Remembering Stevensville
Memories of the Village I Knew
Whenever I return to Stevensville – the small town where I grew up – I am struck by the changes. My memories of the town are of people and places as they were in the 1960s. I moved away after getting married in 1968 and left most of those memories behind.
Many places I remember are still there. Usually they have a new face or are occupied by different people. But many of the places that seemed to represent the soul of the town as I remember it are gone. They have been replaced, have moved, or are no longer important like they were back then. The ball park, the community hall, the old public school on Airline, the Grove, and maybe most of all, the creek.
In this piece I want to pull some of those memories together. I hope to reach out to old friends, family members, and other acquaintances for some of their memories. Perhaps I will find old photos of what it was like back then. And I hope to answer some questions about the changes that have taken place.
I expect this project to go on for some time, so if you have something to share, contact me and let me know. You can reach me by leaving a comment below. Or send me an email at rickjh@outlook.com. I’m really after two different types of information. First there’s your special memories of that time. And second, there’s actual information on things like:
– What happened to the Grove?
– When was the Conservation Area at the end of Main St. W. created?
– What actually happened to the Planing Mill and why?
– When did they move the ball diamond to Ott Rd.?
– What specific changes have taken place at the public school?
– Provide a short history of the developments that took place in the field at the end of Airline. When I was there it was a just a field.
– How have things changed at the railway station at the south tracks? Are the two railways in Stevensville still being used?
– Tell me the story of the Community Hall. The original one was still standing in ’68 (I think).
– What about “Safari Niagara” or whatever it’s called now?
Thanks,
Rick
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About Author
I’ve found the school project called “Our Town ‘Stevensville’…then and now” and many of the questions listed above are addressed in that project. This project, created in 1983, was overseen by Elaine Winger, teacher of Grades 3 and 4 at Stevensville Public School. If you have any information about this project let me know. It contains many interesting photos, but the quality is not very good (photo copied). There might just be a possibility that the source pics are hidden somewhere.
Recount of the Stevensville Planing Mill Fires and the Snyder Pig Farm Fire
Rick,
I’ve put together an account of three major fires in the Stevensville area, combining what I personally remember with details available online and in local historical references.The Stevensville Planing Mill was once a busy operation along the rail line, finishing lumber for construction and trim. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the mill was in decline. The green storage sheds and the main production building were aging, and the site wasn’t being maintained the way it once had been.
The mill suffered two major fires, both destructive and both occurring during off‑hours. According to local recollections and online mentions, neither fire was ever attributed to an accidental cause. No electrical faults or machinery failures were found, and there was no natural ignition source. The fires caused severe structural damage. After the second blaze, the building was declared unsafe, torn down, and the site cleared. By the late 1980s, almost nothing remained except concrete footings and scattered timbers.A third major fire occurred at the Snyder pig farm on Netherby Road. Online references describe it as a total loss, with barns, pens, and outbuildings burned completely to the ground.This fire produced the first real piece of evidence. During the initial walk‑around at the scene, my late brother David Wilkie, who was the volunteer station chief in Stevensville, found a baseball cap. It wasn’t just any cap — it belonged to one of the volunteer firefighters.That discovery immediately connected the pig farm fire to the earlier mill fires. It suggested someone familiar with fire operations, response patterns, and the layout of the sites.
The cap led to quiet but serious follow‑up: interviews, background checks, reviewing who had been present or nearby during the earlier fires, and looking at patterns of behaviour among volunteers. The investigation eventually focused on an individual living at the far west end of Main Street West. An arrest was made, and after that point, the pattern of suspicious fires in the area stopped.David’s discovery at the pig farm was the turning point. It connected all three fires and provided the evidence needed to close the case. It’s one of those pieces of Stevensville history that never made the papers but is still remembered by those who lived through it.
Hey Mark, that is information I had not heard before. Thank you for sharing. I will definitely follow this up. If you have any specific sources I would appreciate the info.