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Doors Open: Kippen Introduction 
KIPPEN WAS A CROSSROAD corner, located where Hay, Stanley and Tuckersmith Townships converge and where the London Road (Hwy 4) and the Kippen Road (County Rd 12) intersect. It was referred to as "The Corner" and might have remained so had Robert Bell not succeeded in having a Post Office located here in 1855. He named it after his home in Kippen, Scotland. The first settlers into the Kippen area, between 1836-40, were Robert Bell, William Cooper, Robert Doig, James and John McLean, and their families. They were followed by James Anderson and William Blair a few years later.
The Canada Company built a flour and grist mill on Lot 13 Concession 1 LRS in 1837 and a road to it in 1838. Robert Bell ran the Kippen Mills, hiring Thomas Oke and Findlay Fraser as millers. Bell owned the mills by 1850. A sawmill was added some time in the 1840s.The post office store was built in 1865 by Robert Mellis at the northeast corner of Kippen. A blacksmith by trade, Mellis arriv-ed in Kippen in 1855 and built the blacksmith shop on the west side of the road in 1869. In 1873, he moved his home-store a little north and built a new store on the corner. John Balfour took over the business in 1900 and in 1906 replaced the old building. Tom Mellis came to Kippen in 1862 as an orphan from England. He was adopted by Robert Mellis and learned the blacksmithing trade from him. He began working in the shop at an early age and bought it in 1879. 
The first carriage shop was established by William Edgar. In 1878, Edgar and Mellis were making Portland cutters and sleighs, and in 1881, were making carri-ages and wagons on a larger scale to keep up with demand. In 1885, the property was leased, and later purchased, by William Kyle. He made and sold 15 cutters in 1886 and in 1888 was advertising a stock of fine buggies of unsurpassed workmanship. Henry Ricker took over the business in 1894. He and Tom Mellis made wagons together, selling them for $40.
In October of 1875, the Kippen Hotel was owned by Henry Shafer. He, his wife Margaret, and their daughter Annie, ran the hotel in the finest way possible. It was busy and well patronized, known for its good food. The building was painted white with green trimming. Before the railroad arrived, the hotel was a halfway house for farmers drawing grain to Seaforth. The hotel, later called Ocean House, was run by Shafer's grandson, Clifford Watson. Watson replaced second-floor bed-rooms with a dance hall.The London, Huron and Bruce Railway built its station at Kippen in 1875. Freight trains carried cattle and grain. Passenger trains took excursioners to camp meetings and holiday stops. Site Submissions
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