The story behind Sparks Corner

Many people refer to the swooping long curve of HWY 21, between Southampton and Port Elgin as “Sparks Corner”.

Well, it is not Sparks Corner. It is actually “Sparks Corner Bypass”. It was built in the mid 1950’s to eliminate the treacherous low speed turn at the real Sparks Corner that is where Carlisle Street and Bruce Road 3 intersect.

Mabel (Sparks) McMann of Underwood tells the story of one of the accidents. A mother was in the passenger seat holding her baby when the husband lost control on the curve and the car went into the ditch near their house.  The mother was laying beside the vehicle while they waited for the ambulance and Mabel’s mom was holding the baby.
And then they built the big swooping curve.
                  Sharp corner eliminated                                     For larger view, Click on Image

If we go back to 1865. we find that “finally” there was a road opened From Owen Sound and a bridge built over the Saugeen at the rapids, at what is known today as Denny’s Dam. The road then went in a perfectly straight line along Carlisle Street directly to Port Elgin and on to North Bruce. Southampton merchants were not so happy as they wanted the bridge to be closer to the mouth of the Saugeen which did eventually happen.

          Sparks family home
     For larger view, Click on Image

Samuel Sparks arrived in Canada from England in 1865, the year the new bridge was built. The original home was built on the north west corner of Carlisle and Bruce Road 13. His wife Mary arrived in 1868 and the family had grown by 1881 to include three sons and two daughters.

During the early years, the Sparks family residence served  as a hotel. It is believed that the story of this role goes back to the 1870’s and 80’s. A story from the Port Elgin Times reveals to us what is probably the main contributor.

In the 1880’s, their reporter talks about visiting the Port Elgin Brick Works:

A stroll through the brick yard of Smith Bros., the other day, gave us an idea of the extent of manufacture these enterprising gentlemen are carrying on. The site of the yard could not be more convenient than it is, being situated on the east bank of Mill Creek. The water supply is convenient and inexhaustible and there is a fine chance to dispose of the refuse pieces of brick.

The brick is of good quality as is evidenced by the quality of brick produced. We question if a better white brick is produced in the country to-day than those made here.

The yard was started some 20 years ago by the Late, Mr. Barthold Smith, father of the present proprietors. The management is now in the hands of Mr. Henry Smith and his two younger brothers. They have added new and improved machinery and the output is yearly, about a million. This year a kiln of 150,000 has already been burnt and another 225,000 will be ready in three weeks or so.

The demand for Port Elgin Brick is very large. The morning of our visit, there were ten teams from Glammis waiting to be loaded. The same day, a large number of teams came from Owen Sound for Brick. Builders do not drive 25 miles for material in three days, unless they get a first-class article.

Employment is given in the yard to be from 12 to 15 men.

So, Sparks Corner would be the ideal spot for teams coming from Owen Sound to overnight with accommodation for men and horses before continuing on to pick up their loads of brick the next day.

When the railway arrived in 1873, the Sparks family and their teams of horses worked on  preparing and levelling the rail bed in the area right up to the Southampton Station. The Sparks family grew, and they occupied both farms on each side, at the corner on the west side. Samuel had a son Samuel William (Bill), who had two sons, named Archie and Arthur, who I remember very well from the 1950’s, in their older years.

For larger views, Click on Images

Archie had the home farm on the North West corner and Arthur was on the South West corner. In 1947 my Uncle, Bruce Hill, acquired Archie’s farm and Archie moved to a smaller operation on the 6th concession. In July of 1951, I was “assigned” to work full time for two weeks at Sparks Corner. I use the word assigned, because my Uncle asked my mother and she told me what I was to do. I was nine years of age and I was to be part of a silo construction crew.

My tasks were quite simple. For five days a week, for two weeks, I sat on a tractor. Concrete was mixed in a small cement mixer and poured into a wheelbarrow. A Scaffold with pulleys had been constructed. The silo was being built in 4-foot sections. Three hooks went on the wheelbarrow, one on the front wheel and one each on its handles. On instruction, I backed the tractor up bringing the wheelbarrow to the level being constructed. The wheelbarrow was dumped, and I then went forward until the wheelbarrow returned to the ground.

Each day we did four feet of height. The concrete set overnight. In the morning, the metal frame was moved up and another four feet was completed. This went on until we reached the 32 feet planned height.

After the two weeks, my uncle gave my mother $10 for her to give to me in smaller amounts. And that was my introduction to “working for wages”.

From then, and all through the 1950’s, I was “assigned’ to be available for stooking and threshing for two weeks, every August, at my uncle’s farm at Sparks Corner. In the mid- 50’s, Tom Stewart, on leaving school, had gone to work full time for my uncle. He would be operating the equipment and I would be doing the stooking or loading sheaves on the wagon or building the load. Tom and I were born the same year and we both had grown up on Morpeth Street in Southampton. Tom stayed with my uncle for about two or three years before heading out on his own, buying a backhoe to do trenching around town for folks. That was the start of what today is T. A. Stewart and Son Construction.

During that time, I recall being “asked” to work for Arthur Sparks doing weeding, for a couple of days, at his market garden, on the South West of Sparks Corner. What I remember most about Arthur was that he expected you to “keep working” and he had some unique sayings to “motivate” you. The one that I have repeated may times, came when I was hoeing weeds. I got to the end of a row and hesitated to lean on my hoe for a minute. I can still hear Arthur say, “Come on now sonny, a change is as good a rest. Just turn around and do the next row from the other side”. Another wonderful $1 a day job.

In the 1950’s, the North East corner, where the South Port Golf Club is today, was owned by Arnold Shular. This was a tough piece of land to farm but Arnold raised ducks and geese here and sold them in town. A lot of folks would just drop in to buy a bird. What a surprise they would have when they were attacked by a giant gander when they opened their car door. He was vicious and he had figured it out that when a car came down the driveway, it was probably coming to get one of his “ladies”.

For larger view, Click on Image

On the south east corner was a gas station, garage and small variety store, looking much like it does today except that it had gas pumps then.  It was operated by an older gentleman, named Jim Trimble.  He had a great supply of licorice and candy as well as basic groceries. A cold root beer and a couple of black licorice stick at the end of the day were regularly enjoyed.

My fondest memories of the Sparks family are from the time that I spent with Archie at his small farm on the 6th Concession. He had an acreage of grain and we always went to his place to thresh after my uncle’s farms were completed. Archie had three daughters, named Elsie, Ella and Mabel. They are older than I and two are still living in the area. Meals for the threshers were sensational.  Young teenagers are known for their food consumption skills and I was no exception. I can still hear Archie’s voice saying, “Come on now sonny, clean up the bowls so that the ladies can wash them”.

The Sparks Family and Sparks Corner, some wonderful memories!