Carleton Place Old Days
First Known
as Morphy’s Falls
The first recorded residents of what is known today as the town of Carleton Place were Edmond Morphy, his wife, Barbara (Miller) Morphy, and their eight children. They arrived from Ireland in 1819, and were given a land grant of Lots 14 & 15 on the 12th Concession of Beckwith Township. The entire grant was 400 acres deeded to Edmond and his three eldest sons: John, William and James. The Morphy’s first house was a modest log home on Allan Street. As more settlers arrived, the town grew in size and a number of streets were named for members of the Morphy family: William, George, Morphy, James, Edmund, Thomas and Franklin Streets. By 1829, the town was renamed, Carleton Place, named for a town square in Glasgow, Scotland.
July 14, 1928, p. 32, “The Ottawa Citizen”
Town Hall
The town hall
was built in 1897
“Up to the year 1897, the town council met in a small building on the north side of the river, known as the old opera house.”
Findlay’s
Main Street
Methodist Church
Carleton Place Methodist Church
“In 1830 a post office was first established and Caleb Bellows was the first Postmaster.”
Re-Named
“Nobody in Carleton Place at the present time (1928) can tell who gave the name Carleton Place…”
William Pattee
Opened New Bridge
When the new ‘Central’ bridge opened in Carleton Place, in 1928, the honour of the official ‘opening of the bridge’ went to Carleton Place’s oldest citizen, 86 year old William Pattee.
Dec. 5, 1928, p. 3, “The Ottawa Citizen”
Central Bridge
Under Construction
Carleton Place Orange Lodge – established in 1830, closed in 2015, after 185 years.
High School
Carleton Place High School – original building
Home of R. C. Patterson
The Dam
Morphy Cairn
In 1982, a cairn was erected on the site of the original Morphy home on Allan Street (a property owned by Bell Canada at that time) in memory of the first recorded settlers to Carleton Place.
An acre of land was reserved for the Morphy family’s burying ground at this site. Edmond, his wife and several family members rested here until the 1960’s, when their remains were re-interred at the united cemeteries – Pine Grove, Maple Wood, St. Fillan’s.
May they rest in peace.
I hope you enjoyed our trip down memory lane,
in our visit to Carleton Place in the good old days!
Arlene Stafford-Wilson
Member, Association of Professional Genealogists
Honorary Life Member, Lanark County Genealogical Society
Author of : “Lanark County Christmas”, “Lanark County Comfort”, “Lanark County Collection”, “Lanark County Calling”, “Lanark County Classics”, “Lanark County Connections”, “Lanark County Calendar”, “Lanark County Chronicle”, “Lanark County Kid”, & “Recipes & Recollections”
available at local stores or email: lanarkcountybooks@gmail.com
