Kleinburg Archives

The Story of John Kline

by Penny Berton

(reprinted from the 1970 Binder Twine Festival booklet)

"Kleinburg - A Post Village of 350 people. First settled about 1848 by John N. Kline. . ."

- from County of York Gazetteer and Directory for 1870-71.

The name of the village has been spelled in many different ways over the years, but early records show that it was originally Klineberg, after John Kline. Who was this industrious young man who started a saw and grist mill, devoted five years of his life to the little village that grew up around it - and then vanished?

John Kline was only 26 when he built his mill, but he had already had experience as a young boy, helping at his father's saw and grist mill on lot 12, con. 8 (just north of the Board of Trade Golf Club). John Kline, sr. must have brought his young family to Canada from Germany in the early 1830's, for in 1836 he owned some land on lot 12, con. 4 (just south of Maple).

His name is listed among those men from the York area who were imprisoned in 1838 for their part in the Rebellion of 1837 with William Lyon Mackenzie. He was released from prison after two months; around that time he must have sold his farm and moved to the Woodbridge area, where we find him in 1850, a prosperous gentleman of 60 years. He lived, according to the census records, in a two-storey hewn log house with his wife, Anna, age 55, their 19-year-old son Anthony, and 12-year-old daughter Catherine. (By this time, their eldest son, John jr., was living in Kleinburg.)

Mr. Kline, whose religion is listed as Lutheran, managed a 200-acre farm employing 11 men, as well as a grist mill with two runs of stone, a saw mill, and a cooper shop. Judging by the census, his was one of the wealthier farms in the district.

It seems that an older brother - or perhaps his father - named Adam Kline, operated a mill on this property as early as 1836. Is this the same Adam Kline who lived on lot 23 con. 9, (one lot south and west of Kleinburg) in 1825? The connection becomes even more credible when we realize that the man with whom he shared this lot, Silas Fletcher, was among those imprisoned during the 1837 rebellion. But there is no mention of Adam Kline after 1837.

In 1850, John N. Kline jr. lived in Kleinburg in a two-storey frame house with his Canadian-born wife, Mary, age 22, and their year-old daughter, EIIiner. He operated a saw and grist mill with seven employees, producing 12,000 barrels of flour and 500,000 ft. of lumber per year. He must have purchased the land from Andrew Mitchell, who in 1847 had bought 200 acres on lot 24 con. 8 from the crown.

The Kline family appear to have been very influential in the development of their community in the late 1840's and early 50's. John N. Kline of Vaughan Twp. was a coroner for the County of York, along with Rowland Burr and John W. Gamble. The auditor for Vaughan Council in 1850 was John Kline. In 1842, Nicholas J. Kline (John N?) was elected to represent Vaughan Township as a Councillor of the Home District, a position he held until about 1852. During those years his name appears regularly in the records of the council meetings.

In 1844 Mr. Kline was appointed to various committees which included education, roads and bridges, jail and prison accommodation and discipline. In January, 1844 he petitioned on behalf of "the trustees of school district No. 17 in Vaughan, praying that said district be taxed for the erection of a school house". The "said district" is, in fact, Kleinburg - and the village's first schoolhouse, built of logs, was completed around 1845.

Mr. Kline was also instrumental in the passing of by-laws to open two roads through Kleinburg in 1848: the road that ran past his mill, as well as the road that is now the main street of Kleinburg. The report notes that this land was occupied at the time of construction by Mr. James White, who was paid five pounds for the removal of his fences.

Although Mr. Kline seemed particularly interested in the Kleinburg area, we wonder if so young a man as John Kline jr. would have held such an important office. In 1842, he would have been only 20 years old. It is more probable that his father held the office, and was interested in the area because of his son.

It is interesting that the Kline family, being recent immigrants with the trace of their native language fresh on their tongues, were able to become so successful in an area where German Lutherans were definitely in the minority. Though the Lutheran church in Kleinburg was not built until after the Klines left, it is safe to assume that Mr. Kline was instrumental in its planning. The census records of the time list very few Lutherans among the Kleinburg population. John Kline jr. sold his mill in 1852 to H. S. Howland. There is no trace of any of the Kline family in Vaughan township after that time. Why they left or where they went is still a mystery. But even though the Klines stayed for such a short time, they contributed something of their own personalities and culture to the growing community, making the Kleinburg of today just a bit different from the other villages in the area. A look at one man who founded one small village can give us an amazing insight into the people and the events that shaped an entire nation.

The Official Web Site Of The Village Of Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada