Earlier this month I shared that downtown Owen Sound has an intersection with four 19th century limestone churches, known as “Salvation Corners.” Well, just one block west was the site of “Damnation Corners.” At this intersection (10th Street East and 3rd Avenue East) stood four notorious taverns: Pig’s Ear, Bucket of Blood, The Blue Water, and Coleman’s Tavern.

In the late 1800s Owen Sound was a bustling city — a seaport, rail-head, and highway terminus. It had many taverns open 24/7 and became known as “Corkscrew City.” Concerned about drunkenness and violence, Mrs. R.J. Doyle founded a Women’s Prohibition Society in 1874. It soon became part of the U.S.-based Women’s Christian Temperance Union, the first such society in Canada. Believing that “the demon drink” led to unemployment, poverty, immorality, disease, and domestic violence, the women of the W.C.T.U. tirelessly lobbied the government to implement liquor control laws.

In 1882 the W.C.T.U. purchased a Congregational Church building (built in 1865) in downtown Owen Sound to use as a meeting hall. The building later became a Lutheran Church and a Christian Science Society before passing into private hands in 2006. Today it is a yoga, dance, and music studio (898 1st Ave West).

In 1906 residents of Owen Sound voted in favour of Prohibition.

Although ending Prohibition appeared on the ballot many times over the decades, Owen Sound remained “dry” until 1972. Today on the site of “Damnation Corners” you’ll find a KFC, an empty lot, a woodworking studio/gallery, a gas station — and a historical plaque.

Sources

• Damnation Corners Historical Plaque
• Historical Walking Tour Brochure via Owen Sound Tourism
• “Woman’s Christian Temperance Union in Canada” via The Canadian Encyclopedia
• “Saints & Sinners in Owen Sound” by Pat Brennan via RoadStories.ca