GOIN' TO THE CORNER COOPERS For hundreds of years barrels were handmade by skilled workers called coopers. The fishing ports of Miminegash , Campbellton , and Cascumpec were busy shipping ports and in need of many barrels, so Elmsdale became a central location to estab¬ lish a cooper's shop. Many shops were located in Elmsdale from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s. Some of the known coopers were: William C. Sinclair James Wells 1846-1848 John Adams 1889 Clinton Matthews 1889 William T. Matthews 1889 Louis Rennie Solomon Champion 1880 Charles B. Champion 1880 James MacNeill H.C. Matthews Archibald Matthews Thornton Matthews 1881 Auley Matthews, Jr. 1881 Henry Henderson Harry Matthews 1881 (son of William T. Matthews ) According to the Lot 4 Rental Book, James Wells paid his rental fees for 1847 with 73 barrels. Barrels were used for many items including molasses, nails, chewing tobacco, potatoes, apples, flour, fish and soda biscuits. The cooperage shops were dependent on blacksmiths, who made the rims or hoops for the barrels. This is why blacksmith shops sprung up where coopers had set¬ tled. The sides of a wooden barrel are made of staves (strips of wood) bound together by metal or wooden hoops. The staves are wider in the middle than at the ends. This makes the barrel bulge in the mid¬ dle. This shape increases strength, al¬ though it wastes space in shipment. It also makes it easier to move barrels, for they can be rolled. The heads (top and bottom) of the barrel are flat wooden cir- WK *w«* *t*tfft*! UjirMUii** &** " Ja- Mill ;tt fttttaggr Siiitftg *lutr +e m? pir» mrv.l to ittrrul iu id** nam* «f tbr t*4Htffy M Ut £t* m our I iin% WV sujijifv v;i«h Shin^li**. HaanHoi attiuKi*, Krami* Work, ftfcttrt*, Jfcr«, *<% AU Orders Promptij Attended u. KKNKI*: * MATIHKW*. AMt*m. Klwtufalr, I* *C I. Sejit, 4. 1890,- $f. Island Farmer, September 18,1890 398 ----------------------- J