A Visit to Old Castlereagh - From My Family History Blog

Gamble Lake

It is easy to see why Robert Gamble and his neighbours decided in 1819 to settle at Castlereagh, Nova Scotia.  High on a luscious mountain, overlooking the Bay of Fundy, it provided them with all they needed to live a happy and prosperous life.  Away from the bustling coastal villages of Portapique, Economy, Bass River and Great Village, it was peaceful - a perfect place for his lively clan to thrive.  Just before reaching the village, there is a lovely lake, Gamble Lake on Robert's Grant  - blue, clear and still teeming with fish.

The original families of Castlereagh were the Robert Gamble family, the Samuel Beattie family, the John Crawford Family, the Francis Fulton family and the Robert Starritt family.  While all the men farmed their land grants, each also brought other skills to the community.  The Gambles were barrel makers and also took part in the Shad fishery down on the Bay.  There were boot makers, carpenters, stone masons among the men and the women were all adept in keeping their vegetable gardens and caring for their livestock.

The five families had been neighbours in the old country and many of them intermarried.  Robert Gamble's wife Mattie was the sister of Samuel Beattie and their daughter, Martha Jane married David Starritt.  John Crawford was the son of Sarah Fulton, cousin of Francis Fulton. Sarah Crawford was married to Samuel Beattie.  Ann Fulton married Robert Starritt ....... and so on and so on.  It was quite the tight-knit community to be sure. At one time there were 21 children in the village school and 19 of them, including the teacher had the surname, Gamble.

 These hearty pioneers built their homes and raised their children and went about creating a community and here are a few of the highlights......

John William's Barrel Factory

If we were to visit John William Gamble's (My great grandfather)  home, you would see a small 2 story home attached to a long shed where the barrels were made.  These barrels were used for packing fish and potatoes for market and for storing their own produce such as apples.  With 10 children, including the three sets of twins, it was a busy place.

Next we'd see Albert Gamble's home where the Post Office was located.  It was 16 miles to Portapique and Albert's Uncle Robert was paid $99.56 a year to ride the mail back and forth twice a week.

Robert Gamble's home would be next and it was presided over by Aunt Debbie (Deborah Reid) Gamble, who appears to have been the queen bee of the community.  She was the Church Lady and there was always a basket by her door with the makings of socks for the missions.  She was the Sunday School Teacher and leader of the Women's Mission Band.

Before the Presbyterian Church was built at Castlereagh, Great Aunt Hattie Gamble says, "The women up the mountain would walk to Portapique with their babies in their arms and carrying their shoes to save the leather."

Known far and wide for their grand picnics, the Gamble Family entertained such notables as Joseph Howe, - Father of Confederation in the grove behind great great grandfather, Robert Gamble's home..

Susan Belle and Julia West Gamble

Frank and Hattie Gamble

The trip to Castlereagh wouldn't be complete without a stop at Harvey Gambles'.  The people of the village were known for their hospitality and this home was no different.  There was always a warm reception and the young people had parties and dances there.  Harvey's daughter, Myrtle Gamble Richards was a well known fiddler.

Over the next two hundred years, the village of Castlereagh blossomed, boomed at the opening of the local Silica Mine and then declined into a ghost town in the mid 1900s.  Many in the family kept their land and would spend summer holidays up on the mountain.  Helen Gamble tells of leaving town to move to Bass River.  There was one old hen they could not catch and there was a barrel of buckwheat for which there was no room.  Next summer when they went up to open the house, they found all the buckwheat gone and the barrel was full of eggs.

In the old cemetery rests Robert Gamble (my great great great grandfather), his son, John Gamble (my great great grandfather) , his son, John William (my great grandfather) and their families - some 52 or more people in all.

What a testament to the Gamble family, when, after almost 200 years they still are remembered for their humour and hospitality!

My thanks for these anecdotes to my Great Aunt Hattie Gamble, Fonda Gamble Smyth, Helen Abbott Gamble and Margaret Gamble Grue.

A - Gamble Lake