Working late at night in the old Rockwell Home Hardware building on Main Street, Collette Schaller-Beaton says she often heard thumps and bumps she couldn’t explain.  Colette claims – tongue in cheek maybe – that it was Wylie Rockwell’s spirit come back to visit his old store.

If this is so, what was Wylie’s ghost doing in the store he built in 1910? Nearby, a few minutes walk up the street at 432 Main Street, is the house Wylie lived in after he married into the Calkin family.

This would have been the natural site for Wylie to haunt.  Especially since Wylie’s old store at 253 Main Street, which evolved into Rockwell’s Home Hardware and then into Kings County Home Hardware, had recently moved into the building next to his old house.  But more later on the hardware store. Here’s a short bio on the man who started Rockwell Ltd.

Wylie Rockwell was a 5^th generation Planter, descending from Jonathan Rockwell who received a grant in Cornwallis in 1761. Around the time of his marriage to Nellie Calkin, Wylie was a partner in the firm of T. P. Calkin & Co., and there’s a note to this effect in Eaton’s History of Kings County. Wylie had worked with the Calkin firm for several decades before becoming a partner.  A write-up and photograph of Wylie can be found in Calkin’s 100^th anniversary booklet published in 1947.  Here it’s noted that Wylie entered the Calkin firm as a clerk under its founder Benjamin H. Calkin.  Wylie became a partner when Benjamin’s son Thomas Pennington Calkin took over the firm.

No doubt marrying T. P. Calkin’s sister Nellie advanced Wylie’s career and likely made it easy for him to start his own retail hardware store.  Kentville historian Louis Comeau, in his book Historic Kentville, writes that Wylie started the hardware store with Calkin’s blessing.  Calkin’s anniversary booklet write-up on Wylie treats him kindly, so it appears he did have the Calkin family’s approval when he set out on his own.   After all, he was one of the family.

Wylie struck out on his own in 1910.  In that year he built the hardware store on Main Street, a business he first called the “Red Brick Daylight Store.”  Wylie advertised the store under this unusual business name in various newspapers and other publications, using the motto “The Store of Light and Service.”  The store’s façade was red brick and it stood on the south and supposedly sunny side of town, hence the name and the motto.

Wylie Rockwell’s store has the distinction of being one of the oldest businesses operating continuously in Kentville.  With the move of the hardware store to the site where the Calkin house once stood (next to Wylie’s old house as mentioned) the firm he started is now well into its second century of continuous operation.   At the same time he was operating the hardware store Wylie was also involved with another Kentville business, a small manufacturing firm that made liniments of various sorts.  This firm was called Nearys Liniment. Co.  In newspapers advertisements published in 1916, Wylie is mentioned as the liniment firm’s manager.

Looking at the Rockwell family files at the Kings County Museum we find that Wylie’s operation of his store was short lived.  Wylie died in 1921, just over a decade after he opened the hardware store.  Rockwell was born in Kings County (probably in Canard) but to date I’ve been unable to determine exactly where his parents lived at the time of his birth.  Wylie is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in east end Kentville.  His tombstone gives his birth year as 1865 (some sources have the year as 1855) making him 56 when he died.

The Rockwell name has disappeared from his old business but Wylie’s spirit still lingers in Kentville.  In his heyday he was a prominent Kentville businessman, the likes of T. P Calkin and Fred Wade, two Kentville men who were among the elite in the business world.  His obituary from The Advertiser in May of 1921 hails him as a prominent business leader and outstanding citizen.  Here’s a partial quote:

“In the passing away of W. Wylie Rockwell, Kentville loses one of its best known and most prominent business men.  He was 56 years of age and a son of William A. Rockwell of Canard.  Mr. Rockwell started his life work as a clerk for the late B. H. Calkin, about 40 years ago, remaining with him four years.  He then continued the same business as partner with T. P. Calkin until 1910, when he built the imposing Rockwell block on Main Street, where for 11 years he conducted a prosperous business, his integrity and sterling qualities gaining him the confidence of the public.  In the acme of success, on account of failing health he was obliged to retire from business in 1920, selling out to Rockwell Ltd.”

(Note: Some sources have Rockwell’s name as Wylie W. Rockwell but his obituary likely has the correct order.  Wylie was probably christened William Wylie Rockwell.  Since his father’s name was also William, Rockwell probably started signing his name as W. Wylie Rockwell to avoid confusion with his sire.)

The once prominent Kentville business leader, W. Wylie Rockwell. (From the Louis V. Comeau collection.)

About 100 years ago, give or take a year, a New Brunswick magazine asked newspaper editors and other luminaries to review the attributes of leading towns in Kings Counties.  The result was a special edition of the Busy East devoted to promoting the business and tourist potential of Wolfville, Kentville and Berwick, with the eastern end of Annapolis Valley reviewed for good measure.

With the headquarters of the railway and its major facilities established there, the leading county town a century ago was Kentville.  But Berwick and Wolfville had much to boast about and it’s interesting to see what newspaper editors and leading citizens selected as the main attributes of these towns.

In most cases the gentlemen praising Berwick, Kentville and Wolfville singled out the leading retail stores and industries of their respective towns as worth mentioning.  Let’s look at Berwick first.

F. Lawson, whom I believe was a printer, wrote Berwick’s contribution to the Busy East’s special edition. As well as being the “leading town of two valleys,” wrote Lawson, Berwick was into apples in a big, big way 100 years ago. As well as the headquarters of the sprawling United Fruit Companies of Nova Scotia (with over 40 subsidiary companies along the train tracks) Berwick was the home port of eastern Canada’s biggest apple grower.  When it came to growing, packing and exporting apples, no one in eastern Canada came near Sam Chute.

At the time Berwick had one of the most modern flour and cereal mills in eastern Canada.  The Woodworth Bros. Mill generated its own electricity and using the railway, shipped its products all over the Maritimes.  A “show place”, the Berwick Nurseries, graced the town, along with a hotel and a combination automotive garage and foundry.

Now to Wolfville, which 100 years ago – according to B. O Davison, editor of The Acadian – was a favourite residential centre.  “We have modern streets, an abundant supply of purest water, an up-to-date sewerage system (and) electric lighting,” boasted Davison; and, of course, Acadia University, one of the “school centres of Canada.”

There were fine hotels in Wolfville 100 years ago, among them Acadia Villa Hotel and Acadia Lodge, but no mention is made of retail stores or industries.  The potential of Wolfville as a major seaport hasn’t been realised, writes Davison, who appears more interested in promoting the town as a “desirable place to live in and move in.”

Reflecting perhaps the size and importance of the town 100 years ago, Kentville was given the biggest spread by the Busy East.  “It is the gem of the Valley and the hub of Evangeline land,” writes one of its leading citizens, George E. Calkin.  It helped of course that the Dominion Atlantic Railway had its headquarters in the town, along with all the facilities and employees required to keep the trains running.

Thanks to the railway and the nearby military camp, Kentville was thriving 100 years ago.  A major hotel, the Aberdeen, was located downtown, and firms such as T. P Calkin were expanding from Kentville into other areas of the province.  A major provincial automobile distributor was located in the town, and the Nova Scotia Power Company was about to set up its headquarters there.

Long since gone and hardly remembered anymore is the Neary Liniment Company.  Owned by W. Wylie Rockwell, of Rockwell Ltd. fame, the firm was given is own write-up in the Big East review.  At the time R. L. Mcdonald was operating an “auto livery” in Kentville.  Was this a misspelling of Macdonald and the start of the distinguished Valley firm of Ralph L. Macdonald & Co Ltd?  Perhaps it was.

Looking at these reviews, I’m surprised by attempts to portray each town as a tourist destination.  Nearby scenic areas were described in detail, the Look-Off, Cape Blomidon and Grand Pre, for example.  Mention was often made of scenic apple orchards near each town, with Kentville described as being in the “centre of the far-famed garden of Nova Scotia.”

“If you’ve lived in the Gaspereau Valley or travelled through the area, you’ve no doubt noticed the tower that sits atop the hill,” Tarina Bambrick wrote in a summer issue of The Advertiser in 1992.

The tower, Bambrick said, was on the Wallbrook side of the Gaspereau River near the Ralph Stirling residence, on what is known locally as Trenholm Hill; near its base is an old graveyard.

Now, just over two decades later, there are a few more graves in the cemetery but little else has changed.  The tower still looms there on Trenholm Hill; dominating its surroundings for longer than most people can remember, it’s a curiosity of sorts, its origin and purpose bandied about.  The tiny graveyard near the base of the tower adds to the mystery of a structure that has long been speculated about.  Was it built as a look off, a watch tower, a tourist attraction or constructed on a whim?  No one seems to know for sure.

Tarina Bambrick was on the staff of The Advertiser in 1992 when she determined to learn the age of the tower and “how it came to be.”  Bambrick had grown up nearby, had visited the tower like most residents of the area, but it was only until she had been away and hadn’t seen it for 18 years that she became interested in its origin.

Bambrick’s historical research began by interviewing several senior residents around the Gaspereau Valley.  It seemed to be the logical way to discover the tower’s age, why it was built and who constructed it.  In a way this was a dead end when it came to learning the tower’s age; tallying up what seniors remembered about the tower, its age varied according to whom she was talking to.

For example, one of the seniors reckoned that the tower was built just after World War 1.  Based on the recollections of another interviewee, the tower was erected in 1908 0r 1909.  Based on yet another interview with a senior resident of the Gaspereau area, the tower was built around 1920 or in 1921.  These estimates are close to the actual age of the tower, as you will see shortly.

Recently I talked with Kay Stirling, who was interviewed by Tarina Bambrick for the 1992 article.  The Stirlings have owned the tower property for about 60 years, Ms. Stirling said. Stirling confirmed what Bambrick had learned through her research on the tower.   The gentleman who had the tower constructed was the late Harry Trenholm.  Mr. Trenholm employed Havelock Brown to build it.  Brown’s reputation as an expert carpenter, one of the best in the area, made him the natural choice to construct the tower.

It appears the consensus is Harry Trenholm built the tower as a family memorial, possibly for his mother.  This is what Kay Stirling believes. Also, it may have been a place the Trenholm family retired to on Sunday afternoons, the view from the tower being spectacular.

Nearly 15 meters high and standing on one of the highest hills in the area, the tower is an excellent look-off.  It’s claimed that one can see three counties, perhaps even four, from the tower on a clear day; much of the Gaspereau Valley and a bit of Minas Basin can be viewed from the tower.

As for the actual age of the tower, I was told by Kay Stirling that it likely has stood on the hill overlooking the Gaspereau River for about 110 years.  Ms. Stirling said when the tower was being renovated, newspapers dated 1902 were found in the walls, meaning undoubtedly the tower is into its second century and counting.

I checked on some of the headstones in the cemetery and found one dated 1905, that of Douglass A. Mitchell who was drowned in Boston Harbour.  Harry Trenholm, 1870 – 1945, the man who had the tower built, lies in the cemetery.  Buried there as well, according to the Rootsweb list of Kings County cemeteries are Bishops, Careys, Stirlings, Perrys and Tamlins.  I found markers/headstones for these families except for the Tamlins.

The tower has weathered well over the years, Tarina Bambrick wrote in 1992.  It still looks good today, thanks to the Stirlings keeping it up.  While the tower was accessible to the public at one time, due to vandalism the Stirlings had to put a gate on the road leading to it.   If you don’t mind the long climbing, the tower is accessible by foot.  As a courtesy to the family, I’m sure Kay Stirling would appreciate you asking for permission first before venturing up the hill

As I said, the view is spectacular.

Looming high above the Gaspereau Valley for over a century, the original purpose of the Trenholm tower is still somewhat of a mystery. (E. Coleman)

The old cemetery below Trenholm tower holds one headstone dated 1905. (E. Coleman)

Dated 21 December, 1760, a document in the Public Archives of Nova Scotia, advises the Lords of Trade in Great Britain of a shipwreck in the Canard River.  “With concern,” writes Lieutenant Governor Jonathan Belcher, “I acquaint your Lordships of the loss of the Provincial Brigantine the Montague after unloading the provisions for the new settlers at Horton and Cornwallis in her passage down the Canard River, she ran upon a Bank of Mud and was overset so deep that the water covers her at high tides and tho all endeavours have been used, I am satisfied that she will not again be fit for service.”

In an earlier column I had written about the sinking of the Montague in the Canard River, noting Arthur W. H. Eaton’s reference to the shipwreck in his Kings County history and in a 1915 paper on Rhode Island settlers.  Other historical writers have mentioned the shipwreck but Belcher’s dispatch is the only government record found so far confirming the fate of the Montague.

Another interesting document on the Montague has surfaced and it has spurred the Kings Historical Society into producing a video on the shipwreck.  Discovered in the Public Archives by Historical Society president Doug Crowell, the document, a court paper, reveals unauthorised attempts to salvage pieces of the Montague.  Apparently the Montague, as it sat on the mud flats along the Canard River channel near Porter’s Point, was too much of a temptation for Nathanial Curtis who along with John Dains cut away the Montague’s mast and carried away the ironwork.

Dated 7 December 1761, the court document reveals that a complaint was made to Justice of the Peace Amos Bill that “some evil minded person or persons had cut a mast and carried away the Irons belonging to said mast, which mast floated from his Majesty’s Brigg Montecue” (sic).

Bill found that Curtis “of Cornwallis, yeoman, did cut and carry or at least assist in cutting and carrying away said Iron, which is contrary to Law.”  Dains name does not appear in this document and it is likely he was charged separately.

To guarantee the appearance of Curtis in court to face the charges, two prominent citizens of Cornwallis agreed to put up a surety bond.  They were Dr. Samuel Willoughby and Samuel Starr “who both acknowledge themselves bound in the sum of ten pounds sterling,” reads the court document …. “in the recognizance thereof that the said Nathaniel Curtis shall appear before the next Quarter Sessions and shall not depart said Court without leave or license …”

The court case against Curtis and his apparently successful attempt to salvage what he could from the shipwrecked Montague undoubtedly will be a feature of the documentary on the Montague.  This is being produced for the Kings Historical Society by Innovative’s Stephen Wilsack.  Attempts to find the shipwreck, which may still lie buried in the mud along the Canard River channel, will be documented as well. The video will also look at the career of the Montague’s Captain, Jeremiah Rogers.   Before she was commissioned to provide supplies for the Planters of Cornwallis and Horton, the Montague under Rogers was a privateer.

(Note:  Readers who may have heard of folklore on the Montague or Capt. Rogers are invited to contact the Kings Historical Society.)

“Berwick is the very center of the great apple growing industry,” notes an editorial about the town in a 1916 review of the Annapolis Valley.

The review was published in a special issue of the Busy East in Canada magazine (which later became the Atlantic Advocate) and it’s interesting since it mentions the proclaimed king of apple growing in Nova Scotia, Berwick’s famed Sam Chute, establishing his credentials as a prominent pioneer orchardist.

A while back I devoted a column to Mr. Chute, determining he was indeed a leading pioneer in apple growing.  I had erroneously claimed that William H. Chase deserved the title of apple king but the then editor of this paper, Sara Keddy, set me straight. Bottom line, Chute was the leading apple grower, Chase the man who marketed the apple crop with a genius unrivalled and making a fortune doing so.

Anyway, back to the Busy East, its Valley Review and the write-up on Sam Chute.  At the time of publication Sam Chute was hailed as the man “who has the largest orchard in the world.”  Chute, when asked if this true, asked in turn, “Who has one larger.”  At the time Chute had 40,000 apple trees and was busy planting more.  He was also prominent in establishing the United Fruit Companies, which had it headquarters in Berwick.

Berwick wasn’t alone in claiming to be the apple capital.  Wolfville made a similar claim at the time and it was also published in the Busy East.  “Wolfville is the center of the finest fruit-growing sections of Nova Scotia,” writes B. O. Davison, editor the town’s weekly, The Acadian.  Kentville’s mayor made a similar claim, but more on that later when I look at the Busy East’s review of Valley towns.

In this special edition the Busy East mentioned an unusual agricultural product I never heard of before, a product that apparently had the potential of making the Valley known far and wide for more than just apple growing.

That product was Humogen and here’s what the Busy East said about it:  “As the valley progresses, so will Berwick.  If the day comes when the immense Caribou Bog, which lies on Berwick’s western boundary, is made to produce Humogen, then, surely, will come an era of accelerated prosperity, for the lack of fertilizer is the valley’s greatest drawback.

“Humogen is a product discovered by Professor Bottomley, a noted scientist of the University of London.  Bog peat is inoculated with a bacteria discovered by Prof. Bottomley and the material is thus converted into soluble plant food.”

Nothing came of the project to convert the Aylesford peat bog into a massive fertilizer swamp.  The whole scheme apparently fizzled out when it was found Humogen wasn’t as effective as regular fertilizer and was costly and time consuming to produce and harvest.

It’s interesting though.  As well as once being the apple capital, we almost became the Humogen producing capital of Canada.

There are various history books and research papers devoted to the period when the Planters arrived here.  I have in mind the writing of Esther Clark Wright, James Stuart Martell, and the book They Planted Well, a collection of historical articles on the Planters.*

But besides the Chipman Papers in the Public Archives (which cover a century of Planter history mainly in Kings County) there are relatively few published personal records, diaries and such offering contemporary views of the early Planter period.  A few Planter family diaries exist but for the most part they’re not available to the general public.

Sometimes you come across descriptions of early Planter life in Kings County where you’d never expect to find them.  An example is the autobiography by a New England soldier (Capt. David Perry) who served in the Seven Year’s War and was briefly stationed in Kings County just after the Acadian deportation.

In a recent column I mentioned Perry’s reference to one of the first forts built in Kings County and his military activities.  Interesting is Perry’s reference to the Acadians that remained after the deportation, noting as I’ve read elsewhere they were of great assistance to the Planter settlers.

“Two Acadian families came to reside with us, who were very useful to our people,” Perry writes, “and learned them many useful arts, and among others, how to catch fish.  Which was of great service to them, as the provisions they brought with them were soon exhausted.”   We learn from Perry that without the Acadian’s help and “provision from the King’s stores,” the settlers “must in all probability have starved.”

Interesting also is Perry’s description of an environment he found not to his liking:  “Three large rivers (the Habitant, Cornwallis and Gaspereau) run through the town of Cornwallis.  At high water vessels of the largest size could sail up and down them with safety.  The rivers made a vast quantity of marshy land and the upland between them was not very good.  I did not like (this) country.”

Perry described the Acadians that remained in Kings County and the Mi’kmaq as “quite peaceful and to all appearance friendly,” questioning whether a fort really was needed to protect the settlers.

Another view of Kings County and the Planters is found in a book by Rev. Jacob Bailey, a Maine Loyalist.  As the American Revolution began, Bailey was forced to leave his country.  For a few years he preached in Kings County – from 1779 to 1782 – before moving to Annapolis Royal.

In his memoir, The Frontier Missionary, Bailey wrote a gloomy description of the Planter arrival in Kings County:  “Upon the departure of these unfortunate people (the Acadians) their houses and church were burned by the English, their domestic animals perished with hunger and the dykes, which protected their fertile land from the seas, fell into decay.

“Five years after this event a fleet of twenty-two transports, convoyed by an armed vessel of sixteen guns, landed emigrants from New England on the territory that had been occupied by the neutral French.  Two hundred persons from Connecticut settled at Cornwallis.  Although, as before stated, the natural features of the country were beautiful, yet the ruin which had befallen the former inhabitants was distinctly visible, and could hardly fail to inspire melancholy emotions.”

*Available at the Valley Regional Library