There is nothing I like more than rifling through used books at a thrift store, library sale, or cardboard box at the side of the road. At one point I came across Owen Sound: The Day the Governor General Came to Town & Other Tales. This book is a collection of articles that Chief Librarian Andrew Armitage wrote for the Owen Sound Sun Times between 1975 and 1978. Interest in local history was on the rise and Armitage used newspapers, private papers, photographs, and interviews to bring the history of Owen Sound and surrounding areas to life. I haven’t read them all yet, but I’ve been especially enjoying the ones set right near my house or sites I’ve visited, like Inglis Falls and the Corran.
Without further ado, here are five stories from Bruce and Grey that you may not have heard.
- The Governor General was once chased out of church by a man throwing furniture. Owen Sound was still the Village of Sydenham, population 300, when Lord Elgin made an unexpected stop during a tour of backcountry Ontario in 1851. “Lord Elgin had been out of favour with many loyal Canadians for his role in pardoning the rebels of ’37… During the church ceremonies held at the local Anglican Church one Thomas Hinchcliff, an ultra-loyalist, had broken up the goings-on by hurling the pulpit through the church window.”
2. The next time a Governor General visited Owen Sound (in 1874) the town council built a temporary dam, then unleashed the water to make Inglis Falls more impressive. “Of course there was only so much water which accounted for the rapid exit of the royal party urged along by Mayor Snider who knew that within minutes the mighty torrent would become a mere splash.”
3. Eugenia Falls was the site of a minor gold rush. In 1852 local settler Brownlee stumbled upon the falls five miles east of present-day Flesherton. “With visions of wealth beyond dreams [Brownlee and a neighbour] climbed out of the gorge after first packing away a few pieces of the rich metal. On the long trail home they swore each other to secrecy, not once but possibly a dozen times, all the while looking over their shoulders to see if they had been followed.” You can guess the end of the story. After over 200 men had flocked to the falls to prospect for gold someone took a sample to Toronto where it was revealed to be nothing but worthless pyrite.
4. Professor E.D. Hogan drew crowds when he visited Owen Sound in 1888 to leap from a hot air balloon. “On the ground the audience was horrified and screams of ‘He will be killed!” were heard. They watched as Hogan plummeted toward the hard earth of the racetrack at the Pleasure Grounds. Finally, the parachute filled and gently brought the professor to a safe landing.” After his second jump, “Hogan was now doubly celebrated in Owen Sound. He was invited on picnics and to teas, he was seen attending a local church and gave several lectures on the art and science of lighter-than-air craft. Young lads throughout the town dreamed of becoming dare-devil parachutists.”
5. World War I flying ace Billy Bishop’s homecoming launched a massive celebration in Owen Sound. After an enthusiastic parade through town, complete with several bands, the crowd gathered to listen to speeches. When it was Bishop’s turn to speak, he “declared that this was only his third public speech and that he was absolutely overwhelmed by the magnificent reception to the point that he could not express his feelings. He spoke of France, his airsquadron, of flying over the ground that would become famous as Vimy Ridge. Nothing, he declared, not even his reception at Buckingham Palace, rivaled the celebration that was Owen Sound’s on that day. ‘It is a dream come true,’ he concluded.”
Each of these stories and nearly two dozen others are told in vivid detail in Armitage’s book. I like to picture an angry loyalist throwing a pulpit through a church window, a parachutist landing in an apple tree, and the crowds gathering to meet Billy Bishop’s train, all just steps from my house. Local history all right!