Conestogo River
Did you know that the name Conestogo is from a native word meaning meandering?
The Conestogo River is a feature in our township that most of us take for granted. It and its tributaries do meander through the township, providing drainage for much of the area. It’s source is fresh water springs in the former West Luther Township, east of the village of Arthur.
The river and its waters were important to the settlers of the township. In the 1840s and ‘50s as they settled on its banks it provided fresh water for their needs. The settlers built dams and mill races to power grist and saw mills. Old plans of Glen Allan, Hollen, Hustonville and Drayton all show mill lots. At Stirton, in the area about half a mile west of the crossroads by the Conestogo River known as Upper Stirton, there was a grist mill and a flax mill.
Cheese factories were operated at Riverbank, Rothsay, Wyandot and Goldstone. These factories required a source of fresh water. Evidence has been found of smaller cheese making facilities throughout the township.
The settlers cut huge blocks of ice from the river in winter. Stored in an ice house covered in sawdust, these blocks would last most of the summer and helped preserve fresh food.
And could any child resist the lure of skating on a cleared section of the frozen river? There are accounts of organized hockey games played on the Conestogo in Drayton before the ice rink on Elm Street was built.
The Conestogo is a tributary of the Grand River. In the early 1950s the Grand River Conservation Commission determined that a dam should be built in the township to conserve public water supplies and to regulate floods. The Conestogo dam and lake were completed in 1958. The lake covers about 1,800 acres when full. The remaining area, of the 5,400 acres purchased for the project, are now used for cottage lots on the lake front, camping and picnic areas and reforested wood lands.
Our grid of concession roads and sideroads cross the Conestogo and its tributaries in many places. It may well be that our township has more bridges and large culverts to accommodate the flowing waters than any other township in the province.
Over the years we have made use of the river resources in many ways. Yards of gravel have been dredged from its bed to build roads.
Many a family enjoyed the trout and bass caught in its waters. J. C. Hefkey, a retired shoemaker, spent many a day in the 1940s casting his bait for trout. He often waded the river for miles in his quest. He usually quietly shared his catch with some hungry family.
Over the years we humans have tried to change the river’s course, cleared the lands (thus allowing rapid run-off), and generally tampered with nature.
Through the efforts of The Grand River Conservation Authority, Trees for Mapleton, Green Legacy other organizations and good practices by our farmers, areas are being reforested and wet lands created where possible.
The Conestogo now has cleaner waters and once again can one cast for trout and bass.
submitted by Jean Campbell
