Absalom Fried Family Tree entry:
“While Sarepta perished, its near neighbour to the west, Friedsburg (later Dashwood) flourished. Friedsburg was named for its founders, Absalom and Noah Fried, [pronounced “freed”] young brothers who came from Waterloo County about 1860. They were invited by the businessmen of Sarepta to locate there but Sarepta had no water, the one essential for running a lumber mill. A mile west, deep in the great hemlock woods, they found abundant water and cheap land.
Soon Friedsburg was a thriving business centre. W. Simpson built a hotel and his brother Robert, a butcher shop. Louis Bedard had a blacksmith shop, Nicholas Schoup, a wagon and carriage shop, John Hall, a general store and Thomas Hamlin, the post office. Other businesses included: William Kraft, harness maker; B. Brown and John Witzel, both shoemakers; Philip Rhein, tailor; and William Ball, furniture dealer. Henry Orth built another hotel at the west end of the village, John Mitchell erected a store nearby, Conrad Pfaff moved his blacksmith business from Sarepta, and Jacob Doerr opened another wagon and carriage shop.
A post office was opened in Friedsburg in 1871, with Noah Fried as postmaster.
In the early days, there was no less than 13 mills within a radius of seven miles of Friedsburg: Fried’s, Waldron’s, Brown’s, Fulton’s, McPhee’s, Sutton’s, Hawkin’s, Dalziel’s, Kalbfleish’s and Stanlake’s. At the height of business, Fried’s mill ran 18 hours a day. As timber stands were depleted, most of these mills closed.
When Absalom Fried died in 1874, the mills were sold to John and Rheinhard Cook. A few years later, Noah Fried bought the grist mill back, closed it and constructed a new mill into which he later introduced the roller system. For a few year[s], Noah Fried had a broom handle factory in connection with the mill.
In 1885, the first flax mill was built by Messrs. Lindenfield, Steinhagen and Cook. By that time the wagon shop was owned by Julius Thon, the blacksmith shop by Simon Thon, the first private bank by Joseph Snell and stores by W. Hamlin and M. Schell.
Friedsburg’s first church, a Bible Christian Church, was built in 1875. [Editor’s note: There is some confusion on this matter, Mary Rader’s book “Friedsburg-Dashwood 1860-1985”, on pages 16-17 states that a frame construction Lutheran church was built in Dashwood in 1874.] An Evangelical church was built in 1895 and a Lutheran church soon followed. The first school opened in 1897 with Dennis Brintnell as teacher.
Among early settlers in the area: Schweitzers, Whitings, Rothfuss, Birkes, Balkwills, Snells, Krafts, Sniders, Haists, Beavers, Raders, Browns, Griggs, Bakers, Pfaffs, Soldans, Willerts, Wolfes, Domms, Howdens, Schraders, Smiths, Beirnes, Liedmans, Fergusons, Cunninghams, McCanns, Daws, Filers, Burkes, Gabriels, Beans, Grills, Schoeligs, Schroeders, Voelkers, Heidricks, Webers, Ecksteins, Thons, Kleinstivers, Reists, Beckers and Walpers.
It is no accident that the word “wood” is part of Dashwood. Wood remains a significant factor in the economy of the village. Fried’s lumber mill eventually became a planing mill. It was purchased by Thomas Klumpp in 1928, who managed to keep it going during the Depression year[s]. In 1939, the mill was completely destroyed by fire, with all the lumber on hand. With the cooperation of local residents, the mill was reopened in May.
Business thrived, due in part to the resort building along Lake Huron. Thomas Klumpp’s son, Maurice, and later his grandson Bill, also became involved in the family business. The retail side of the business was sold to Conklin Lumber in 1960, and the stock was moved to Grand Bend. Dashwood Planing Mills (now known as Dashwood Industries) became wholesalers of wood windows. The business has grown into a major industry with a large plant in Centralia and distribution centres throughout the area. In 1968, the Klumpp family sold their interest to the London based Allpak Limited, which later sold it to an American company. Dashwood Industries, now the largest manufacturer of wood windows in Canada, celebrated its 60th anniversary in 1988.”
extracted from “The History of Stephen Township”, by Susan Muriel Mack, 1992; pgs. 228-231
Click here for “The History of Stephen Township”; available in its entirety online.