanent residence until 1984, and then used seasonally until rather recently, remaining in the Lawson name.  The tax bill is now payed by a Mr. Frank Tagliamonte of North Bay.  I'm not sure when the property sold, but it had to have been in the last few years.  My husband's Aunt and Uncle were interested in the property when it was for sale, wanting to restore the building.  The structure is too far gone, though.  It's truly unfortunate that the old general store has been allowed to fall into such a state of disrepair.

When I was up at the store with my Granddad, he pointed out to me some activity; fresh tire tracks, trees being cut with a chainsaw, and a well that had recently been dug.  These are things that had gone unnoticed by me during my first visit - and I thought  I had an eye for detail. Driving by the other day, I saw that the lot was being surveyed and marked. 

Something is happening!

I wonder what will become of the old general store at Swords.  What of the memories housed within?  I always wonder about what's been left behind.  Who loved these items, what value do they have?  What causes people to walk away from the contents of their home?  I can't imagine.


Sources of information -
Christie Historical Committee, Meanderings and Memories, 1894 - 1995, Christie Township
Andrew Hind, Maria Da Silva, Ghost Towns of Muskoka
Ontario Ghost Towns
Ontario Abandoned Places
Muskoka Blog

Swords School

The school is located approximately one kilometre south of the general store. As with most schools at the time, it probably housed grades 1 - 8 in one room.

As mentioned in a previous post, Maple Lake Station was established in 1894 when the Booth Railway brought lumbering to the area.  Ludgate Lumber Company put up the general store and three workers' houses directly to the south of the rail and in 1904 a school was built to service the children.  Maple Lake Station became Swords in 1925 to avoid confusion with another Maple Lake Station.

The building of the school was funded by a Mrs. George Waugh.  The school closed in 1936 as a result of decreasing attendance, but reopened in 1941 when attendance increased.  The school closed for good in 1958 and left in the care of the Maple Lake Club.

I wandered up there yesterday morning with my son, Henry.  The schoolhouse has been restored and is used as a community centre today.  Remnants of it's past life still exist though.  On the south side of the property, near the border between lawn and forest is the water pump.  I imagine children lining up at it on hot late spring days to get a drink of water. 

Behind are the outhouses.  One has been saved and restored for present day use, labeled "womens".  The other has been left to it's own slow decline into the earth below.  Beyond the outhouses is an expanse of forest.

I'm glad for the restoration of this building.  I believe it crucial to maintain and keep history alive in this way.  What else is left, after all?  After all who remember are gone, who's left to tell the story?  Sites such as this live on to pique our curiosity and make us dig deeper. 

If These Woods Could Talk

I live near the ghost town of Swords.  It's not much to look at, and you certainly wouldn't notice anything driving by except a big old white house.  It's one of those blink-and-you-miss-it kind of situations.

I've known about Swords for some time, but have only recently begun to research it's establishment and history.  I've passed by the old general store countless times, driving or running, and I have always been curious about the building.  I wasn't aware that Swords was actually designated a ghost town, or that it had such a rich history.

To start -

Swords was originally called Maple Lake Station, for obvious reasons.  The Ludgate Lumber Company began logging in the area in 1894, which led to the development of the town.  A school was built in 1904.  Houses and other buildings popped up as well.

The Sword family were a prominent family of the area, and soon the town changed it's name to Swords to avoid confusion with another Maple Lake Station.

Buildings that stand today include the general store and the school.  The general store is located 2.25 km south of my house, and the school about 1 km farther south.  Immediately south of the general store are two houses.  One was purchased in the last few years and work has been done to start restoring it.  All work appears to have halted, however, and the property is once again up for sale.  Immediately beside that house and a bit father back in the woods is yet another house.  There are plenty of outbuildings that have collapsed.

I have poked around these properties a bit, and they're fascinating.  I want to tell you their stories, present and past, and I will.  History will unfold as the present does.

I visited Swords yesterday with my Grandfather.  Some words that he spoke stuck with me, as they always do.  He said that the thing he feels the most when he sees places like the old Swords general store are people's stories.  The lives that have been lived.  Their memories, hopes and dreams.

People make a place what it is.  It's a ghost's town, and I wonder if there are any hanging about.  They're there, I'm sure, waiting in the woods to tell me their stories.  I'll tell you what I find out.

What's happened here?  What does the future hold for the ghost town of Swords and it's surviving structures?

There's much to learn.