306 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



named. A long description of it, as a typical example of many new 

 and enterprising towns, is given in the Toronto Globe of August 17th, 

 1854. The place was as yet but a hole in the woods with two recently 

 completed buildings, the Bell Ewart Hotel and the railway station. 

 Through the trees, however, might be seen the frame work of another 

 large building which was to be a saw mill, undertaken by an American 

 firm who proposed to convert into lumber the unbroken forest in the 

 neighborhood. There was a wharf also, and that was all of Bell 

 Ewart at the time. Here, however, is the programme already laid out. 

 "A week hence there will be another tavern — one in a village, like one 

 newspaper, never thriving — in ten days there will be a blacksmith; 

 in a fortnight a store, where everything from a needle to an anchor 

 will be for sale; in a month a doctor; in half a year a clergyman and a 

 church ; in a twelvemonth a newspaper. Lots are for sale now at high 

 prices. Land near the station is worth so much per foot. Village 

 lots, and park lots, and squares are all laid out, and we have no doubt 

 are selling freely. The timber is growing on them yet, but what of 

 that ? The mill is there to saw it, the railroad is there to carry off the 

 deals, and there is an open market at high prices for all that can be 

 made. In a year what a change there will be on Bell Ewart ; in five 

 years how much greater will be the alteration." This is quite as 

 good a prospect as any of the propositions floated in the West during 

 the last decade. The writer adds that there are prospects of still 

 other towns in the neighborhood, "Every few miles there will be 

 wharves and stores from which will be brought all the produce of the 

 neighborhood and the country behind it — Almost every point has its 

 village plan and subdivision of lots, with arrangements for wharves." 

 It will be observed that even in those days the term "subdivision" 

 was in active service. 



As a matter of fact, Bell Ewart quite lived up to expectations 

 for a few years, being an active shipping centre. But it was doomed 

 to disappear when the timber was cut and the real estate boom was 

 exhausted. For some years afterwards the place remained on the map 

 as a station and a post office; but even these distinctions have disappear- 

 ed years ago. The high priced corner lots at so much a foot and the 

 attractive lots for suburban residences at very reasonable rates have 

 all lapsed into peaceful countryside. Many other attractive real 

 estate propositions and town subdivisions were the centres of active 

 land speculation during the same period. Many of them still exist 

 but few realized even a fraction of the hopes that were entertained 

 for them. Even within the last decade land values in these towns 

 and villages have seldom reached the prices of sixty years ago. 



In 1857 the railroad mileage constructed and in operation amount- 



