The History of Marlbank
Submitted in memory of Wyatt Davis (Feb6/00) 14 years old.
In its original form Monday January 31,2000 for public speaking.
The well drillers must hate Marlbank. No sooner had they placed a bit to the ground when out spouts a grey muddy liquid.
Mrs. Slager and Fellow classmates in 1840 a man by the name of Dr. James Siliman Allen born in 1795 purchased some land at Little Lake 15 miles north of Napanee and about 2 miles away from what was a few scattered houses of pioneer settlers. Determined to have his family educated Dr. Allen taught them himself as well as other children. At the time there were no shops of ay kind. In the late forties he became attracted to a stream of water flowing through the settlement and realizing the water came from an upper lake, he purchased 200 acres of land. He went right to work to deepen and widen the stream into a canal, with this done he proceeded to build a sawmill and later a gristmill both of which were a great bang to the surrounding community and the hamlet became known as Allen's Mills. This was then the beginning of what later was to become Marlbank.
Dr. Allen now turned his attention to the hugh amount of marl. About this time Dr. Allen was given the privilege of naming the town Marlbank. Dr. Allen never lived to see his dream of some profitable industry using marl as he passed away in 1870. In the late 1870's a group of Napanee business
men decided to get a railroad from their town through to Tamworth, in 1879 they started to build one from Napanee. However, the road bed was graded and ran a distance after 28miles they ran out of money. This railroad was called "Napanee Tamworth and Quebec" railway. In the meantime Rothbum purchsed the railway for the timber and finished the railway on to Tweed by 1884. Now mail could be brought to the village by train and in 1914 the first rural mail began with Harry Allen being mailman with a route of 20 miles by bike. Now with the railroad village expanded.
The first cheese factory was operated in the back part of what today is the store of Charles Poirier and was replaced in 1893 with a much larger one. In 1840 the English Portland Cement Co., started building a cement plant but stopped in 1843 because they ran out of money. Again Ruthbun Co. became involved and discovered that the dirt from Strathcona about 8 miles away from Napanee and the marl made excellent cement. In 1898 Mr. Hoppner head of the R.J Hoppner & Co., mineral dealers announced that the Marlbank Cement Plant would reopen in 1894 it was announced this new company had been established to be known as The Beaver Portland Cement Co., of Canada it was to manufacture the high grade cement in Marlbank. The cement plant was not without trouble. On September 25,1900 the works was almost completely destroyed by fire. They immediately finished the buildings only to be burnt down again on August 13,1903. During the time of the cement work there were many accidents. One worker lost a leg, another an arm, two were killed including my great great Uncle. In 1904 a two room school replaced the one south of the village.
The first residents were Dr. Burrows and Peter Allen and was built in 1907 - 1908. In 1913 a hall was built were soldiers were trained for service in the first world war. Marlbank had three blacksmith shops, two hotels, a bank, a bakery, a millinary shop, a barber shop, a pool room, ten stores, and a tinsmith. Although the cement plant employed 150 men and produced 400 - 500 barrels of cement a month. It started having trouble the cost of importing coal and the cost of shipping the cement became so high. The cement plant closed in 1915. The closing of the plant made the railroad lose customers and the village went backward as well. Marl High Mines opened a new plant in the mid-thirties and closed in the early forties. The railway continued to run until 1941. On October 31,1957 the cheese factory closed and the school closed in 1967. At the present time our village has one store, a gas station and a restaurant, a beauty salon, a garage, a ball park, and also resident doctor.
Time marches with many changes. Some are pleasant, some are bad. Leaving only memories of bygone days we had. 
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