HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1975-07-24, Page 29The "L.ittie*hii-01 OtinTOWnse4ti Street
From wagon shop to creamery
&Corner of William
and High Streets
copyright 075.
by Gerald Frernitri
A year or so berate 1857,
Alexander Taylor built a wttgon
shop at the corner of High and
William Streets, Nearby at the
same center Archibald Matheson
halt a blacksmith Shop between
1858 atu14863. At least as early as
1864 John Ross had a pump
factory described as being next to
Matheson's blacksmith Abp. The
position of these buildings
Iterative to each other is not
definitely 4ininvn but it is believed
that the wagon works_was on
High Street, the blacksmith on
e urn fa ory
1, on William Street, a c ose
together.
' • In 1869 the wagon works was
bought by William Cooper who
converted it ma planing mill, and
in the following year etitered into
partnership with his brother-in-
law Thomas Mackenzie to form
the firm of Cooper and Mackenzie
• - builders. In 1880 Cooper and
Mackenzie built new premises on
King Street at the railway (see
30) and sold their), High and
William Street property to Fisher
and Downs. Robert Downs was
the inventor of a type of -sea
mill dog" - a device for securing a
Ing onto the carriage that carried
the log to the saw in a saw Mill. In
1878 Fisher and Downs had
comnienced manufacture of saw
mill dogs at a location on King
Street (sec 29) but in 1880 they
relocated into the mill vacated by,
Cooper and Mackenzie at King
and William. In 1882 Mr. Downs
added the Matheson blacksmith
shop to•hisestablithment.
L
This business apparently.
closed aboat 1890. for in that year
Mr. William Cole of New York
Slate began thing the Fisher and
Downs building as an- apple
evaporatorand in 1892 the
Matheson blacksmith shop Was
rented to Walter Beaton for
general blackitnithing. By 1906
the blacksmith- shop was' out Of
use: the chimney blew down in
June. and. in October Mr. Downs
had the building demolished.
In 1904 Dave Cantelon (the
Apple King) converted a building
in Little England!' initially built
as a creamery and subsequently
used as a knitting factory (see
19). into an apple evaporator. and
leased it to Towne and Case
opt.
KM and William. They moved
two huildines: one 48 by 54 feet,
the other 16 by 16. from the old
site to the new. The vacated
property was bought by James
Hamilton. a local coal dealer. Th
1911. midhe built the present
!liaise in the same year. In 1914 he
put up the cement barn that is
still on the prem ises.
The history of Ross's pump
factory is obscufe. It is fairly
certain that it was taken over by
Ferguson and Campbell froth
James Ross in 1875, for the
manufacture or putnps. but
James Ross was reported still in
the pump business in 1888. James
Ferguson was apparently still in
the business in 1902. In 1904 the
pump factory is reported as being
torn down. but in 1906 the
following is given: -What is
known as Ferguson's pump
factory tin High Street will soon
tumble down if it is not re -moved
before. It is a building that cap
4 - Hotel
4. Corner of inctoria Street
and East Street,
Kelly's Hotel,
(c) copyright, 1975
"A by Getatd Fremlin
In March 1978 Mrs'. S. Knox,
probably the former proprietor of
the Clinton Hotel Which closed in
1877(sec1). had a hotel erected at
the corner of East Street and
Victoria Street. It was just
across the , street from the
railway station, of the time. Mrs.
Knox may have operated the
hotel for a short time, but in ma
it wasunder lease teMr. Kelly. In
1884 he put „oil) a grocery store
beside the hotel expecting "to get
the business of that end of town '.
-Until 1884 the hotel is referred
10 simpbi,,,,es,„plly's Hotel. but
** thereafter it' is sometimes
referred to as the Railway Hotel.
-It is notknown whether this was a
formal or simply a descriptive
,narne. The same name had
previixisly applied formally to a
hotel 'across Victoria Street (see
18). Until 1889 Mr. Kelly had
lea's& the hotel but in that year,
possibly In anticipation of his
death. he bought it. and was dead
within the year. 40 Novbrnber the
business wits sold b Mrs. Kelly
• to Patrick Pollard of West
Wawanosh who leased it to a Mr.
-Ohara. In March 1891 the
building was burnt beyond
redemption and was not rebuilt.
The salvageable timber was
taken to Hullett to be used in the
construction of a barn.for James
Morrison.
- Gun club
6 -The Clinton Gun Club
between Irwin Street itad
the Railway
copyright iota
by Gerald Fremlin
Prior to 1893 the Clinton dun
CAub. which went in for skeet
shooting and live bird shoots
(pigeons), had grounds and a
club house '7,in the present
Recreational Park.
In 1893 the Club purchased 5 3-5
acres on the Regatta, estate,just
behind life Standard Elevator
(see 5) - roughly where the
Fleming Feed Mill now stands.
and moved its club house from
the Park lathe new grounds.
A new club house was built in
1903. It Is reported that Gun Club
get -Rinds were rented to the
Agricultural Society for On years
in 1909. The subsequent history of
the Club has not been traced.
_44
never be used again." it is highly
proteible that the building was
gone by the time James Hamilton
built him house in 1911.
(continued from
digging „ of a basementin-
Stalletlan of central heating, and
indoor plumbing - girls* on the
east, NIS' on the west, and a
central front entrance.
When classes were about to
begin, the bell in the belfry waS
rung, and the principal walked
the downstairs hall ringing a
handbell. ()inside at. the front.
' large boys lined tip on the west,
large girls on the east. small boys
and smalrgirls in double -boy and
double -girl files facing the- en-
trance, linked hand-in-hand, hay
to boy and girl to girl. At a signal
from the principal a chosen boy
beat out the tinie'on a snare drum
and all marched in. youngest
fiest, oldest boys -last, to do
the daily stint in preparation for a
different drum.
The school was vacated in 1953
when, the -present public school
was opened,
In 1887, the Public School
became a Medel Scheid which is
to s'ay there was a class of student
teachers who gained experience
int real teaching 'situations. With
the additional class of
"Modellites- the school watr
overcrowded and the School
Board wt.* threatpnof. with.
prosecution. As a Sehttifarti lot
adjoining the school'. grounds to
tbeeiCiii1ownsen4StroeL. was
bought from W.H.-Sithpson. on
-which was erected. by Sam
Cnoper, a tiko-storey frame
building with two .ctass roon*.
The , model school function was
discontinttd ahnut 1913 .and the
School', the site of which
-is now occupied by the house" at
' 123 Townsend Street. was -torn
down. The vacant site was added
to the school grounds and for,
many yearS had two basketball
standards that were " never or
seldom, used.
In passing- it might be men-
tioned that the school ground";
now occupied by houses and
• yards:. had a ball diamond. a set
of teeter-totters, and u swing
designed on -the .principI6 of a
maypole an which numeropS
heads. were damaged not to
mention bodies flying off in
tangents. Not to be overlooked
either, wa.s an open incinerator.
seemingly made from. a section of
steam boiler which winter and
summer put forth a 'scholarly
sirriCh. never to be forgotten.
„WS
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143
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The Pahlie School Munn Mt when asingle front entrance had bees/ made and indoor plumbing
Boys' on the fight, Girls* on the left.
Best Wishes
for
Clinton Centennial
re•
Special Thanks to Ger Clinton clients:
" GROVES TV & APPLIANCES
DURST FARM & GARDEN CENTRE
MARY'S $EWING CENTRE
RAY & WRVS GROCERY '
EL -MAC VARIETY
-WATERLOO
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Specialists in trick amis. & hiIdis Resteraiiess
CO ter Fres Es -dames
Box 273 Drayton (419) 6382886
. '