Silcote

By 1843, Sydenham Township had been fully surveyed and large new tracts of land were opened for settlement and farming. The area quickly became dotted with small farming settlements and communities as farmers grouped together to build and share much needed services. One small community, known as both 'The Mountain' and 'Mountain', was one of the many early farming settlements that sprouted up along the northern portion of the township.

Mountain was first settled in the 1840s and 50s. The population was comprised of settlers from Ireland, Scotland and other parts of Canada. An Orange Lodge, known Campbell Cliff Lodge operated for a brief period until it was moved to nearby Balaclava in 1858. Although the settlement had no official name, and was not a full-fledged community as such, by 1855 the residents had built a log cabin and formed a school called 'The Mountain'. The cabin burned down and was quickly replaced with another one. Since the population at the time was predominantly Roman Catholic, shortly thereafter the school was designated as a Separate School. The school functioned for an unknown period of time. By 1864 it was recorded as having been closed and the building vacated.