\t\t\t\tLike many remote small communities, Markdale was a little town. It had it\u2019s own school. But not its own post office. There was always a small chance that it might grow big enough to be a town. But the routing of the line of road around it ended any chance of it becoming a town. It gradually dwindled and these days it is just another farm.<\/p>\n
MARKDALE.<\/p>\n
(From a correspondent.)<\/p>\n
AT a public and numerously-attended meeting, held<\/p>\n
in the school-house here on the 11th instant, it was<\/p>\n
unanimously carried that government he petitioned<\/p>\n
to alter the line of road from Binda to Bigga; and a<\/p>\n
committee, consisting of Messrs. H. Carr, Funny<\/p>\n
Hill, J. Clements, Sylvia Creek, and W. Marks,<\/p>\n
Markdale, formed for the putting forward of the<\/p>\n
same.<\/p>\n
On the motion of Mr. J. Read, seconded by Mr.<\/p>\n
E. Quince, Mr. Newman took the chair, and briefly<\/p>\n
stated the object for which they had assembled.<\/p>\n
A few discussions on the subject took place, in<\/p>\n
which Messrs. Read, J. Marks, W. Marks, E. Quince,<\/p>\n
T. Mc Donald, S. Webster, J. Quince, and others<\/p>\n
took part.<\/p>\n
The following petition was then submitted to the<\/p>\n
meeting by Mr. Newman, and adopted:<\/p>\n
To the Honorable the Minister for Lands and Works.<\/p>\n
At a public meeting held at Markdale on the 11th instant,<\/p>\n
it was proposed, seconded, and carried. nem. con., that a peti-<\/p>\n
tion be forwarded to it you, prying that you alter the line of<\/p>\n
road from Binda to Bigga and that the old line be made the<\/p>\n
government line, for the following reasons, viz. :-<\/p>\n
1st By continuing the new line you Inconvenience a host of<\/p>\n
bona fide settlers for the convenience of a solitary individual,<\/p>\n
that is by running the mail that way, and thus leaving your<\/p>\n
petitioners twelve miles from a post-office.<\/p>\n
2nd. Your petitions selected and settled here believing that<\/p>\n
this being the oldest and only road at the time would be the<\/p>\n
government road ; but now, to their dismay, they find that<\/p>\n
their land is almost valueless, unless they keep several miles of<\/p>\n
road in repair themselves, or else not be able to get to a<\/p>\n
market.<\/p>\n
3rd. There are no settlers on the new line, and from the na-<\/p>\n
ture of the soil not likely to be any.<\/p>\n
hoping &c., we beg to be, &c.<\/p>\n
(Here follow a number of signatures.)<\/p>\n
Before concluding this letter, Mr. Editor, I would<\/p>\n
wish to explain matters to you a little. We are liv-<\/p>\n
ing here, fifteen miles from one post-office and twelve<\/p>\n
from another. Until a short time ago the mailman<\/p>\n
used to come and go this way, and oblige the resi-<\/p>\n
dents by bringing and taking letters for them. A few<\/p>\n
people take a freak in their head that they can save<\/p>\n
two miles if they can get the line altered a little, and<\/p>\n
they get a solitary individual in twelve miles to sign<\/p>\n
with them because (of course he would not refuse)<\/p>\n
he is about applying for a license; and leave fifty or<\/p>\n
sixty settlers, within a few miles of each other, with<\/p>\n
out post or market road. It is monstrous if the gov-<\/p>\n
ernment put aside an old-established road and isolate<\/p>\n
such a number of people, without, at least, hearing<\/p>\n
the merits and demerits of both lines argued pro and<\/p>\n
con.<\/p>\n
I would have sent you a long history of floods<\/p>\n
and losses, but it got stale before an opportunity pre-<\/p>\n
sented itself.<\/p>\n
May 12th.<\/p>\n
(Looking at the modern map, I guess the road followed the new line\u2026)<\/p>\n