HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1977-06-15, Page 18alis"�3.
taytugh `'anc_TL"es, beans 15, 1977
History of Wroxeter:
The growth of a village
The following history of the Vil-
lage of Wroxeter will be appear-
ing in installments in The Wing -
ham Advance -Times during the
next several weeks. It was com-
piled by Mrs. George Gibso of
RR 1, Wroxeter. ,
The immediate area of Wroxe-
ter, a village of some 275 to 300
persons, was a parcel of land pur-
chased by the firm "Patton"
from the government. The first
settlers were Thomas Gibson and
his brother Robert, who pur-
chased two lots in .Howick and in
the same transaction acquired'
the water privileges in the area.
These two brothers and a
younger brother John, who joined
them later, were the true foun-
ders of Wroxeter. They were
natives of Greenlaw, Berwick-
shire, Scotland who immigrated
to the U.S. in 1853, to Canada in
1854 and finally settled in Howick
in 1856.
Their, move was largely dic-
tated by advice from their father
in Scotland by letter.
Writing to his son Thom he
advised him to move to
•as soon as possible. He had
low opinion of the religious s
life of the people of USA: ."Take
time to settle when arriving in
Canada," he said. Where they
settled they spent the rest of their
lives.
PIONEER LIFE
Tasks of making their homes in
the forest was not an easy one.
)r'iYgt of all they had- to Creat- the
land covered with maple, beach
and other hardwoods as well as
hemlock, pine and cedar: Every
tree was an enemy which stood
between the settler and susten-
ance for himself and family. A
log, shanty had to be built and as
quickly as possible the little
clearing was planted with
potatoes and sown in wheat. A
cow browsing in the bush gave
them milk and butter, while a pig
fattened in the sty.
Pork, potatoes and home made
bread were the staples of life in
the early days. People had few
comforts and no luxuries. Many
of the old customs have gone out
of use. The only domestic lighting
was by candlesThe housewife
had a candle mould composed of
parallel tubes, which were then
filled with melted mutton tallow
and allowed to harden. Candles
were followed by coal oil lamps
and now by electric light. At one
time unbreakable glass lamp
chimneys were used.
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 attend a
taffy pull, for which convenient
ifts of snow still remained, to
ool the taffy. It was usual to
suspend a piece of fat pork over
the sugar kettle to prevent syrup
boiling over. Occasionally too
frequent contact with the pork
gave a very distinct flavor to the
sugar.
Soap making was another early
task. They took an empty salt
barreland bored a row of holes in
the bottom, filled it with wood
ashes and poured in plenty of
water, which issued at the bot-
tom, as lye. The lye was emptied
into the sugar kettle and all the
available grease and fat were
mixed in. Boiling for a sufficient
time resulted in a slithery sub-
stance called soft soap, too
powerful for washing the person
but excellent for the family wash.
BUILDING MILLS
Meanwhile, the Gibson
brothers were busy developing
the area's water power. First a
sawmill was built to which the
saw logs were drawn from the
pond across the road into the
mill. This mill was later aban-
doned and a new one erected on
t,`le banks of the river further up
,cream.
Next a flour and grist mill were
put up, and later an oatmeal mill
'vas erected, producing the
famous "Wheat Berries" known
miles around. Only the ruins are
to be seen today as it was des-
troyed by fire in the year 1966.
This was followed by a woollen
mill where the farmer's wool was
carded into rolls, to be spun into
yarn for stockings 'or 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 CPR station.
These mills were of a superior
class, considering the time and
circumstances but with the ad-
vance of improvements in the
mechanical arts they have long
since given way to more • modern
structure.
Improvements made by the
Gibson brothersmentioned ear-
?,
lier, and anothethree brothers
who followed at shorter intervals,
constituted the entire develop-
ment until 1858, when Andrew
Patton, brother of the man 'from
whom the land had been pur-
chased, laid out the village on be-
half of his brother. He, himself,
surveyed. the first streets which
were laid out and he built the first
frame house. Through the in-
fluence of his brother, a post
office was established and Mr.
Patton was appointed first post-
master.
Perhaps encouraged by the
progress of the Gibson brothers,
Hon. James Patton sent his
younger brother Andrew in 1858
to establish the first general store
— the post office was set up in the
general store.
lftf?01,
THE FLOOD OF MARCH 1929
ROADS AND RAILWAYS
All communication with the
outside world was by way of Sea-
forth, to which there was a gravel
road considered to be a wonder-
fully good one for the times. In
winter it was a common sight to
see dozens of. farm sleighs loaded
high with bags of wheat or car-
casses of pork on their way to the
Seaforth market. -
Mails were received by the
same route and when the stage
coach driver sounded his horn,
usually after dark, it was a signal
for the boys of the village whose
father read the Globe to dash out
for a copy .and rush a copy to
hand father., eager to read the
news.
Photos appearing with
this article were loaned to
us by Mrs. Mac Allan.
and forties there was a gradual
decline in railroad business and
by 1966 all freight came into
Wroxeter by a CP express truck.
For heavy freight, a train came
through when required; mail was
brought in by car each day.
Passenger trains were discon-
tinued in 1952, though until about
1957 there was a passenger coach
on the' freight train. The
Wroxeter station was closed in
1961 and demolished in 1965.
Many parents took their children
for a short train ride — the first
train ride for many — before the
line was discontinued.
Later on the narrow gauge rail-
way was built from Toronto. The
narrow gauge proved unsatisfac-
tory and the rails were subse-
quently adjusted to the ordinary
or standard distance apart. In
depth of winter the old narrow
gauge was:frequently in difficulty
and the villagers were sum-
moned to turnout with their snow
shovels to dig the traiq, from the
heavysnow drifts.
On one occasion the train aban-
doned altogether the attempt to
get .through and not until the
advent of spring did it arrive,
being as the village people said,
"three months late".
The branch ran from Orange-
ville to Teeswater, through Ford-
wich, Gorrie and Wroxeter, to a
station called Wingham Road,
about five miles from Wingham.
This road was completed in '1874.
A freight and passenger station,
as nearly as possible half way be-
' tween Gorrie and Wroxeter and
known as Gorrie and Wroxeter
Station, was' erected. At the time
the railroad was widened, Gorrie
and Wroxeter were each given a
station of its own. Thus what is
known as the Teeswater line of
CPR was completed.
In the early days of railway,
livestock, fowl, cheese, eggs,
grain and lumber were shipped
out in large quantities and sup-
plies of all kinds were shipped in.
Passenger traffic was large
there were many excursions to
the lakes, fairs, and points of in-
terest.
During the twenties, thirties
HEMPHILL'S MILL WHERE WHEAT BERRIES WERE MA
E.
CHURCHES IN
WROXETER
As early as 1856, the resident
were deeply concerned about the
religious side of their life and
made an effort to have a place of
worship. Tradition has it that the
Presbyterians first gathered in a
shoemaker's shop near John
Sanderson's store, but they later
transferred themselves to the
school which had been built in the
meantime.
In time they made an effort to
erect a place of worship, but they
were unsuccessful. The subscrip-
tion list was signed by 12 people
only. Five dollars was promised
in cash and the value of $54 in
sawlogs, shingles, sashes and
hardware — $59 in all. Another
attempt was made two years
later in 1861. They had more
success and a church was built on,
the hill adjoining the old grave-
yard, at a cost of $830.
After some delay in the. com-
pletion of the work, it was opened
in 1863 by Rev. Mr. Young, the
first -minister. The Rev. Thomas
Davidson was the last minister to
conduct ;services in,, the. old
•
THE
church. A brick church was
erected on the main street of the
village at a cost of between
$5,000-$6,000 in the year 1892.
The Methodists first built their
church near what was in—the
' early days called the square.
Later they built a brick structure
on the main street on same block
as the Presbyterian Church.
When church union took place in
1925 the United Church members
decided to use the Presbyterian
building.
Andrew Patten was an ardent
Anglican and had much to do with
the building of the first St. James
Church in Wroxeter. After union
of the Presbyterians and Metho-
dists in 1925 the Anglicans bought
the old Methodist Church on main
street. The membership dropped
and the church was sold and now
is a residence, renovated by •
Brian Sanderson, who at first had
a "Decor Shoppe" in the upper
part selling carpet, wallpaper,
etc. and made the basement into
a home.
Wroxeter was a three point
charge With Belmore seven miles
north and Salem, • on the same
road two and a half miles from
Wroxeter. Salem Church was or-
ganized • in 1861 by the New
Methodist Church.. Salem was
elosed.in June 1955 and the build-
ing torn down; the shed remains
on the site.
Next week: Building the first
schools and roads.
Grant for restoration
made to town of Paisley,
TORONTO — A grant of
$128,000 to assist with the re-
habilitation of the Town Hall at
Paisley. has been made by' the
Ontario Heritage Foundation.
Foundation Chairman A. B. R.
Lawrence said following a meet-
ing of the. Foundations's directors
that the project to restore the 101 -
year -old municipal building, on
an impressive site where the
Teeswater and Saugeen Rivers
meet, will cost an estimated
$320,000 and return the Italianate-
style hall to its original splendor.
As part of the project, the audi-
torium,on the second floor will be
restored and useful new office
space will be created on the first
floor and in the basement.
The Paisley grant was the lar-
gest' individual award in a pack-
age of four totaling $178,600
currently earmarked) for archi-
tectural conservation by the
Foundation. Paisley, a Bruce
County village with a population
of 1,000, is 35 miles southwest of
Owen Sound.
In his announcement, Mr.
Lawrence said the Paisley award
was among several made
recently by the Foundation
toward the preservation of ith-
portant civic buildings in all
parts Of the province•: .
Earlier grants included $47,100
to restore the former Town Hall
at Exeter; •$250,000 to help con-
vert the former Norfolk County
Courthouse into municipal offices
at Sirncoe and up - to $103,000
toward work on the 1831 mansion
housing Gananoque's Town Hall.
Restoration of the Paisley
Town Hall has had the strong
support of the Paisley Local
Architectural Conservation'
Advisory Committee (LACAC).
Paisley is among more than 50
communities in Ontario where
the municipal council has ap-
pointed a LACAC under the
Ontario Heritage Act, 1974.
These communities include
major centres such as Toronto,
Ottawa, Hamilton and Thunder
Bay as well as smaller muni-
cipalities such as Cobalt, Al-
monte, Newcastle and St. Marys,
WHEN FIRE BROKE out in the old mill at Wroxeter In May, 1966, strong winds fanned
the flames and nearby houses were threatened.
CPR STATION AT WROXETER
My Sincere Thanks
To the Hectors of Huron=Bruce
FOR THE OVERWHELMING SUPPORT I
RECEIVED AT THE POLLS ON JUNE 9TH
To my workers a special word
of thanks for the time and effort
spent on my behalf. It was truly
a team effort and 1 will be
forever grateful to all those
people who worked so hard in
my support.
To the electors of Huron -
Bruce I will do my best to
represent the riding at Queen's
Park to the best of my ability.
Sincerely,
MURRAY GAUNT
The Town of Seaforth
CaII for Proposals
from Mobile Home Subdivision
Developers
Proposals are invited for the development of a 10 acre site as a
planned mobile home,subdivision to improve the availability
of suitable low cost housing ownership alternatives in the town
of Seaforth. •
Development will be by registered pion of subdivision, with
the land and dwelling sold as a unit rather than provided on a
rental or leased basis.
The selected developer will be responsible for planning site
design, landscaping, engineering, serving construction and
marketing of the mobile home development. An important
consideration will be a demonstrated experience in this form
of development.
,
Letters of intent to submit o proposal for review will be accept•
ed until June 24, 1977`with the final selection of a specific
proposal determined by August 30. 1977.
For further information, please contact:
James Crocker, Clerk -Treasurer
Box 610
Seaforth, ,Ontario
NOK 1 WO
Telephone 527-0160
Buy your home, life and auto
insurance from a friend
- CIAG
your credit union sponsored
insurance company
Co-operation among Co -Ops•
Located in the
Credit Union Building.
8 Alfred St., [corner of
Josephine St.) Wingham, Ont.
Community Credit The Co-operators
Union 357.2311
357-3739