Meager Ghost Town Hunt - Glanmire, ON

[ANTIQUARIAN]

I found an interesting quote about this area while doing my 'Ghost Town' research. The road to Glanmire was described in 1925 as, "one long trail of abandoned farms, adversity, blasted hopes, broken hearts and exhausted ambition', the Old Hastings Road continues to attract interest as a winding, rugged monument to the early pioneers who tried to settle this difficult but beautiful country". That pretty much sums it up...other than the fact that it's now something right out of the Beverley Hillbillies. It's a dirt road and is pretty rough and narrow with plenty of large, jagged boulders protruding from the road. At times I was kind of creeped out being there, because once you're down far enough on the road, it's a long way to get to the other side and get out. It definitely felt claustrophobic and all I could think of was getting stuck and being stranded . . . or worse, I'd have to knock on the door of Jim-Bob & Bobbi-Jo’s metal shack set back in the woods and ask for assistance! I could hear the Deliverance banjo tuning up in the distance the whole time I was out there!

Very little is known about Glanmire and sadly almost nothing is left. Originally, it was named Jelly's Rapids, after an early settler, Andrew Jelly, who also served as postmaster from 1862 to 1866. Sometime after the post office was established, the community's name was changed to Glanmire. At one time, Glanmire contained a church, school, some houses and possibly a store. It last appeared on an Ontario road map sometime in the 1920s and the post office was officially closed in 1939. The last building to fall was Saint Margaret's church, a handsome, single story board and batten building, torn down in the early 1960s due to vandalism. All that remains today are the steps to the church, an historical plaque and the cemetery. The cemetery remains well tended and still sees the occasional burial, the most recent of which was in 1993. Looking north from the cemetery, buildings must have existed on the left. The school existed on the right just north of where the church sat. Glanmire was a small colonization settlement along the Hastings Colonization Road. The road itself stands as a stark reminder of the failure of the road colonization program. The community itself was first settled around 1856 and a post office was in place by the end of 1858. Glanmire was first settled around 1856. By the end of 1858, James Richardson had established a post office. Glanmire was on the mail stage route and served the important function of sorting and moving the mail on a weekly basis from Millbridge to Thanet and on to York River (later Bancroft). Other early settlers included the Lavender, Breen and Lummis families. A school was built in 1860. St. Margaret's Anglican Church was eventually added in 1887. Colloquially, Glanmire was better known as Beaver Creek, after the creek that ran through the centre of the village. For a while, it was also known as Jelly's Rapids, after Andrew Jelly, a prominent pioneer settler and former postmaster. Glanmire, like many of the Hastings Road settlements thrived for a while. The community was on the stage route and the post office served the important function of moving the mail on a weekly basis from Millbridge to Thanet and on to York River (later Bancroft). Glanmire also contained a hotel for a while and later a church. Although Glanmire survived a little longer than most of the Hastings Road settlements, there was simply not enough industry or business in the area to sustain it. By the late 1950s, the community was pretty much finished. Today there are few reminders left of Glanmire.

Unfortunately, the finds here were few and far between due to a number of factors . . . the heavy forest, the oppressive heat and the black flies! Did I mention the BLACK FLIES OMG!!! My area of detecting was pretty much restricted to a 10' x 40' area outside the cemetery fence and to a small clearing across the street. This place definitely holds potential, I just need to get deeper in the woods, so I'll come back in the fall.

Sorry for being so long winded, but you all know how I love to talk about history!
Dave

 

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[pepperj]

Great write about the town, one would think that those little black biting buggers would be over for the year, but no it's the same around my area just chomping away so it must be a year for them as it is for frogs.
Hop that the return trip will produce some better finds when the grass and bugs die down.


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[arrowhead82]

wow, looks like a really cool place to hunt!
HH

 

[63bkpkr]

What an amazing location to detect and likely you've only scratched the surface, with no reference to the black biting things. Best of success for the return visit.......................63bkpkr

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Great write about the town, one would think that those little black biting buggers would be over for the year, but no it's the same around my area just chomping away so it must be a year for them as it is for frogs.
Hope that the return trip will produce some better finds when the grass and bugs die down.

Thanks very much for your post J!
I really wanted to stay longer and detect the woods more, but I just couldn't stand the bugs and the heat!
I sincerely doubt this place has seen a metal detector before as it's just too remote.

Best of luck to you,
Dave

wow, looks like a really cool place to hunt!
HH

Thanks buddy!
Hopefully round 2 in the fall will be more productive.

What an amazing location to detect and likely you've only scratched the surface, with no reference to the black biting things. Best of success for the return visit.......................63bkpkr

Thanks for your post 63bkpkr!
I feel exactly the same way, best of luck to you!
Dave

 

[johnnyblaze]

Nice pics and story as usual Dave

All part of the adventure if your not patient with finds those people better find a new hobby..

Blaze

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

I found the first part of the story quite funny, I admit a bit of ADD and did not finish past the half way point (yet)

A lot of effort went into the research, getting there, the hunt, and the post. I wish for you, you had found a bit more, but as my brother says "it's hunting, not gathering"

Good job. And good things will come your way, I guarantee it.

 

[HastingsHunters]

We hunt the old hastings rd all the time. There is alot of ghost towns along that area. Your in my county now! Lol j/k

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Nice pics and story as usual Dave

All part of the adventure if your not patient with finds those people better find a new hobby..

Blaze

What you say about being a 'patient hunter' is very true Johnny!
Some people get upset when they don't find 'the good stuff' right off the bat.
Me . . . love the peace & quiet and just getting away from the wife!

Best of luck to you buddy,
Dave

I found the first part of the story quite funny, I admit a bit of ADD and did not finish past the half way point (yet)

A lot of effort went into the research, getting there, the hunt, and the post. I wish for you, you had found a bit more, but as my brother says "it's hunting, not gathering"

Good job. And good things will come your way, I guarantee it.

Thanks for the words of support Rick and for not falling asleep during my intro!

We hunt the old hastings rd all the time. There is alot of ghost towns along that area. Your in my county now! Lol j/k

If you're ever out at one of the ghost town sites on The Old Hastings Road and you hear rustling in the woods . . . for God's sake don't shoot, it's just me!

 

[Moonrover]

ANTIQUARIAN ... Thanks for the great posting! That's what keeps TNet interesting.

 

[HastingsHunters]

One of these days we should meet up for a hunt :-) still getting used to the V3i though...lol

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

ANTIQUARIAN ... Thanks for the great posting! That's what keeps TNet interesting.

Thank you very much for the kind words Moonrover!
I try to include as much info as possible in each post . . . without putting you to sleep of course!

Best of luck to you,
Dave

One of these days we should meet up for a hunt :-) still getting used to the V3i though...lol

Sounds good, PM me and let know where you're located and maybe we can meet up sometime!

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

Another great post,you should consider writing a book about the history in your area.
The hunting will be better in the fall but don't wait too long.
ZDD

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Another great post,you should consider writing a book about the history in your area.
The hunting will be better in the fall but don't wait too long.
ZDD

[FONT=&quot]I hear you Dave . . . about not waiting too much longer to get back to the site! [/FONT][FONT=&quot]

As far as whether I [FONT=&quot]"should consider writing a book about the history in my area"[/FONT] goes. My passion for history is something personal that I choose only to share with my friends here on Tnet and on the CS Sentinel Relic Forum. One of the main concerns I have with my country, is that 'New Canadians' have no sense of our history or how our country got to where it is now. We're such a 'melting pot' of nations here in Canada; I sincerely believe we’re ‘losing our history’ in this country. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
Take care buddy,
Dave[/FONT]

 

[The Rebel]

Excellent write up. Sounds like a great place to be. I've hiked several old abandoned RR lines way out in the middle of know where so I know how you felt. Best to bring a buddy along in case something happens.

If this place is so out of the way why is the cemetery still active? Old residents wanting to be buried with their loved ones?

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Excellent write up. Sounds like a great place to be. I've hiked several old abandoned RR lines way out in the middle of know where so I know how you felt. Best to bring a buddy along in case something happens.

If this place is so out of the way why is the cemetery still active? Old residents wanting to be buried with their loved ones?

Thanks very much for your post and for the kind words Rebel! When it comes to detecting in remote areas like this, it certainly becomes a little unnerving. I mostly detect in farm fields, at abandoned home sites and in the woods, so you might think I would be used to 'being alone', but you never really do because anything can happen right! I grew up in a large city and you become accustomed to all the 'background noise'. So when I'm hunting a place like this and all I can hear is my own breathing, I get a little freaked out!

I noticed the most recent burial here was in 2009. As you already mentioned, it looks like the descendents of the original settlers are still being buried here.

Best of luck to you Reb,
Dave