GARDEN GATEWAY TO CANADA by Neil F Morrison (library 971.331 MOR)COPYRIGHT, CANADA, 1954, BY THE ESSEX COUNTY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION First Printing 1954 Second Printing 1973 third Printing 1982

These are direct references to Comber in the book (Garden Gateway). When possible I copied the paragraph to put Comber into the context of the chapter. The book is obviously more comprehensive that what is offered here. I have simply offered this as a reference material.By Michael Gallerno, descendent of Benjamin Galerno living in Comber c1857-1901

SETTLEMENTFrom the Comber and Harrow sections of the county's interior some similar stories of religious devotion and related pioneering activities. About 1840 a rude log building was erected as a Methodist church some two miles east of present day Comber on the Middle Road, now King's Highway No. 98.

This building served its purpose well for a long period. Its seats, made of bass rood logs, flat side up, had no backs and stood on wooden legs. On the walls providing light for the evening services were candles placed in holders with reflectors. To this typical bush meeting house came the faithful people who liked to sing their beloved hymns and did not mind long horseback rides to attend divine which afforded them this opportunity. Long sermons and vent prayers throbbed with spiritual ardour.

A similar record of devotion was true for the Presbyterians of that section who, in the early 1850's, erected a log church on a bit f his farm donated by Thomas Gracey in the vicinity of the then infant Comber. This Was replaced by a frame church in 1855. Monthly services were considered inadequate and in 1857 a student minister was inducted. Comber itself was described as follows in The Canadian Directory For 7857-58: "A small village in the Township of Tilbury West and County of Essex. Distant from Sandwich, the County Town, 32 miles. Mail four times a week. Population about 50," According to the same source its inhabitants included a store keeper and reeve, postmaster and store keeper, the township clerk and four councillors.

The course of settlement in the interior of the county warrants consideration. Following the survey of the Talbot Road in 1818 and of the Middle Road a

decade later there was limited settlement along these main arteries. A flood tide of land patenting activity affected these roads in the 1840's; this extended to some contiguous areas and even to some remote sections....The spread of settlement during the decade is further revealed by the opening of post offices. While these conveniences follow settlement, they are not too long delayed as a rule, and are,

there are, indicative of the general trend. In 1851 post offices were listed for Essex County at Amherstburg, Colchester, Comber, Gosfield (Albertville), Maidstone, Mersea (a short distance east of present day Leamington), Sandwich, and Windsor. The only ones far removed from the water boundaries of the county were it Comber and Maidstone. By 1861-2 offices had been opened at the following points scattered throughout the county-Blythes wood, Harrow, Kingsville, Leamington, Rochester (Belle River), and Woodslee.

TELEPHONEIn 1882 a local company was organized with John Curry as president and j. W. Tringham as manager. This company built long distance telephone lines from Windsor to Essex, Belle River, Comber, Kingsville, Leamington, Tilbury, Chatham, and London. These lines were purchased by the Bell Telephone Company of Canada in 1885 when its long distance lines were connected into one network from Windsor to Montreal.

OIL RESERVESMany incidents pertaining to oil occurred in the 1880's and 1890's. As early as 1882 Belle River people were reported using local oil for their machinery. At Comber a Toronto man put down wells with disappointing results.

RAILWAY, Lumber and AgricultureIn the first part of the 1870's a second railway, the Canada Southern (now part of the New York Central System), was constructed between the Niagara and Detroit rivers. This line had connections with the United States at either end. It cut diagonally across Essex County from Tilbury to Gordon just above Amherstburg and opened up the interior of the county to lumbering operations and agricultural settlement. Comber, Woodslee and Essex Centre on its line of travel experienced rapid growth, and Amherstburg, which had suffered a decline following the completion of the Great Western Railway to Windsor, enjoyed renewed prosperity.

Another railway built in the 1880's was the Lake Erie, Essex and Detroit River Railway (now part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway). Constructed by the Walkers to serve their extensive Interests in South Essex, it provided the inestimable boon of railway service to a potentially rich part of the county (including Harrow, Kingsville and Leamington) which had been seriously handicapped by the absence of such facilities. Perishable fruits and vegetables, for the production of which that section of Essex County is well ldapted, could now reach the Windsor and Detroit markets promptly. A remarkable development of such specialized agricultural production quickly followed. The Lake Erie, Essex and

Detroit River Railway reached Leamington in 1889 two years after a line had been completed connecting that place with Comber m the main line of the Michigan Central....

The opening of the Canada Southern Railway to Gordon, just down river from Amherstburg, in 1873, brought new life to those communities and indeed to the townships of Anderdon and Malden, and caused the development of settlements at points on its line, such as, McGregor, Essex Centre, and Comber.

Agriculture increased in volume and variety of production as the clearing of the forests proceeded . Grain crops and livestock were the mainstay of the industry, but after the construction of the Walker railway through to Harrow, Kingsville, and Leamington (1889), there was a marked increase of specialized crop production in that section. The Leamington area also benefited from the railway connection with Comber, completed in 1887. As the nineteenth century neared its close, tobacco growing assumed major importance in South Essex leading to the establishment of tobacco factories at Leamington and Kingsville.

On its Essex County branch lines connecting Leamington with Comber, and Amherstburg with Essex, the New York Central discontinued passenger service at the time of the depression in the 1930's.

LIBRARY SERVICESThe Essex County Library Co-operative functions outside the City of Windsor. Its purpose is to build up a reference service as ell as supplement the reading material owned by the various county libraries. It employs two professionally trained librarians. :y means of a bookmobile it serves not only the regular libraries of Amherstburg, Comber, Cottam, Essex, Harrow, Kingsville, Leamington, Roseland, and Peke Island, but also three deposit stations at Colchester village, Stoney Point, and Walker Road, eight member high schools, and 230 elementary school classrooms.

NOTETo better view the images above get the book from the library. I will also try to publish them via The Gallerno Genealogy on Facebook, Scribd and other sources.