The Wingham Advance-Times, 1953-05-13, Page 9eiVAI,C$
Wroxeter United Church is one
located at the main intersection.
of the landmarks of the village and is
aeeeeeepervangft: e.eiveio Net*, eel?
Zbe- 4gtlittgbain •Ziptiatirt ,-Zinito Wroxeter Has Historic Background
'A Chapter From The Early
History of Howick Township
Wingham, Ontario, Wednesday, May 13, 1953
Gibson Brothers Were First
Settlers in Wroxeter District
Maitland Peaceful Here
One of the loveliest spots in Wroxeter in the summertime is at the bridge
over the Maitland River which is peaceful in the above scene, It is a
different story in the spring.
Waterpower Drew Pioneers
To the Wroxeter Location
The history of Howick Township
has appeared in a very interesting
book written by Norman Wade of
Gorrie, This book proved so popular
that the first edition was sold out
some time ago. The second edition
will soon be published and will be
available to those who were not for-
tunate enough to secure a copy of the
,first edition,
The following excerpt is from that
book:
"Wroxeter at that time had a fire
brigade with Robert Paulin as fire
warden. It was the duty of the fire
warden to enfore a by-law, which
compelled each householder to have
a ladder of sufficient length to reach
'the roof and two buckets, or pay a
.fine of $1.00 per week.
"The officers of the hook and lad-
der brigade in 1875 consisted of the
:following men: Chaplain, Wm. A.
Mason; fire warden, R. Paulin; 1st,
lieutenant, David Hamilton; 2nd lieu-
MANY TASKS FOR
BUSY HOUSEWIVES
These were the 'days of large fami-
lies. Old Tom Jobb in Turnberry had
.seven stalwart sons, so had Richard
Millar of Morrisbank and so had Capt.
.13astie in Howick Township. Daugh-
ters were not counted, but the cham-
pion was Croker Willits who had 21
:children.
tenant, James Rossburgh; brigade, M.
D, Barker, Wm, Hogg, G. E, Kearns,
James Ward, Allen Orr and W, H.
Paulin,
"Every householder was compelled
to keep. his chimney clean or pay a
fine of $10,00 for the first offence. The
inspector was to visit each house-
holder once a year if necessary,
"Concern for thd morals of the town
residents was evident from the by-law
laid down by the town as follows--
Prohibiting anyone to gamble or to
win or lose any money, liquor or other
game or games of chance, or to tell
fortunes or in any way deceive or
mislead or impose, etc.
"Another one w a s:—'Prohibiting
anyone to race or drive at immoderate
or furious rate, horse or horses on the
street or over bridges.'
"Some of the first by-laws passed
would be out of place today but on
the other hand, some might well be
enforced at the present time."
Wooden Bridges
Span Maitland
(Atlas of Huron County)
Two very good wooden truss bridges
span the main branch of the Maitland ,
within the limits of the village. They
are both kept up by the county.
This river affords magnificent wa-
ter-power, which is literally taken ad-
vantage of by factories of various
kinds, the manufacturing interests of
Wroxeter 1 forming a chief and im-
portant adjunct to the place. Among
those may be mentioned a flouring
mill with four run of stones, an oat-
meal mill with two run of stones, a
woollen factory (ping rather extensive
local trade, a large steam sash, door
and blind factory, steam shingle mill,
steam saw mill, large cabinet factory,
a cooperage, a tannery and several
blacksmiths, wagon and carpenter
shops, one,, harness shop, shoe and
tailor shops.
FIRST STORES
The general business of the place
is transacted through three general
stores, one hardware, one drug, one
tin and stove, one book and stationery,
and twd grocery stores. There are
butcher, baker and barber shops, an
auctioneer and commission store, three
hotels and a livery stable,
BARN RAISINS
POPULAR EVENT
IN COMMUNITY LIFE
By Mrs. Thomas Gibson
There were bees for various pur-
poses, If a farmer met with an ac-
cident or took sick ar hay time or
harvest, his neighbors would come in
force and get in his crop. Barn rais-
Inge were great occasions, The word
went round that Jim McGinty would
raise his barn next Thursday. The
framers had been there and the tim-
bers duly mortised and tendoned were
laid in order on the ground. All was
ready. A crowd of sturdy farmers
quickly appeered, captains were ap-
pointed who chose sides of strong,
active and experienced men. At the
word the barri raisers leaped each to
his appointed task, armed with hand
spike, cant hook, or pike pole. Slowly
the beams were raised into the air
on the end of the pike poles amid the
yo-heaves and shouts of the crowd,
each side bound to have its half of
the work done first.
There were perilous feats by the
young giants armed, with heavy mal-
lets, called commanders, who permitt-
ed themselves to be raised into the
air, perched on a beam, ready to drive
in the wooden pins when mortise and
tendon came together. There were
cheers as one side or the other won
the race. Jokes and banter went
around at the expense of the loser.
The ladies had already loaded the
tables and appetites were keen. Quick-
ly the viands disappeared and on the
greensward wrestlers and jumpers
tried to out-do each other,
When darkness fell the young people
adjourned to the spacious kitchen.
The fiddler took his place in the cor-
ner and the dancers took their places
on the kitchen floor, As the caller-off
gave the word, "Head couple right
and left, side couples balance. Bal-
ance all. Swing the girl behind you",
the dancers pounded the floor with
right good will. Laughter and fun was
plenty. At daybreak, tired but happy,
with perhaps some courtships a little
farther advanced, the gathering dis-
bursed and Jim McGinty's barn rais-
ing was over.
DEBATING SOCIETY
ORGANIZED EARLY
By Mrs. Thomas Gibson
One of the early organizations was
a debating society"where the members
would discuss whether Queen Eliza-
beth was justified in putting to death
her half sister, Mary, Queen of Scots,
whether intemperance was a greater
evil than war, and other like subjects.
The social side of life was not for-
gotten. The Gibson brothers were good
singers and their rounds and catches
and Scotch songs were in large de-
mand, not only at home, but as far
away as Harpurhey or Seaforth. A
singing school was organized by Mr.
Orr who taught the rudiments of mu-
sic up to the chromatic scale to a sur-
prisingly large class. The 24th of May
was a high day in the village, At sun-
rise the villagers were wakened by
John Vogt discharging his small cast-
ron cannon with a terrific roar. This
cannon eventually came to a sad end
when Joe Marks filled it with news-
papers and rammed it home with all
his might. The cannon exploded but
fortunately, without serious results.
The forenoon opened with a cala-
thumpian parade. The participants
were decked out with false faces and
suits turned inside out. There were
athletic sports in the afternoon where
the swift, the strong and the nimble
would dispute for victory and the
evening would wind up with fireworks
and a balloon ascension. The 12th of
July was not forgotten with an Orange
walk and stirring sounds of fife and
drum.
0111011NAL SETTLERS
CHIEFLY SCOTTISH
(Historical Atlas of Huron County)
1879
The locality of Wroxeter was chief-
ly settled by Scotchmen or those of
Scotch descent, while the greater por-
tion of Howick, of which ,township it
formed a part, was chiefly settled by
Irishmen or those of Irish extraction.
This difference in nationality extend-
ed itself into political and even muni-
cipal ,matters and the village was
placed so completely at the mercy of
the other portions of the township,
and was in many cases unfairly used
(as they themselves considered) by
the majority, that they took advantage
of the earliest opportunity afforded
for incorporation under the General
Act. This presented itself during the
construction of the Western Division
of the Toronto, Grey and Bruce Rail-
way.
Incoriporate
A special census taken by William
Smith preliminary to incorporation
found the population to number 764
and application being made to the
County Council in the usual manner,
that body passed a by-law which
granted the prayer of the petitioners
by setting off into the Incorporated
Village of Wroxeter certain territory
therein described as:—
"Five acres along the south side
of the east half of lot No. 25, con-
cession A,,g-and that portion of the
west half of the same lot that
is not covered by water, containing
48 acrds; all that portion not under
water of lot 26, concession A, contain-
ing 85 acres; all of lots 27 and 28, 'and
5 acres in the north-west corner of
lot 29, concession A; all of lot 25, con,
B., excepting 15 acres under water,
and ten acres of Park lots Nos, 1, 2
and 3, subdivisions of said lot 25, eon.
B, north of the Toronto, Grey and
Bruce Railway, containing 70 acres;
24 acres of the south part of lot 1,
con. B, being all that portion of said
lot south of the northerly limits of
the Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway,
that is not under water; all that por-
tion of lot 26, con. B, that is north of
the River Maitland containing one
and a half acres; 10 acres of the west
part of lot 27, con. B, and 3 acres of
the north-west corner of lot 28, con.
B, covering an area of 451 acres in
the Township of Howick, of the south
east corner of lot 24, con. C, Turn-
berry; 10 acres of lot 25, 6 acres of lot
27, 6 acres of lot 28 and 6 acres of
lot 29, all in concession C of Turn-
berry and bounding on the gravel
road; making 32 acres in Turnberry
and covering an area in both said
townships of 48'31/2 acres.
The- by-law was dated December 4,
1874. It provided for its coming legis-
lation on the first of the year en-
suing and bore the signatures of Peter
Adamson, County Clerk, and William
Young, Warden, and as of the last
above-mentioned date, Wroxeter en-
tered its independent existense as a
separate municipality.
Population Problem
In passing, we might observe that
the rather peculiar territorial descrip-
tion of the new village is accounted
for by the fact that considerable ma-
noeuvring was required to get in popu-
lation enough to incorporate without
a Special Act, and at the same time
keep within the territorial limit (as
to area) which the General Act pre-
scribes. It will be noticed that part
of the land covered by waters of the
Maitland (which was considerable)
was still left in the township and this
state of things made it so very in-
convenient for both municipalities,
that an Order in Council was subse-
quently procured to be passed, where-
by that portion reverted to the village,
also enough of the balm-ice of lot 26,
concession B, to make 43i/ acres. This
Order in Council bore the date of 25th
of September, 1877.
Special Act
Although the by-law of incorporation
provided for its coming into effect
the beginning of the ensuing year, it
was necessary to pass a Special Act
of Parliament to confirm this provi-
sion, on account of the intervening
time being shorter than provided by
the General Act, The confirming Act
was passed by the second Parliament
of Ontario 'at its fourth session, was
assented to on December 15th, 1874,
and is known as the 38th Viet., cap,
LXXIX.
Public School
(Atlas of Huron County)
The public improvements of Wrox-
eter are, like the village Itself, in their
infancy. The Public School is about
the only thing they haVe in that line,
and it is, as a building, of an inferior
design for a place of the size. The
educational advantages offered are,
however, of a high order, There are
three teachers, of whom D. M, Walker
is head master.
By Mrs, A. M, Wearring
The earliest actual settlement with-
in the present limits of this now flour..
ishing village was made by Thos, and
Robert Gibson, who first purchased
lot 29, con B, Howick, in the month
of. February 1.858, at the same time
obtaining lot 26, same concession, on
which they settled, and also the water
privileges where the present mills are
situated. The purchase of the latter
property was effected from Hon, Jas,
Patton, present law partner of Sir
John A. Macdonald, who, in company
with Messrs. Boys and Torn, had pre-
viously acquired from the Government
the land on which the chief part of
the village now stands. The Improve-
ments made by the Gibson brothers,
the two above-mentioned being follow-
ed at short intervals by another three,
constituted the entire development of
the place until 1858, when Andrew
Patton, brother of Hon. James Patton,
located here, and on behalf of his
brother laid out the village. He him-
self surveyed the first streets which
were laid out and built the first frame
house the first season of his residence.
Through the influence of his brother
a post office was established about
this time and Mr, Patton was appoint-
ed the first postmaster. He engaged
in mercantile pursuits and the• store
he opened at the above date was the
first one in the settlement,
First Mills
The first mills erected were a grist
and saw mill combined on the present
site of the oatmeal mill, These mills
were, considering the time and cir-
cumstances, of a very superior class
but with the advance of improvements
in the mechanical arts they have long
since given way to more modern struc-
tures, until where there was but one
small mill, there are now a number
of extensive ones, all got up with a
view to offering the greatest facilities
in their respective lines. In fact, the
application of the Gibsons of the prin-
ciple of keeping abreast with the
times exercised a most potent in-
fluence on the development of Wrox-
eter, which owes its origin to their
enterprise, and its progress and pre-
sent condition to their energy and pub-
lic spirit, After 1858 the future of the
village seemed, although it was of no
mushroom growth, "slow but sure"
being apparently the legend borne by
the place. It has always been of sturdy
sons of that land which gave it orig-
inally a founder, and subsequently the
greater portion of its best citizens.
School Erected
A brick school was erected on the
same grounds as the present school
and served the community well until
1805, when it was mysteriously des-
troyed by fire. There were three
teachers of whom D. M. Walker was
headmaster. Isabel Gibson, daughter
of Robert Gibson, served the commu-
nity for a number of years as primary
teacher.
Village, Township
Dispute Indebtedness
(Atlas of Huron County)
Very soon after incorporation, a
difficulty arose between village and
township in regard to division of lia-
bilities previously incurred and resort
was had to arbitration, James Shaw,
M.P.P. for North Huron, barrister, of
Walkerton, was chosen by Howick, D.
D. Hay, Listowel, M.P.P. for S. Bruce,
by Wroxeter and Judge Toms of
Goderich was the referee. The decision
was that Wroxeter Should be entirely
relieved from its portion of the gen-
eral township railway indebtedness.
In addition to t h i s, Wroxeter
and Gorrie (under what was known
as the "Grouping Act) had voted aid
to the Toronto, Grey and Bruce Rail-
way to the extent of $5,000, of which
Wroxeter had issued debentures to the
amount of $3,500 and Gerrie $1,500,
Subsequently, and previous to incor-
poration, $1,000 (two debentures) of
the Wroxeter share of the indebted-
ness had been cancelled by the town-
ship and the arbitrators decided that
this also should stand just as it was,
allowing Wroxeter to redeein the bal-
ance of its own debentures, or $2,500.
The above is not the only liability of
Wroxeter excepting two different lots
of debentures, the one for $1,500 and
the other for $2,000. These amounts
were loaned, the first to N. Allen, a
cabinet manufacturer, in consideration
of his rebuilding and continuing his
business in the place after the destruc-
tion of his premises by fire, and the
second to William Jolly, as an induce-
ment to establish a foundry. Both
these loans are secured by liens on
real estate, to run ten years, In ad-
dition, we might also include the small
amount of $108. still due the Town-
ship of Turnberry (Wroxeter's share
of that township's indebtedness for the
portion of 32 acres) trenferred from
the one municipality to the other at
the time of incorporation.
By. Mrs. Thomas Gibson
' It is a far cry from Uraconiom
in Shropshire, England, to Wroxeter,
in Huron County, yet it is from that
'ancient Roman city that the village
Grey=Bruce Was
First Railway
(Atlas of Huron County)
Wroxeter is a station on the To-
ronto, Grey and Bruce Railway, or
rather, Wroxeter and Corrie (21e2 miles
distant) have a station about midway
between them, It is called "Gorrie and
Wroxeter" station and is thirteen
miles from Teeswater, the present ter-
minus of the Western Division of the
above road, 60 miles from Orangeville,
the junction with the Main line, and
100 miles from Toronto.
There are offices here of the Mont-
real Telegraph Co. and the American
Express Co., and a daily mail to and
from the east, west and south. The
latter connection is by stage to Sea-
forth, 25 miles distant,
If not the first, a very early mer-
chant in Wroxeter, was a man named
Gundry who carried a general stock
,of merchandise. John Sanderson was
for many yeare the principal store-
keeper. Others were John Ferguson
• who 'kept the Glasgow warehouse; P.
R. Carroll; William Heald; Paulin the
.baker, Who gave 100 lbs. of bread for
100 lbs. of flour; I3 ill Terry the tin-
smith; McNally the shoemaker; T, B.
:Sanders the harnessmaker and later
James Ireland who kept a. grocery
,and bought the farmers' oats which he
converted into a first class article of
oatmeal, Cyrus Carroll was an earl
postmaster, folloWed by Powell the
druggist.
By Mrs. Thomas Gibbon
Many of the old customs have gone
.out of use. The only domestic light-
ing was by candles, The housewife
had a candle mould composed of par-
.ellel tubes with a small opening at
the lower end. Strings of candle wick
were drawn through the tubes, which
were then filled with melted mutton
tallow and allowed to harden. Candles
-were followed by coaloil :lamps and
now by electric light. At one time un-
breakable glass lamp chimneys were
used. You would ask the grocer for
a lamp chimney and he would toss
one over the counter at your feet
without breaking it.
The maple trees provided syrup and
.sugar. When sugaring-off was in sight
the hospitable farm wife would invite
'the young people of the village to at-
tend a taffy pull for which convenient
,drifts of snow still remained to cool
the taffy. It was usual to suspend a
piece of fat pork over the sugar ket-
tle to prevent syrup boiling over. Oc-
casionally too frequent contact with
• the pork gave a very, ,distinct flavour
to the sugar.
Soapmaking was another early task.
'They took an empty salt barrel and
bored a row of holes in the bottom,
filled it with wood ashes and poured
in plenty of water, which, issued at
the bottom as lye. The lye was emptied
into the sugar kettle and all the avail-
able grease arid fat were mixed ire,
Boiling for a sufficient time resulted
in a slithery substance called soft
.soap, too powerful for washing the
person, but very efficient in the family
,wash. .
Original Log Schoolhouse
The above building, now lived in by Mrs. D. Rae, was the original log school-
house in Wroxeter. The building has been altered from its original ap-
pearance.
Gibson's Sawmill A.c ctive
The Gibson family can trace its ancestry back to the first settlers la
Wroxeter. 'rho family name, is still carried on by the Gibson brothers
One of the Still active Industries in the village is the Gibson sawmill seen
above during sawing operations.
people, more so than their successors
of today and one of the first things
done by the Presbyterians among
them was to arrange for public wor-
ship. Tradition says that they first
gathered in a shoemaker's shop near
John Sanderson's store, but they after-
wards transferred themselves to the
public school which had been built.
In time they contrived to get money
and lumber enough to build, what to
the community was really a commo-
dious church, on the hill adjoining
the old graveyard.
The first stated minister was Rev.
Stephen Young and there are still
some in the community who remem-
ber with affection Rev. George Brown,
who ministered to his flock for 22
years. Rev. Thomas Davidson was
the last minister to preach in the old
church. A brick church was then
erected on the main street of the vil-
lage and is still in use,
The Methodists first built their
church near what was in the early
days called the square. They after-
wards followed the Presbyterian,ex-
ample and put up a brick building on
the main street. When church union
took place the United body decided to
use the Presbyterian building. The
Anglicans, comparatively few in num-
ber, had a wooden church east of
John Vogt's blacksmith shop and
later took over the former Methodist
church.
United Church, Wroxeter
Church Important
To Early Settlers
By Mrs. Thomas Gibson
The early settlers were church-going . derives its name, Rhas-Castra, mean-
ing "Camp on the Hill, is another
'form of the word Ver, being a cor-
ruption of the Latin word Castra, a.
camp.
The beginnings of Wroxeter go back
to the early "50's" of last century.
John Martin is claimed to have grown
the first wheat in Turnberry Town-
ship in the year 1854. Three years
later Thomas and Robert Gibson,
Scottish people from Berwickshire and
millwrights by trade, were attracted
by the possibility of developing a wa-
ter power on the Maitland River where
the village now stands, They were
joined a year or so later by their
brothers, John and Alexander, and
later by another brother, George.
These men and their families were
closely associated with the history of
Wroxeter, not only at the beginning,
but many years afterwards, and some
of their descendants are still there
or in the vicinity.
Settlers from Durham County
Many of the early settlers came
from Cavan and Manvers townships
in Durham County. These were most-
ly north of Ireland people, while there
was a, strong Scottish 'strain in the
County of Lanark. These Scottish,
Irish and English people were a good-
ly race, men and women, strong and
hardy, God-fearing, imbued with re-
spect for law and order and loyal to
their sovereign, Queen Victoria, They
had need of their virile qualities, for
the task of making their homes in
the forest was not 'an easy one.
First of all they had to clear the
land covered with maple, beech and
other hardwoods, as well as hemlock,
pine and cedar. Every tree was an
enemy which stood between the set-
tler and sustenance for himself and
his family. A log shanty had to be
built and as quickly as possible the
little clearing was planted with pot-
atoes or sown with wheat. A cow
browsing in the bush gave them milk
and butter while the pig fattened in
the sty. Pork, potatoes and home-made
bread were the staples of life in the
early days. The people had few com-
forts and no luxuries.
Develop Water Power
Meanwhile the Gibson brothers were
busy deveroping the water power.
First a sawmill was built to which
the saw logs were drawn from the
pond, like huge caterpillars, across
the road into the mill. This sawmill
was eventually abandoned and a new
one erected on the banks of the river
higher up, Next a flow. oi' grist mill
was put up and later an oatmeal mill,
which still exists as Hemphill's Split
Pea Mill. This was followed by a wool-
len mill where the farmers' wool was
carded into rolls, to be spun into yarn
for stockings or to be made into full-
ed cloth for men's wear. The old flour
mill was succeeded by a new one on a
different site, to which a spur line
was built from the C.P.R. station.
Millstones were discarded for rolls,