We have it that on the 18th day of December, 1820, the settlement arrived at such condition of forwardness that a meeting was held at the home of Mr. James Hall, "to devise the best means of erecting a school-house that also might answer the purpose of a place of worship until able to provide both." Indeed, ground had already been set apart by the Government -- two acres for a cemetery, one acre for a church, one acre for a school-house, one acre for a minister's residence and one acre for a school-master's residence, in all six acres in behalf of people professing the Presbyterian religion.
The signs are before us of our forbears' allegiance to the kirk. In fact, through a long period following, notwithstanding a most distressing and discouraging inability to obtain a minister of Presbyterian light and learning there remained with the people an almost stubborn refusal to ally themselves with any other body. "Oor ain kirk or nane," was the slogan of an abiding faith. Thus when Methodist missionaries applied to the trustees for permission to use the church building on Sabbaths when it was vacant, seven big Scotchmen got upon their feet and said "No" with a roar that disturbed the pines around and quite overwhelmed two weak voices who ventured "Yes."
Lanark's first schoolhouse was erected on July 14th, 1821. A log structure, hurriedly assembled in its parts, the building gave little promise of permanency in the enlightenment of future generations of Lanark boys and girls. Robert Mason, a Glasgow man of education, had the distinguished honor of filling the first mastership. His professional duties commenced February 18th, 1822, seven months after the erection of a schoolhouse.
Two ranks of scholars sat under this excellent dominie -- those taught free of charge and those who paid for their education. The first were children of parents holding land in the township, the second were children of those residing in Lanark but not entitled to land in the usual manner. For these latter a schedule of rates was arranged, viz. : English reading and grammar, 2/6 ; writing and arithmetic, 3/ per quarter.
Mr. Mason received his salary from the Government until February, 1823, when this was withdrawn. The schoolmaster thus deprived of his means of livelihood appeared before the trustees in a doleful frame of mind and announced that if the bonus were not renewed the teaching would have to stop. A petition, couched in strong terms, was prepared, forwarded to the Earl of Dalhousie and produced a shock to the official conscience that caused immediate repentance and forthwith at an emergency meeting of the school worthies it was proudly announced that the "maister's salary wud conteonue till the Christmas, 1823." The Government could not resist the rhetorical onslaught of the Scots.
We must not follow the fortunes of this interesting school farther than to say that when the State aid was finally cut off, the people themselves paid the teacher's salary.
Money was a scarce medium in those days and a wheat equivalent had to be inserted and agreed upon in the articles between master and scholar. Two dollars per quarter for each scholar, one dollar in money or wheat, this payable on the 1st February yearly, those settling with grain to deliver same at the home of the schoolmaster after valuation by the trustees whose decision was irrevocable. Each scholar also had to lay down at the school door one third cord of wood or in place one peck of wheat, in which case the master supplied the wood.
The growth of Lanark Village in the early twenties was slow and tedious. The trees were big and unwieldy. Only men with a practiced "sleight" could properly fell those monarchs of the forest. One who has not acquired chopping in his boyhood, experiences the utmost difficulty in his latter years. As has been noted before the axes were clumsy and heavy, the handles or helves badly made and placed in the hands of men unskilled in their use they could not but fail to accomplish much. The affairs of the household, too, called for an altogether different system of management and economy as had been conducted in the Old Country. "Rin oot Johnnie, and get hauf a stane o' tatties, a dizzen o' Irish eggs and' a pun o' Danish butter," the city mother might say and expect the errand back inside of five minutes. But here the ground had to be cleared, crops hoed and tended, hens did not thrive in the cold winter and milch cows were a luxury to which but few of the settlers had attained. Moreover when the flour bag ran low a long trip to Brockville over precarious river crossings, and through stretches of mere trails, was the saving chance of replenishing the store.
It is true that Alex. Ferguson built a grist mill in 1821 on a site furnished by the Government. But this did not meet the requirements of the expanding neighborhood and Brockville was known as the headquarters for milling supplies for a long term of years. The merchandizing of Lanark rose but slightly above the immediate necessities of life in those days. Miller Ferguson, with an eye to future importance in the realm of commerce, had opened a store also in 1821. This was Lanark's second business establishment. Messrs. James Muir, of Glasgow, also, later, had designs for capturing Lanark's future trade and carried on for a number of years a branch distributing house, this on the present site of Lanark's town clerk's residence. But these were small stores as compared with Lanark's present busy shops, and the variety of their stock did not reach much beyond tea and treacle, axes and awls.
The enquiring mind of our average present day Lanarkite might perhaps be attributed to that fondness for literature which was part of the make up of our pioneer fathers. They liked books and were satisfied only with the most profound. In this way, then, we see Major Donald Fraser, president, and Mr. Robert Drysdale, treasurer, in conjunction with Mr. Robert Mason, librarian, arranging books on the library shelves in 1822. These books were : "Confession of Faith", "Dick on Inspiration", Paley's Evidences", "Protestant", 4 vols, "Walker's Sermons", "Wardlaw's Sermons", "Butler's Analogy", "Edwards on Original Sin", "Evans' Sermons", "Vincent's Explanatory Catechism", "Dodderidge's Sermons", "Dodderidge's Rise and Progress", "Stevenson on the Atonement", "Beddow's Sermons", "Erskine's Evidences", "Paley's Natural Philosophy", and many others of like character. This was the sole public reading in the settlement, excepting newspapers sent by friends across the sea, and mails being at that time both uncertain and expensive, the reading matter received from that source would not now be thought of much importance. It was no doubt this paucity of the lighter literature as well as an inborn talent for music that induced the young people to get up a singing class. They applied for permission to use the only public building then in the village, the school-church, on certain week nights. Donald Fraser was horrified. He protested vigorously again at such desecration but upon seeing that others were more favorable to the proposal, said tentatively, "If the music club would meet on Sunday when they might praise God as well as learn to sing then he 'wudna objeck'."
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