Shopping in Shade's Mills

For the early settlers arriving and establishing themselves in Shade's Mills/Galt, there were but a few options when it came to purchasing the goods they needed and/or wanted.


Excerpt from James Young's Reminiscences of Galt, Page 54

The first option was to visit the combined home/general store of Absalom Shade and his second wife, Isabella. This two-storey log home was the first to be built in the new settlement (c.1816), and was located near the corner of Main and Water streets. (Young, 31) By the following year a blacksmith's shop had opened, thus providing the necessary materials and equipment for life on a farm. Mr. Shade was able to secure for himself a bit of a monopoly for his general store, and later increased his trade in 1824 with the opening of a second and larger shop, known as the Red store. (Young, 48) With a promise from William Dickson that no land would be sold to anyone else wishing to construct or operate a shop, Shade was able to comfortably grow his personal fortune.

Nearly a decade later, Mr. Shade added the 'White store' to his holdings (c.1832). Different from the Red store which conducted business in credit or barter, the White store worked in cash. (Young, 109) There was also now a hatter in the village, as well as a tavern, and a hotel. As the population of Dumfries township and surrounding areas grew, so to did competition. In neighbouring Preston, and in Waterloo, shops were able to offer goods at lower prices. The construction of roads, relative ease of transport (as compared to the previous decades), growing industry in other larger towns, and increased demand for "luxury" items encouraged businessmen to open up new enterprises.* By 1838 a former pedlar had opened a shop in the heart of Galt, and Shade's monopoly was effectively broken.

Sources

Black Sheet Iron Money Box, c.1830-1850

Dictionary of Canadian Biography 2014, "Shade, Absalom"James Young's 1880, Reminiscences of the early history of Galt
McCalla, Douglas. “Retailing in the Countryside: Upper Canadian General Stores in the Mid-Nineteenth Century”. In Business and Economic History, Winter 1997; 26, 2. Pages 393-403.

Further Reading
For more information on the credit and barter systems, you can check out a previous blog post here.
W. Hamish Fraser's 1981 The Coming of the Mass Market,1850-1914. 

Michael Gonder Scherck's 1905 Early Pioneer Life in Upper Canada.

* It has been shown that villages/towns with populations over 500 tend to see the growth of specialised shops. For example, rather than visiting a general store for items you might need, you can visit the shoemaker, the harness shop, the carpenter, or the grocer's separately. Ideally, these specialised shops would be able to offer you more selection, and possibly better prices. (McCalla)