St Patrick's Ward: Reflection by Luke Gelata
A particular community in Guelph has demonstrated unique characteristics that enable historians to recognize the area as separate, unique, and culturally valuable. Originally known as ‘St. Patrick's Ward’, this region of Guelph is known today as ‘the Ward’. The boundaries of the Ward are identified through Victoria Road, Speed River, Eramosa River, and the train tracks north of Elizabeth Street. Much of my personal understandings of the area can be credited towards the scholarly work of retired University of Guelph historian, Terry Crowley, and Aidan Hunt’s original CWRC display. After acknowledging the fundamental aspects within this historical area of Guelph, my goal as a practicing historian is to provide both detailed information and video-based content that display prominent locations, architectural designs, and characteristics of the area.
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Figure 1: Interior of skatepark named, "The Ward" |
For more than a century and a half, the Ward remains an important aspect of Guelph’s history considering the neighborhood once thrived as a culturally distinctive and industry-driven economy that was succeeded by an extensive quantity of European immigrants. For many citizens in Guelph that live outside of the Ward's perimeters, the neighborhood may not be perceived as being any more historically significant than other parts of Guelph; though in recent years, the area has seen an increase in cultural appreciation. Although some prominent buildings inside the Ward such as the ‘The Ward School’; have retained the same name for more than a century, other locations use the Ward name for business purposes. ‘The Ward Bar’ and the indoor skatepark simply named, ‘The Ward’, are two establishments that take pride in the neighborhood's historical influence. |
The Ward Bar is a project by Sleeman Breweries and is currently established as one of Guelph’s largest and on-going historical projects. Located at the Spring Mill Distillery beside Speed River, the interior of the building underwent specific and minor renovations (much of the limestone walls and composition were preserved) and once completed, the establishment was named “The Ward Bar”.
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The Ward Bar is an outstanding historical exhibit that revived important aspects of the building’s original purpose. The original building, alongside a timber-frame grist mill located across the Speed River, was purchased from its owner, John Galt in 1832. John Galt, who is known as being the original founder of Guelph, had made the decision to sell the building and place William Allan in charge of the mill and distillery. [1]
Throughout the following decades, Willam Allan and his sons, David, and John Allan developed many improvements that established both the distillery and the grist mill. The early Guelph distillery and mill held extremely important economic value towards early Guelph pioneers because without it, farmers had to trek far to Galt or Dundas to have their grain ground to flour.[2]
The Spring Mill’s Distillery would go on to become the most successful business in Guelph for forty years. The operation ran by the Allan family is arguably a founding contribution towards the city of Guelph because of the emitted economic success and increased amounts of working populations. After Guelph’s first brewery was established by the Allan family in the early 19th century; nearly two-centuries later, the distillery is open for business once again. |
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Figure 3: This photograph displays old barrels in front of the Ward Bar that were used to hide alcohol during prohibition |
When taking into consideration the enriched history of the Spring Mill Distillery and the state-of-the-art Ward Bar, it comes to no surprise that this community obtains a fascinating history involving the use of alcohol. During prohibition, many Italian migrants smuggled alcohol within the area which issued complications between police and residents of the area. Once the wave of Italian laborers and farmers migrated into the Ward during the early twentieth century, cultural phenomenons ensued which would outline the unique culture of the Ward. In 2011, during a public lecture event concerning the prohibition period in the Ward, Terry Crowley explained many fascinating events involving the circumstances of illegal alcohol. Crowley told the stories of policemen who climbed the roof of Guelph’s famous Cathedral Basilica to spot steam emitting from the roofs, where many Italian residents had stills for fermenting hooch.[3]
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The Ward community remained committed with their attraction to alcohol during and after the prohibition period. On January 11, 1936, a Guelph Mercury newspaper published a story involving an enormous illegal still that was seized by provincial police in the St. Patrick's Ward. It occurred on Empire Street, where “hundreds of gallons of alcohol and a large quantity of mash” were seized.[4] Unfortunately, these illegal activities brought in crime amongst the neighborhood and led to discrimination against the Italian community. Although the outcome of prohibition, illegal distillery’s, and crime were negative aspects within the history of the Ward; it is important to recognize these past events to examine the culture and characteristics of the neighborhood. The large community of Italians in the Ward led to the foundation of the Italian Canadian Club of Guelph, located on Ferguson Street.
To my own surprise, I was quite satisfied to discover that the large barrels on display in front of the Ward Bar were found in the basement of the Spring Mill’s Distillery and were supposedly used to smuggle and hide illegal alcohol. I was informed about these historical artifacts by a gentleman named Brian Schirk, whom I met while exploring the Ward Bar. Brian practices the history of Guelph and the Spring Mill's Distillery and discusses these events on his podcast, Guelph, a Royal History. Click here to listen to the podcast.
In my opinion, due to the present-day establishment made by Sleeman Breweries and the economical importance that the Spring Mills Distillery once had; the Ward Bar is the most valuable aspect of the present-day Ward area. The Spring Mill was once recognized as being the largest company in Guelph and presently, the Sleeman Company; being one of Guelph’s largest companies -- now owns and runs the distillery. It is said by many that history repeats itself -- and after conducting research on the Spring Mill’s Distillery, I would most definitely agree with the classic phrase.
Although my appreciation for the Spring Mill’s Distillery is evident, it was not the only establishment that enabled economic growth in the Ward area. The Northern Rubber Company, located on Huron Street, is a large five-story industrial building that once specialized in rubber manufacturing.
Figure 4: A photograph of the rubber factory in 1948 compared to 2019.
After World War II, the Northern Rubber Company dropped their workforce to 300-400 people, and the factory changed the company name to Dominion Rubber; years later, the name was changed to Uniroyal and replaced again to Chemtura. It has since been abandoned and the building has seen no sign of reconstruction or maintenance.
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Figure 6: A video display of the Sacred Heart Church in 2019 |
A block away from the old rubber factory remains the Sacred Heart Church on Alice Street. Built-in 1922, the church held important values to the community because prior to its construction, the Church of Our Lady Immaculate was the only service available for the residents of the Ward. The distance of the Cathedral was very inconvenient for the community, and thus the Sacred Heart Church provided valuable services for religious members.
The Church’s architecture is inspired by worship spaces in Rome and was built using red tapestry brick and white stone trim. A decade after the Church was built, extensions were added at the front and rear, which doubled the capacity of the Church’s original 300-people maximum occupancy. |
Upon filming the Church, a gentleman sitting alongside his dog was spectating my presence in an admiring fashion. He was sitting across the street from the church at his home and I had the pleasure of meeting him after explaining the project I was working on. Once he was informed, he graciously asked me if I was interested in the history of his home and explained to me that his house was once a variety convenience store in the 1970s.
| The combination of business with residence became a common aspect of the culture in the Ward throughout the 20th century. This can especially be seen when analyzing the location of the rubber factor alongside many residential homes. My one and only encounter with a resident of the Ward neighborhood proved to me that there exists a passionate and unique community. After educating myself through much of Terry Crowley’s prominent research about the ward in his book, Ward One Walking Tour; I can undoubtedly say that through my conception of Guelph as a city, the Ward is a unique and distinctive area. |
Figure 7: A video of 107-109 Alice St in 1975 compared to 2019 |
For more of Luke Gelata's work, click here to find his interview with Norfolk Manor resident, Donald Wadleitgh.
Endnotes
[1] Percival, Libby. "Arthur Street South – Summary History Phase I – 1832-1877 – Allan's Distillery." HERITAGE GUELPH (the Municipal Heritage Committee), June 2, 2015. Accessed August 6, 2019
[2] Stead, Hillary. Guelph: A People's Heritage, 1827-2002. 175th Anniversary Steering Committee. Guelph, ON: [s.n.], 2002. https://guelph.ca/wp-content/uploads/Guelph-APeoplesHeritage.pdf.
[3] "Talk on History of The Ward Draws a Crowd." Guelph Mercury, March 2, 2011. Accessed August 9, 2019. https://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/2766185-talk-on-history-of-the-ward-draws-a-crowd/.
[4] Crowley, Terry, Ward One, (Guelph: City of Guelph, 2016), 3.