The McDuff Brothers
and the Coulson community

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Jack and Archie McDuff were active and enterprising members of the Coulson community.

Their grandparents, John McDuff and Flora McFadyen, had made their way to Canada from Islay, Scotland in the early 1830s. Their first child, Archibald, was born along the way in Lower Canada (Quebec). In 1837 they settled in Oro Township at Jarratt, where they raised a large family. One of their sons, Alexander (Sandy) McDuff, was a notorious character whose outrageous exploits are described by local historian Dave Town in his book, “The Black Swamp Gang”. Fortunately, the oldest son, Archibald, was of a different character than his outlaw younger brother.

Archibald was a dependable man who helped his father work the Jarratt farm. In 1871 he married Margery Little. Margery had been born in Ireland but their marriage record lists her parents as Jane and William Dunlop of Medonte Township. Margery McDuff died in 1909 and her husband, Archibald, in 1918.

Archibald and Margery eventually settled on Line 7 (Lot 8 Conc. 7) at Coulson and raised two sons, John (named for his grandfather) and Archie Jr. (named for his father). The re-using of names down the generations sometimes makes things confusing.

This younger John McDuff, known as Jack, was born in 1872 and his brother Archie in 1874. Both men remained bachelors and continued to work the Coulson farm with their father. The boys were active members of the community. A note in the Barrie Examiner in 1892 reported that Jack was organizing a football team at Coulson. On Sept. 15, 1911 a fundraiser was held for the community. Individuals had their name embroidered on a quilt for a small fee and the quilt was then entered in a draw. The Coulson Quilt (pictured here) is a lovely record of the people living in the area at the time and was won by Mr. Archie McDuff.

In the 1911 Census, the brothers are listed as living with their widowed father, employed as farmers and also working with “cement”.  The McDuff Brothers had established a business creating and building with rusticated blocks and were responsible for the construction of a number of local homes and community buildings.

“Rusticated concrete blocks were an inexpensive alternative to brick or stone, made from readily available raw materials (cement, sand, and aggregates — important in a time of decreasing lumber supply), and assembled like ordinary masonry. They were also touted as convenient, fireproof, lighter than stone, and stronger than brick.” (https://www.mebondbooks.com/2019/05/20/the-history-of-rusticated-concrete-blocks/)

The McDuffs most likely had a machine similar to the one in the image shown here, which created one block at a time. You can see this machine in action in a video here . It looks like time-consuming, hard work and I wonder how long it would have taken to make enough blocks for a whole building. In May 1912, the Orillia Packet reported that they had been given the contract to build a new school at Carley. This building is still active as a community hall on the Warminster Sideroad and its lovely exterior bricks still hold up. (See photo) The McDuffs provided blocks for homes built for E.J. Crawford (1924) and John Reid (1926). The attached photo shows W. I Clarke’s home in construction by the McDuff Brothers on the eighth concession between Barrie Rd. and Mitchell Square Rd. They were also given the contract for renovations to the schools at Clowes and Nevis in 1927.

From 1919 until 1925, Jack McDuff served as an Oro Township Councillor and later Deputy Reeve where he worked hard for the local community. In 1925, Jack McDuff, acting as Deputy Reeve at County Council spoke up about the lack of roads in the township. After long debate the new Provincial Highway 11 had been built but many questioned its location and felt it did not serve the northern part of Oro. McDuff declared, “The provincial highway does not serve local traffic. It is all right for American tourists but the American tourists to not stop in Oro.” (Barrie Examiner, August 13, 1925)

Jack was also an officer in the North Simcoe branch of the United Farmers of Ontario. This political party formed an alliance which governed Ontario from 1919 to 1923, led by E.C. Drury of Crown Hill. According to The Barrie Examiner (Oct. 28, 1920) members of the UFO considered that “Oro was the best organized township, thanks largely to the energy and enthusiasm of Jno. A. McDuff.”

As years went by, the two brothers continued to farm at Coulson. In 1936, Archie fell twenty-five feet from a haymow when the loading rope gave way. He was rushed to Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital and treated for a fractured collar bone, six broken ribs and severe bruising. Jack died in 1942 at age 70 and Archie in 1944. Both are buried at Knox Presbyterian Church, Oro with their parents.

The McDuff property then passed through several hands. In 1953 it was owned by William McNiven when the barn was struck by lightning and burst into flames. The barn was completely razed and McNiven, a bachelor, lost all of his crop, a number of pigs, some calves and a bull.

Today, nothing remains of the McDuff farm on Line 7. It is the site of an aggregate mine and, in the words of songwriter John Prine, the gravel trucks have “hauled it away”. However, we remain grateful for these hard-working men who contributed to the story of our community.