The Death of the Donnellys - Cedar Swamp Schoolhouse

On this day, 139 years ago, a Vigilance Committee met at the Cedar Swamp Schoolhouse in Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario, Canada.

Cedar Swamp Schoolhouse

Then, just after midnight in the early hours of 4 February 1880, they began their trek to the Donnelly homestead on the Roman Line.

Their mission? To kill the Donnellys. 

If you haven't already read about the Culbert connection to the Donnellys, click here.

This Catholic school closed its doors in 1963 but back in the 1800s, it doubled as a site for political meetings.
 

Thomas Culbert chaired a meeting at Cedar Swamp School in 1888 regarding Commercial Union: free trade talks between Canada and the USA. Source: Exeter Times, 19 July 1888, page 1.

Cedar Swamp Schoolhouse is located northeast of Lucan on what was formerly known as "The Swamp Line." Today, the road is known by two names: The Mitchell Line and Highway 23. The schoolhouse is near the intersection of Fallon Drive.



Few buildings still exist from the time of the Donnelly massacre but Cedar Swamp Schoolhouse is one of them.