(from
“Early Settlements of King Township, Ontario”, by Elizabeth McClure
Gillham. Published by the author,
1975).
Pgs.
51 –53
King
Creek was located on Mill Road, which is approximately half way between the
seventh and eighth concessions of King Township, south of King sideroad. The entrance to Humber Trails Conservation
Area is at the site of the former community.
On account of the excellent water power provided, King Creek, on the
east branch of the Humber River, was once a thriving community.
The
early success of King Creek developed mainly from the foresight of Christopher
Stokes. Stokes was born in England
in 1800, emigrated to Canada in 1827, and located in Machell’s Corners
(Aurora). He was a miller by trade, and
devoted his life and energies to the business.
In 1834, he purchased two hundred acres in King Township, comprising of
lot 4, concession 7. Four years later,
he built a grist mill on the property.
Prior
to the building of the mill, there had been a general store, known as
McMillan’s Store, on the corner of lot 6, north of King Sideroad, and a short
distance east of Mill Road. With a view
to increasing its business, the store relocated to lot 4, concession 7, just
south of the creek, near the mill. In a
few years, a busy little centre, known first as Stoke’s Hollow, later as King
Creek, gained an important place in the history of the township.
In
1854, Christopher Stokes expanded his operations. He obtained lot 5, concession 7, from the Crown, and soon there
rose a flour mill, hotel and shoeshop, in addition to the grist mill and the
general store. These businesses were a
great asset for the early settlers in the nearby area.
King
Creek post office was opened in 1866 in the store, and Alex McMillan
became the first postmaster. In
succeeding years, the following postmasters were appointed: William Stokes, Jesse Nunn and William
Humphreys; the last one was Archibald
D. Campbell.
In
1913, rural mail having been instituted, mail boxes were erected throughout the area, thus ending the need
for the King Creek post office. The
route was Rural Route No. 2 King. The
first mail carrier was George Egan,
who travelled the eighteen mile
route from the King Post Office, travelling in summer with horse and
buggy, and in the winter, by cutter.
Three
sawmills near King Creek obtained their power from the Humber River. One mill was located at the northeast corner
of King Sideroad and concession road 7.
Another mill was to the south between King Sideroad and Stokes’
Mill. There was also a mill south of
King Creek, on lot 2, between the eighth and ninth concessions. One of the above mills, was the first
sawmill in King Township to have a circular saw. ….With the introduction of steam, and later, electric power,
small water-powered mills became obsolete, the King Creek mills included.
When
King Creek was a business centre, the shoemaker was Robert Simpson, who
had emigrated from Ireland in 1875..
An
entry in the diary of Andrew McClure reads as follows: “May 24, 1913. A gala picnic was held the King Creek old
pond. About seventy people attended…”
This
event was the last known community gathering in King Creek.