Ballantrae

Ballantrae was settled in the early 1800s and became a busy economic centre for the surrounding lumber trade. This community had several hotels, blacksmiths, general stores, the Mayflower Stamping Company (to mark barrels and other containers), a shoemaker and four or five sawmills. Hill’s Hall, constructed by Robert Hill on Lot 19, Concession 8, was frequently the location of early Whitchurch Township Council meetings. Willie Anderson, the first teacher who taught in the one-room log schoolhouse on Lakeshore Road, named the hamlet Ballantrae in honour of his Scottish heritage. A post office opened in 1858, serving the people in this community until 1949.