While most of us are familiar with the concrete stairs leading from Lowville Part to what once was Highville, most of us have no recollection of the original wooden steps.
Courtesy of John McDonald, we have this very special photograph of those steps that really tell us a lot. This photograph was taken around the time of World War I and John believes that it was his grandmother’s.
If you zoom in on the photo, you will clearly see the wooden steps that made the trek up and down the hill much easier. Can you imagine walking on these in the winter? Thankfully, there was a hand rail on the west side.
If you look very closely, you will see a woman on the steps about a quarter of the way up. About three quarters of the way up, there is what appears to be someone in dark clothing.
At the top of the stairs on the east side, there could be a horizontal rail fence. On the west side coming down the hill is what seems to be a path. Perhaps this was used by deer or farmers bringing their cattle down.
Also at the top of the hill on the west side, one can see a large and very dark building. There was a ‘smithy’ or blacksmith shop at about that location. At the moment, we don’t know who owned the business. When it was no longer in use as a ‘smithy’, the Ramshaw family used it to house about 1,000 chickens for their poultry business.
What you don’t see today, are the hydro poles and lines. At the bottom left of the photo are what could be the handrails for the bridge that crossed the Twelve Mile Creek.
This photograph truly embodies the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words.
From the John McDonald Collection
Contributing Author: Helen Callaway
Kilbride History Group 