Robert Jameson is the first of the large local land speculators, amassing considerable property in the Fenelon region prior to entering the partnership with James Wallis. He is a bit of an ambiguous figure in the early history of Fenelon Falls. His peers seldom mentioned him in their letters and memoirs and their characterizations varied greatly. One persistent theme was frustration with his apparent lack of initiative as compared to Wallis. He left the region permanently after about nine years, was never resident full time, and did not leave behind a comparable number of artifacts to his peers. Nonethess, his involvement with the mill and through property speculation, clearly make him a very significant figure in the establishment of the village.
Robert Jameson was a tall, near-sighted, agreeable gentleman, who was born in 1809 and enjoyed a childhood of comfort as the son of a wealthy Dublin brewer. Nonetheless, in the late 1820s he attended Cambridge, where, as a rower, he met John Langton. They were not particularly close in their university days, never imagining that they would later be neighbours in the backwoods of Canada.
Jameson emigrated to Canada in the early 1830s intending to invest his fortune in land speculation and other businesses. In 1833, Jameson began buying land in Fenelon and Verulam townships, much of it from descendants of United Empire Loyalists or militiamen from the War of 1812, who were entitled to land grants from the Crown. From about 1835 to 1842, in partnership with James Wallis, he continuously owned between 9 and 10,000 acres in Fenelon and Verulam townships. His acquisitions included the future site of the village of Fenelon Falls which he bought from Hon. Duncan Cameron in 1833 for £500. In 1834 he bought 48 town lots in Whitby for £450. Jameson anticipated that in each of these locations there would soon be a wave of settlers, eager for land, which would enable him to sell the property above the government’s price.
By 1833 Jameson was spending his summers at Cameron’s Falls (later Fenelon Falls), where he hired men to clear and improve his lands, with the intent of building a saw mill. He had the first scow on Sturgeon Lake, which was in considerable demand from his peers. In January 1834, Jameson brought James Wallis to Cameron’s Falls, and their workmen finished the saw and grist mill by February 1835. This was of considerable assistance to the few settlers of the area, as previously the nearest mill was at Purdy’s Mills (Lindsay). By 1839, Jameson and Wallis had a tavern and store at the Falls.
Like many of his gentry contemporaries, Jameson was routinely absent from the area. He spent quite a lot of time pursing other business ventures and female companionship throughout the colony. The gentry in Fenelon and Verulam townships maintained active social lives, and Jameson attended the frequent gatherings and dinner parties. The mill was left under the management first of Mr. Wilson, then of Major McLaren. In October 1836, Stafford Kirkpatrick was appointed to sell Jameson’s land acquisitions.
Jameson and Wallis were gambling on rapid settlement of the region. Since considerable portions of the land were mortgaged and the payment of property taxes commenced immediately, there was a limit on how long he could conceivably hold vacant land. Their speculation was more reasonable in the Whitby region. The Front townships were filling with settlers, and were relatively well connected to major towns and the provincial capital at Toronto. In contrast, Fenelon and Verulam townships were very sparsely inhabited, and quite distant from market towns at the time. It was a one or two day journey by boat to Peterborough, and the trip included two portages, one at Bobcaygeon and one of six miles along a very poor road from Chemong Lake to Peterborough.
Jameson did not intend to stay at the Falls for very long. He did not build a permanent home and did not stay in the region during the winter. He married at some point between October 1835 and June 1836, but did not bring his wife to Fenelon. His situation was tenuous because his speculations did not show much potential for success. By the summer of 1835, Jameson had yet to bring a single settler to Fenelon. In the late 1830s, the government was still selling land in the area for between 5 and 10 shillings per acre. The 1839 census found only 148 people in the townships of Fenelon, Bexley and Somerville. In the 1860s the government was still issuing grants of crown land in the area. Jameson sold a few lots, at prices around 7 to 8 shillings per acre, but nowhere near enough to make his business profitable. By the late 1830s his neighbours began to sense that he had tired of his backwoods ventures and stayed only because he had invested so heavily that he could not walk away.
In February 1840, Jameson began to sell his speculations in Whitby and Fenelon township to Wallis. On October 28, 1842, Jameson sold about 1800 acres to Wallis for £450 on credit, and returned to Queenstown, Cork. He retained sole ownership of about 5000 acres in Fenelon and Verulam, in addition to 21 town lots in Whitby. They continued to hold some lots jointly, including the 23rd lot of the tenth concession of Fenelon, which included the mill, Maryboro and much of the village of Fenelon Falls. In 1853, after Jameson’s death, his heirs William and James Jameson sold Robert’s share of this lot to James Wallis for £750.