Frank Mountain's Barn, Alma Corner

     We all remember the old barn at Alma Corner belonging to the Mountains.   The farm was sold and abandoned in the 1990's - it was demolished on August 6th, 2007 when the Department of Highways re-worked the intersection.  

     The Mountain House was likely built by Alvie Mountain or his father.  Alvie was a blacksmith and operated a blacksmith shop here on the corner.  

     Alvie married Millie Mountain (1871-1971).  They had six children:  Frank, Leslie, Janey?, Margaret, Lillian *Lilly* ( m. Ken Matthews ) and Georgie ( m. Henry Oliver ).  Frank, Leslie and Margaret never married and lived here well into their elderly years. 

     The Mountain's old barn came from Jimmy Dunbars on the Centerline Line Road - it was originally attached to Jimmy's big barn.  Wilbert Jeffery thought the swap was made in 1945. Leslie Mountain swapped the 50-aces of land for the barn.  The land was located on the west side next to Louis Jeffery's farm in Lauretta.  
     When Wilbert was young Dick Kinch (Frank Kinch's brother/ Margaret Kelly's uncle) and his large family of a dozen children lived here - later the Kinches moved to St. Louis sometime in the late 1930s. 

Above:  Front, south facing side of the barn.

Above: Southeast side of the barn, facing towards Montrose.

 Above: Northeast corner of barn - there aren't many windows in the barn.

     The old barn with the Holy Trinity Anglican Church in the background.  Photo taken on June 13, 2007 - the barn was demolished two months later. 

Rennie's Store, Alma Corner

     Alma Corner was always a busy place for the goings on of the community.  At the corner there were once stores, blacksmith shops, the post office, the school, a cooper, etc. - today there's nothing there at all except for homes.
     The location of Rennie's Store, on the southeast corner, was originally the home of Albert Jeffery (1857-1905) of the Centerline Road, son of blacksmith Stephen E. Jeffery.  Albert married Roannah Riley (1862-1929) - they had one adopted daughter, Pearl.

Below:  Blanche (Rennie) Crockett home, former Albert Jeffery home.

Below:  Blanche (Rennie) Crockett.  Photo taken in the summer of 2002.

 Below: The 2nd Rennie's Store, southeast view.

 Below: Rennie's Store, northeast corner.  Demolished in the summer of 2007.

     Below: the northeast corner at Alma Corner - the Mountain homestead where Alvie Mountain operated a blacksmith shop.

      Below: an old barn that the Mountains traded land for with Ellis Smallman - this old barn came out from the Centerline Rd. in Lauretta.  It was demolished in the summer of 2007.

      Below:  the Mountain Homestead - the home of Alvie and Millie Mountain.  Alvie was a blacksmith.   Their three children: Leslie, Margaret and Frank always lived here - they never married.  The house had been abandoned and was demolished in the summer of 2007 when Route 2 highway and the intersection was rebuilt.

      Below:  a page from the book, Alberton & Area: A Pictorial Experience Through Time showing the first Rennie's Store which burned in 1921.

Below:  cf. page 104 of the Alberton & Area book showing Fred Rennie's Egg Waggon.

     The new books about the History of Elmsdale tells much about the history of the Rennie's and the origins of the family with their forefather Luigi Riani (anglicised to Louis Rennie) coming from Tuscany, Italy with his a friend Mr. Platts around the turn of the nineteenth century.  Louis' son Fred built and operated stores at Elmsdale and Alma corners.