The History of Shawville
Before the arrival of the Europeans
The earliest history of the Shawville area remains shrouded in the mists of time. The region as a whole was occupied by Algonquin hunting peoples. For millennia they roamed the vast forests of the region, setting out occasionally on the great river we now call the Ottawa to trade with tribes farther in the interior of the continent or eastward to those on the St. Lawrence. The earliest European presence in the region has a better chronicles.
The Early Settlers, 1821
The Ottawa continued its role as a major transportation route to the heart of the continent. The future site of Shawville, however, lay six miles north of the river. While local legends about nearby clashes between European trappers and natives abound, the documented history of the area is confined to the early nineteenth century.
The earliest settlers in the area were Irish Protestants from county Tipperary, who came to Canada after the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815. Many had settled in the Carp Valley in Carleton County on the Upper Canadian side of the Ottawa River. Local lore tells us that Thomas Hodgins, John Dale and his wife Elizabeth, set out from this colony in the summer of 1821 to search for a new land to settle. It is believed that they paddled up the river landing in a small bay some forty miles up river. They fought thick bush, insects and swamp, until on the second day it is said they reached a clearing where a beautiful spring bubbled out of the ground. They decided that this was where they would begin their new farms. The two men then set off northwards in search of a suitable place to settle.
Before the decade was out, many other families from Carleton joined them in the new Township of Clarendon.
Before long, businesses were set up to serve the farming community that was sprouting around the original settlement. This area became known as “The Centre”. By the 1840’s, Clarendon had become a small, but thriving village. As farms grew and prospered, so did the village.
The Municipality of Shawville, 1873
By the 1870’s, The Centre had grown enough to be erected as a municipality in its own right. On January 12, 1873 a new municipality was announced by proclamation.
The new town would be called “Shawville” in honour of one of its most influential and prosperous families, the Shaw’s. So began the history of a town that has not forgotten, and is still intimately tied to its agricultural heritage. From its earliest settlement to the present day, farming has been the reason of the town. It is interesting to note that those springs that were discovered so many years ago, today supply the Town of Shawville with its drinking water.
Orange Lodge History
Royal Enniskillen Loyal Orange Lodge 27, L.O.L. 27, of Shawville has a long and rich history as the oldest Orange Lodge in the County of Pontiac. Once the immigrants to Clarendon Township had cleared their land and built their houses and buildings, they chose to organize the Orange Lodge, an institution familiar to them in Ireland. Royal Enniskillen Loyal Orange Lodge 27, Clarendon Center, Canada was incorporated on 24 October 1843 with Grand Orange Lodge of British America issuing of the lodge warrant to Thomas Corrigan. Both the organization and the building, the Orange Hall, carry the name L.O.L.27.
The organization, L.O.L.27, has an important place in the development of the community over the years. Members of the Lodge have been taught life skills and Christian values and encouraged to be involved in the social and benevolent activities of their community. Over the years, many of its members have been involved in the affairs of the municipalities, school boards, churches, service organizations, and community events. Over the years, the Orange Family has demonstrated benevolence with contributions towards improvements for hospital patients, the Snowsuit Fund, and other areas where a community need was identified.
Royal Enniskillen Loyal Orange Lodge 27 has been an organization where many of the families of the community were members. The activities of L.O.L.27, along with the names of some members, have been reported in The Equity over the years. The Master of L.O.L.27, chosen in 2014, is a descendent of Thomas Corrigan who in 1843 received the warrant for the Lodge.
The Orange Hall, L.O.L.27, has been a community-meeting place over the years for its members and the community at large. Mayfred Horner Dods in “By Water and Word – A History of the Shawville United Church” records that after the 1906 Shawville fire that destroyed the Methodist Church, the Orange Hall was one location where the congregation met until the new congregation built their church. Many dances, recitals, and social events were held at the Lodge with proceeds going to an identified need. The current L.O.L.27 Orange Hall, officially opened in October 1971, was built by members of the Orange Order with assistance from the community at large to replace the previous hall that was torn down by members during the winter of 1964-1965. Construction started in Spring of 1965 and we moved into the new hall that fall.