Bellamy's Mill

Able Stevens, a Baptist deacon from the state of Vermont, arrived in Kitley Township in 1796. Stevens was an energetic and adventurous soul who had served as a British agent during the American Revolution while at the same time serving as part of the rebel militia. Enticed by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe's offer of free land, Stevens was also a colonizer who aimed to attract as many good Baptist families to the area as possible. His message was so successful that by 1798 roughly one hundred new families had arrived in Bastard and Kitley townships. Stevens became an ordained minister in 1804 and remained a church leader until his death in 1816.