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![]() RoadsA major problem for the first settlers in the Kynoch area was transportation. Roads in the early days were of the settlers' own making, and therefore usually not in the best repair. The original road, a bush road, went through the Kynoch Valley on the west side of Kynoch Creek (which flows through the middle of the settlement). It has been said that anyone using that road would have to pass through eleven gates before getting to the end of the road. Later it was discovered that the best farmland could be found on the east side of the creek (rather than the west side where the road was). The road was then moved to that side of the creek. The current location of the road varies little from this. ![]() When the road was moved, many people decided to move their homes so that they would be closer to it. This was done either by using rollers made of logs, or by using skids, which were pulled by teams of horses. There is one story of a house being moved using skids and two teams of horses. On stopping to let the horses have a rest, the men heard a noise coming from inside the house. When they opened the door the family cat ran out, never to return. The men then continued to move the house to its new location, closer to the new road. Through the years the road has been upgraded and some minor changes have been made in the route. One of the more recent and most drastic improvements was the change from a gravel road to an asphalt one in the 1970s. In 1892, a wooden bridge was built over the White River, just above Bell's Falls. This connected the community to the road on the other side, leading to the town of Iron Bridge. The wooden bridge was later replaced by a steel one, which in turn was replaced by a Bailey bridge. Flooding at times washed the bridge out, and at one point a pier had to be built to extend it because of flood damage. In 1986 a new concrete bridge was built to replace the older one, and is used today. Post OfficeMail delivery was essential to the early pioneers, as it was the only connection they had with loved ones living far away. Mail was the only method of communication from the valley to the outside world, short of actual travel, which few people could afford. The local post office was established at Bell's Falls in 1895, and was run by Donald Bell, for whom the falls were named. Bell delivered the mail into Kynoch Valley, until a post office was more centrally located in Kynoch in 1912. Originally the mailing address for the area was Grassett (the name of the township), but confusion with another mailing destination of that name necessitated the change of the mailing address. Kynoch was one of three names suggested by the then postmaster, George Trivers. The name 'Kynoch' was taken from a rifle shell made by the Kynoch company, in England. The Kynoch post office moved to different locations in its short history until it was closed in 1933. The mail has since been delivered from the post office in Iron Bridge. Telephone ServiceFurther improvement in local communications came with the advent of the telephone. The technology had reached the North Shore of Algoma by 1905, and by 1929 the Parkinson and Kynoch Telephone Co. had been formed and brought telephone service to Kynoch. The first line was a multi-party (or simply 'party') line with 29 people on it. In the spring, bees were held to clear brush from around the telephone line and poles. A gang of local men and a linesman would go over the line to clear new growth away from it and make any necessary repairs. The number of men who would go along with the linesman later dwindled to six. After 1954 the local phone company was taken over by Bell Canada, which was a slight improvement. There were still no private (single-party) lines, but now there were only two to four people per line. Even with further advancements in telephone technology, the phone lines in Kynoch are still multi-party, with a few members of the community having private lines for business purposes. Return to Top |
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