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The Wingham Advance Times, 1935-05-16, Page 2PAG,1S0 TWO HrSTQRIGAL REVIEW W OF THE TOWN OD' WINGHAM Tht sday, May 16th, 1935 ,N..4011.:44 w4 ar4.w4m4amdHmx,ywro00.1. 4400.4 0.40404.040I 4004AYn44100.0 09400.4tl/M4e 1.4 EDITORIAL SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS OF PROGRESS Seventy-five years is a long time in a Community when we "consider the vast changes Wrought in the field of Science and invention, and in the pro- eeress of civilization. The seventy-five year during, which Wingham has grown :from a landing place, on the River Maitland, to a' modern Toiwn— is the Span of Time, which bridges the gulf between the primitive Wing - ham and our Modern Commmimity of to -day. Consider how' we travel, ex- press trains, motor traffic, up-to-date Provincial and County I-Iighways, and even aeroplanes. Little did the first settlers of three quarters of a century ago dream of such improvements as we have to -day. We have gone' stead- ily and surely forward and have a real tip -to -date Town. e1.aleeaa'AM gelleale!goa•gleemasree.m aaee. a4grp /ow,ewwPMne4ap saikem #44 R44.04,44`4rM'4a444'PA.A41•444YPrgi4d4..0040.4wroo4aRa ! ieea ssme 4 rr .e.ee am'ea ryuqu!!Ame arbeeoe 4eeeeet.'4ee4 wn of By Thomas J. McLean, , 4R014r4a 4YU4Y1i4E11i4a 0.904.4.11a44I40440. 440044 .44400 .U.4.MY4Y44400 (:,P4MP44, :.. 0 _._ 4____ 00.00"1/100 wu10.4.cs4A4i.0400.ulrsuo4010.uewn.rowrou4su 4.0.440.0 Several of the older residents and, 'schoolmates wlio read my narrative, "Se ho Al Days in Lower \Vingham," which appeared in the Advance -Tinges of March lst, 1934, have requested me to write the "History of the Town of Wingham." Right here, I' wish to thank those same old schoolmates,and friends who so kindly wrote to me in appreciation of my efforts: It is my hope that they may find this Histor- THE COVER PAGE The illustration on the first page depicts our first :settler, Edward Far- ley, landing in Lower Wingham, in the year 1858. He was a native of Ireland, He was forty years of age when he came from Owen Sound to Wingham. To my mind a cairn should be erected to the memory of our first settler, with suitable inscrip- tion on it. The drawing was made for me by one of our former town boys, in the person of Mr. Frank Galbraith, Toronto, son of Mr. and Mrs. John. Galbraith, of Town. HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WINGHAM We We We And The. By Thomas J. McLean. are the same our fathers. have been, see the same sights our fathers have seen, drink the same stream, and view the same sun, rim :the same course our fathers have run. houghts we are thinking, they also would think, From the Death we are shrinking, they also would shrink, To the life we are clinging, they also would cling, But it speeds for us all like a bird on ,the Wing. Governiiiertt, after some brisk bidding, The Government had put it up for sale in Goderich a few days after Mr. Fisher looked it over, It 'was knocked down to a blain by the name . of Anti - strong for $1150.00—but when asked to day for, it, it Was found that he hadn't any money. It was considered one of the best water powers, on. the Maitland River and Mr, Fisher fin- ally secured the site for $1200.00. 11VIr. all the. goods for Mr. Beckett frown Goderieh, through bush roads and through the river in many places: The first boy and girl to be born in Wingham. Were born in the year 1861—a .son to Mr. and Mrs. Edward Foley and a daughter to Mr, and IM2rs. Archibald Fisher. ,I know that Wing - ham's first "BabyGir1" is still living, but ani unable to say whether the "Baby Boy is still alive or not. The above is a photograph of the first Saw -Mill, or place of business to be erected in Lower Wingham. This was in the year 1860, it was built by the late Petr and Archibald Fisher, (shown above) and was later sold to McLean &• Son, who are shown be- low: In 1889 this Mill was torn down. . ical°Revieww of the Town of Wingham Fisher was joined by his brother, as interesting. I will certainly do my. Archie, of St. Marys, and commenced best to make it so. I have lived here the erection of the first log shanty; all my life, but that is nut long en- ough to give my own version of af- which was fit for occupation in a week's ' time. The Fishers Proceeded fairs from the start. The first twenty- to erect a Saw and Shingle Mill, a five years, therefore, of this Review Flour Mill and a Woollen Mill, which will be as History records it or some- were completed and running in two years time. Mr. Fisher also secured an option on the water ,power above one older than myself has. offered the information. WINGHAM, is situated In the Albert Street. (near where the pres- ent Township of Turnberry in the Borth- Upper Dam now .stands). This ern part of Huron County—known in was held by a man by the name of the olden days as the Huron Tract. Wrencliman,' and, regardless of Mr: The two branches of the beautiful Fisher's option, Wrenchman sold out Maitland River, flowing through the Town, add greatly to its attractive- ness. Wi.ngliam *as named .after a town in England, by the Government Surveyors. The name itself, is easy to pronounce and looks good in print. the Pumping:Station now stands. The Strangers Who have visited our Town, Fishers continued milling- in Lot -et invariable remarked on the beauty of ' Wingham, but in ;the spring of 1875 to Thomas Gregory:. There was a lot of dispute over the site, but the mat- ter was finally straightened out by all concerned. Mr. Gregory: built a Saw Mill, near where the Upper Bridge at our Maple Trees, The Plot was surveyed around 1852- 54, and was one and one-quarter miles Square It was bounded on the North and South by the "B" Line and the boundary between Wawanosh' and Turnberry; and no the :East and West Ithis wonderful, mill. The building wa: s by J-isephine Street (our Main Street) ! six stories high and thirty-eight fee: and the line on which Benson Cruick C Wide by eighty-two feet long, Let me shank's farm is situated. After a short mention here, that Mrs. Peter Fishes time it was found it would be better , was Wingharn's first Eride. Ito take in more land. This was done r John Cornyn and his family were. ' n ud ti,; plot was extended five-eighths) our next settlers. He built a house on a Mile farther East. This new es- i the corner of Josephine and John tension proved very desirable as a Streets, which was later used as a residential section. The first settler to arrive in the Wingham Town Plot was the late Mr. ?duard Farley, who brought his pos- sessions to Lower: Wingham via the Maitland River. He travelled by wag- on and ox -team, from Owen Sound around by Stratford and thence tip to Morris Township. He had to use the •water route from Podmin to his des tination.. Mr. Farley's journey cost him One Hundred Dollars. This was in the Spring of 1858, when he was. THE LATE THOMAS NETTER- forty' years of age, He lived in the both 'Josephine and John Streets, 'It FIELD one house for over forty years and was built from the second :storey. of opassed away in the year 1898. He the ;Hetel, and how the crowds eased Who was one of the early pioneers here Lower Wingham,coming from ire -"was regarded:by his friends as a wen-to:gather oil it on' Big Days — w of cwwefr land, in the year 1868. He settled in j ther prophet. a much better view of processions,. Turnberry Township' in 1564. Mr: 1 The following year (1859) the late etc., etc., could be bad (free of the Flour and Woollen Mills were swept' away by fire—along with Mr ;Fisher's residence. Nothing daunted they rebuilt the mills and resumer; business, Farmers, for many miles around, -used to bring their grain ft Hotel. This was where the Qtieen's Hotel now stands. This building was pulled down and the present one was erected in 1865 and became known as the King William Hotel. 'There were many additions built onto the original building, from time to time. Docs anyone, reading this,, remember the time when the floor of the bar -room fell in? I ani sure you will remember .the fine appearance the Hotel used to present with its long verandah,, running full length of the building oil The Long Brothers and Thomas Abram were the next to settle in- our community. Mr. Abram was a shoe- maker and in his place of business on Victoria Street, the pros and cons of the day were discussed, day and night. The political aspect was ever to the fore. The first Wingham newspaper was known as The Wingham Times an awa. The newspaper was first print- ed two years previous to the date_of My paper. Glancing overthe adver- tisements; appearing in rimy copy of "The ,Times", I find many familial' names. The :following are a few of the mines listed, among whom I hope you will find some naine',or names that -will!ming to mind some long forgotten incident:— R. Titchburn (Proprietor of the KingWillianr Hotel), Joseph Nicholls (Architect and Builder), D. G. Wilson (Drug Store), W. Langdale (Photographer and Jeweller), George Williams (Cheap Cash . Store, Joseph Risdon (Boots and Shoes),' John Ansley's Ag- riculture Works (Manufaceare of farm implements) W. J. Hayward (Barrist- er), J. M. Leet (Solicitor), and Alex. Bruce (Painter). Then there is Alex. Dawson , (Tailor), R. T. Thompson (Butcher), Kent and Wilson (Grocery and Liquors), Thomas L. Jobb (Blacksmith), H. L emmux (Carriage Builder), R. Knox (Watches and Jew ellry), J. W. Greers (Hardware),.J. T. Wilkie (Dentist); W. B. Towler (Physician), C. Tait Scott (Notary Public and Money to Lend) and Pet- er MacDonald (Medical Doctor). I will mention a few more„ names of those advertising:— George Green (General Store and Proprietor of the Albion Hotel), Wingham Post Office and 'Book -Store (John Fisher), J. and 0. Andrus (Harness Depot), L. .J. Brace ' (Licensed Auctioneer), and Robert Sadler (Grocery). Alex. Fraz- er opened a new grocery store in the Colbeck Block. . His "ad" appearing in the paper reads :thus: Teas, Young Hyson, Moyine, Gun , Powder, - Congo and Japan. Great Bargains in Sugar. Best Brands of Liquors such as: Brandy, Gin, Rum, Old Rye, Malt and Henessy's Brand- ies, John de Kyper Gin, Younger's Ale, Stewart's Scotch 'Whiskey, Guin- d essess Porter and Port 'Sherry (par - 1 1 04044440.4440.000.440.01'..40044.4004004.440.440.4 w+Rne�OmH,pab9i01 Shop., There :were the:, Fisher Indus- tries, The Matheson 'Woollen Mill;' Campbell's Store; Hugh McMartin; the Shoat -taker; Peter i inklater's s' toreDuncan !A+lcGretor, tine tailor; . and j, eMe„ McGregor, the harness mak- er. There was the American Stir Ho- tel, kept by Anderson, Copeland and Blakesly; James McKay, the !botcher; T, G. Jackson, Druggist and General Netterfield was a store mason and: Peter Fisher arrived, on foot, from, bricklayer by trade, and built many Guelph, having walked to Arthur, of the foundations of barns through_ :Monet Forest, Walkerton, Port M - out the S adjoinin Y Townships, and Of! gin, l'aisley and TeesWater• and then public buildings and 'homes in the ( to Lower Wingham. Mr. Fisher se Town of Wingham. I cured the water privileges ,front ,the A see n: e atthe corner `of. IVlain and Victoria S . showing Griffin's Hotel and Feley's st ets, around the year 1860, and Post Office, charge)! This verandah was eventual- ly removed as it was built on Town property and a By -Law had been passed to the effect that all such ob- structions had to be done away with. After the Cornyns, came Edward Foley, from the settlement at Mar- noth, where he kept store. Mr, Foley sold out to Peter Porterfield, father of Alex. Porterfield, who is the pres- ent Clerk of the Township of East Wawanosh. Note the resemblance of the name Edward Farley (our first settler) tothe name of Edward Foley. He built a frame house and store and later converted them into a_•public house which was called the Commerc- ial Hotel. Mr, Foley was the first Postmaster of Winghann. Previous to this the nearest Post Office was at Zetland, two miles west of Wingham, '1 might say that Zet- land was a hamlet before any settlers arrived in Wingham. Wm. Beckett had opened a Hotel, store and Mill, tliere in 1853. He wasa brother-in- law to my late Uncle Lauichiln Mc- Lean,' The latter used to have to team Residence of the late Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Currthers, Lower Wingham, built in 1864. (Insert) the late Mr. Carruthers. .North Huron Advertiser. It was own- ; ticiilarly adapted for "medicinal pur- ed and published by the late Mr. R.Iposes). Tobacco, etc.,' etc, In - ex A. Graham. I have in my possession change, the advertisement states that a copy of one of the first editions, Mr. Frazer will accept all kinds- of dated July 12th, '1872, given to me by !farm produce. What a change! I)n- Mrs. T. L. Jobb, now residing in Osh- agine if one of our grocery stores were to come out with an "ad." such as this! Imagine what a business 'he: would do and What would the Tem- peraece element of the present day say? I tell .yon; times, have changed' -since you couldexchange butter and eggs for. liquors at your own door, Now, a person living in the County of Huron has to drive twenty-five to thirty miles and pay hard .earned cash of from three to five dollars for a bot Incorporation of Wingham as a'VW- age 10 1874. Only the upper'`part of Wingham was incorporated with , a population' of around seven !hundred and twenty -sic' people,' while Lower VVinghain remained (as it does to this day) hi the Municipality of the'Town- shipof Turnberry. The latter had a population of around five hundred souls at that time. FIRST FLOUR MILL IN WINGH AM Store; Flack's Tannery, and Cossar's 1 Lower Wingham, with its low-lying Ashery.land, was subject to.floods, and this A • round 1875 to 1877 Josephine'was the principal reason for the sep- Street began to be built up as a •busi- aration of the two parts of the Town ness section. The Hanna's and 'Mc- Kibbons built stores (1877), George 'Mason built his block in 1879, the Bunswick Hotel (1880), The Royal Hotel, and the Colbeck Hotel. Farth- er up the street there was Fred Rod- erus, the, Shoemaker, on the corner -of Patrj.cle and Josephine Streets; Math- ias iYMcKay's Grocery, on the corner nest to what is now known as Biggs'. Grocery; McCutclieon's Hotel; ,Tom McKenzie, the Blacksmith, who ater sold out to William Holmes; The Bri- tish American Hotel and the Dinsley House—all these sprung into being with the coming of the railway. Geo, Blackwell, Langdale, Burrows, Brock- einshire and Mason, Were the photo- graphers in the Town. e The Gregorys, Thomas and John, were the next settlers who followed Thomas :Abram. As mentioned earlier they acquired the Upper Dam site and built the first Saw Mill in Upper Wingham. On. the opposite side of the river, they erected the first flour mill in 1866. John Gregory left Wing - ham and went to Western Canada. Thomas remained here, and did .con- siderable building. He served as Plot.' I remember many stories of the floods of those days. There is the story told:of the men Who were pro- tecting the lumber and logs from. the rising water. I am told that .these Men sailed in a boat, right into And- erson's H o ter bar -room, where they found that the proprietor had piled all his goods high on shelves and was standing. on a high platform behind the counter, out of reach of the water. Another tithe, during one of these' floods, by uncle, Laughlin McLean, w'ho was the Foreman for Fishers`— had to remove the sloshboards and pull : out the standards at theme Dam. This allowed the driftwood and ice - cakes to get away. He -had several linen with him, but one man was Un- lucky enough toe be thrown by, his pike -pole, off of the Dam, onto a cake o fiee. My Uncle, thinking to head (Continued on Page Three) Mayor and Councilman, in later years. Some of the property which he built is still in the possession of the Greg- ory family. I refer to• his residence, where he passed away, and the Greg- Block, on Main Street. The Flour Mill, operated by Howson C Howson, is the same one that Mr. Gregory built, seventy years ago. Among • those coming here in the early sixties were Mr. G. Jackson and family. Mr. Jackson was a gen- eral .merchant iii Lower Wingham which tip to the year 1872 was the business section of the settlement. Be- sides his store there were three other general stores, three hotels, two coop- ertle.of liquor. He then has to .drive to g shops, two cobbler's (one,: run by a. -"dry" county before he can eonsnne the sane: There were not so many accidents, etc., as there is now—with no licensed hotels. THE LATE SIIVION VanNORMAN The late Mr, VanNorman was not- ed for his wonderful strength, and was known to the 'older generation as Big Siinon, Between Mr. VanNor- man, and Big Jim McKie, . (who is meintiened in another place in this Review) they could move mountains. He was a mai that I admired very much, Charles, of Wingham, Robert. of Toronto, and Frank, of Webwood, are sons, and Mrs. John Hopper, of Town, is a daughter. After selling his 100 -acre farm in Morris, Mr, Van. Norman started a butcher business in Lower Wingham, in the 60's, and he was keeper of the last Toll Gate, on what is now No. 4 Highway, north of i;elgrave• These gates were done away with fifty-six years ago, After the arrival .of Edward Farley, Foley and Abram, and the early set tiers, do any of you,remember remember that the main thorottghfare in Whigham was Victoria Street? There was' Mnoney's Tin Shop; W. T. Bray'.s Drug.Store; I(irby the Baker; Abram the shoeinak'er; Hodgins; Robinson; Ridd . the Veterinary; Cummings; Sandy Dodds' Pump Shop; Ansley's Foundry; Dr. Shrigley's. Office; the two Chapman Tanneries;: Ned Johns - ton's Wagon Works; and William McColl's Furniture and Repair Shop. 'That was all the places of business until you . crossed the bridge, Then there was Bruce the Painter; Green's, Hotel, on the corner of Archibald and Macintosh Streets;' Carruthers' Black- annith shop; and Marshall's Cooper shop, -Across the mill -race bridge there was McLeod, the tailor; Jimmie Thom's Dry Goods. Store; The Great Western. Hotel, kept by Andy ':Sell and Tommy James; fames Carr, the Shoemaker; Peter Wilson the Black- smith, and James Wr o's Coop et Coo`er George Carr's father), '''one tailor shop, one harness maker, two butch- ers, the Fisher Industries, and a large Woolle,t.Mill run by G. P, Matheson and Company. Malcolm Campbell, of Lucknow, opened the first grain buy- ing business and had as his Superin- tendent the late James McGuire. The late Jas. Angus acted as Grain Buyer. All the afore -mentioned carried on business until about the time. of the The Late Robert Currie The late Robert Currie was born in Scotland and emigrated to this sec- tion in 1854, settled on land o.ae mile west of Lower Wingham; he was Reeve of the: Township of East Wa- wanosh' twenty-three times, was an upright, hard-working man and was noted for his charity, would not see any in want if in his power to help them. • A se ne of the Main thoroughfare in 1860, Victoria Street. 4.