Map of St Thomas

The city of St Thomas is located on Kettle Creek, which contributed to the city's first name, Kettle Creek Village. The present name is supposed to be for the first name of Colonel Thomas Talbot with the St added to make it sound better. Talbot ruled the area like a king for about fifty years and was anything but a saint. St Thomas was the so-called capital of the Talbot Settlement, which grew up around the Talbot Road. However another theory is that the church was given the name St Thomas without any reference to Talbot and the city was named for the church.

The line between Southwold and Yarmouth Townships is just to the west of St Thomas so that the east end of the railway bridge is in Yarmouth while the west end is in Southwold. St Thomas was entirely in Yarmouth Township. The first settler in the Yarmouth side of the township line was Captain Daniel Rapelje, a Loyalist immigrant from New York State. He chose Lot 1, which on the face of it was not very smart because it had very little usable land. The usable section was the area bounded by the present Pleasant, Talbot, Stanley and Walnut Streets. The area south, which contained the rest of Lot 1 was the valley of Kettle Creek. But what attracted Rapelje was the creek. He felt that he could build a mill on the creek. He spent no little time building the mill, which was near the bottom of the hill at the junction of Stanley Street and Sunset Drive, so that by the time it was operating he needed money. So he surveyed his farm, divided it into lots and sold them. In this way the village of Kettle Creek came into being. Rapelje bought another lot and moved there.

The first settler on the Southwold side of the township line was David Mandeville. He had the lot next to Rapelje but not parallel to it. When the Southwold and Yarmouth Townships were surveyed by Mahlon Burwell, he surveyed them using the Talbot Road as a baseline. In Yarmouth Township, the Talbot Road goes east-west, so the lots are aligned north-south. In Southwold Township, the Talbot Road is at an angle. Mandeville's land included the small parcel of land under the railway bridge. This area was called Stirling and was where the Talbot Road crossed Kettle Creek. James Hamilton started a general store near the junction of Talbot Street and Sunset Drive. The area where Rapelje built his mill was called Hog's Hollow. However, both of these communities were soon eclipsed by Kettle Creek Village built on Rapelje's former land on the top of the hill. Eventually, when the post office was opened in 1831, it was given the name St Thomas and included Stirling, Kettle Creek Village and Hog's Hollow.

Places to see in St Thomas are:

• Military Museum, 30 Talbot Street

  Military Museum

  The front of this cottage is now closed up. The entrance to the museum is from the parking lot at the back. The cottage was built in 1852 and was the home of Dr. Charles Duncombe. But this was not the famous, or infamous, Dr. Charles Duncombe, who with Dr. John Rolph, started the first medical school in Ontario, found himself on the wrong side of the Rebellion in 1837, and had to leave Canada for good. This was Dr. Charles Spencer Duncombe, son of Dr. E.E. Duncombe and nephew of the other two Drs. Duncombe, David and Charles. The younger Charles Duncombe worked for his father before leaving for Geneva NY where he graduated in 1844. From Geneva he moved to Wisconsin, where he practised for four years before moving back to St Thomas. It was in this period that he owned this house. In 1860, he moved back to Wisconsin, where he settled in Racine to practise homeopathic medicine.

• Duncombe House, 32 Talbot Street

  Dr. E.E. Duncombe House

  Dr. Elijah E. Duncombe was the brother of the more famous Dr. Charles Duncombe. Both were pioneer doctors (with a third brother David) in early St Thomas. This fine Georgian house is next door to the Military Museum and now houses the Elgin County Pioneer Museum. It was built in 1848. The house was originally clapboarded. This house is on the site of Dr. Charles Duncombe's house and surgery, which the doctor had to leave following his involvement in the 1837 Rebellion.

• Talbot Trail Cafe, 86 Talbot Street

  Talbot Trail Cafe (McKenzie House)

  This store-front building with a porch was once a residence and the home of Murdoch McKenzie. It was built in 1842. The porch is original.

• St Thomas Church, Walnut Street

  St Thomas Church

  Daniel Rapelje gave the plot for St Thomas Anglican Church. The story is that two sons died and were buried on his farm. Not liking the idea of them being buried in unconsecrated ground, he gave the land for the building of the church. The church was completed in 1824 . Colonel Talbot gave funds for the church's tower, steeple, and chancel, added in 1825.

• Ermatinger House, 59 Walnut Street

  Edward Ermatinger House

  Edward Ermatinger was a former clerk with the Hudson's Bay Company, who left to become a banker, real estate agent, and insurance broker. He was active in politics for a while, managing to be elected to the Legislative Assembly. He wrote a book about Col. Talbot which caused a furor for the manner in which he assaulted the reputation of men such as Col. Mahlon Burwell. This Georgian house was built in 1853.

• Hockridge House, 50 William Street

  Hockridge House

  Under all of the additions, you can still see the original 1½-storey house with the front door set in the end of the building. The house was built in 1861 by Samuel Hockridge.

• Bannerwood, 6 St Anne's Place

  Bannerwood

  Built in 1830 by Surranus Thompson, this is a plain, square box with the front door set to one side of the single front room. In the 1850s, this was the Common School or the Talbot Seminary.

• Munro House, 35 William Street

  Munro House

  Sheriff Colin Munro had this white-brick Georgian house built in 1860. Munro was a well-known businessman and official of Elgin County who settled near Talbotville in 1840. He had Alma College named after his wife and daughter. Colin Street in Port Bruce is named for him. The fine front door has a transom and sidelights.

• Travers House, 39 Wiulliam Street

  Travers House

  Dr. Richard Travers was a pioneer doctor. Born in 1822 in County Cork, he started his practise in Fingal in 1845. He built this house in 1855, but the rigours of being a pioneer doctor wore him down and he died in 1856. Unlike the house next door, this house has the front door to one side. It too has a front door with a transom and sidelights. The bricks for this house were originally rose-coloured but have now faded.

• Drake House, 77 Metcalfe Street

  Drake House

  The man who settled on Lot 2 next to Daniel Rapelje was Captain William Drake, from Orange County, New York. His son Benjamin, born on the farm here in 1809, built this house in 1850. This Georgian house faces down Drake Street, which was once the lane leading to the Drake farm. Benjamin also donated part of the farm for the Court House.

• Coyne House, 95 Metcalfe Street

  Coyne House

  This Georgian house was built in 1858 by William Kains. It is known as the Coyne House for Dr. James Henry Coyne, who bought the house in 1890. Dr. Coyne was the founder and first president of the Ontario Historical Society. One of his grandsons was Governor of the Bank of Canada, and another was Chairman of Ontario Hydro. One of his daughters was the first airline stewardess for Air Canada. Dr. Coyne was himself the grandson of Henry Coyne, an early hotel owner and political enemy of Col. Talbot.