Mary Grant, London Township Trailblazer and Women's Advocate

An unpretentious grave in Hyde Park Cemetery bears the name of an energetic local trailblazer, Mary Samantha Grant (1875-1934), clerk and treasurer of the former London Township (now part of Middlesex Centre). Mary appears to have been the first woman in Canada to hold such a position.  

Mary is buried with her brother and sister-in-law, as well as a niece.

A daughter of James Grant (1841-1901) and Samantha Elson (1843-1919), Mary was born June 6, 1875, in London Township. She was educated at area public and high schools and attended Hellmuth Ladies' College just down the road in London. 

Her father, James, was a Justice of the Peace, president of the London Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and assistant manager of the Royal Standard Loan Company. He became London Township clerk in 1873 and treasurer in 1887,* continuing until 1900 when he became too ill to work. His daughter Mary took over his job and, after James died in 1901, Mary's position became official. 

James Grant and daughter Mary, in Alice Gibb, ed., London Township: A Rich Heritage 1796-1997 Volume 1. Arva, Ont.: The London Township History Book Committee, 2001, p. 30. James looks jovial, his daughter more serious. 

This may not at first seem remarkable. We can assume that an unmarried daughter assisted her father by filing, typing, and so on, while he collected his salary and took all the recognition. Mary no doubt knew a lot about her dad's work. But when a man resigned his position in those days, another man almost always replaced him. Perhaps the township council decided to hire Mary instead, knowing she was no ordinary girl. 

Mary had ambition. And energy. According to a 1922 news article:**

She also took over her father's work at London Mutual Fire Insurance until his death on October 26, 1901, after which the company chose a man to succeed him. 

She was president of the Middlesex Patriotic Association, a volunteer organization instrumental in rallying thousands of women to support local soldiers during World War I and veterans after it.

She was a member of the Middlesex Mothers' Allowances Board, a local administrative body responsible for overseeing the Mothers' Allowance Act, an early form of welfare. This board evaluated and monitored widows and single mothers receiving state financial assistance to ensure they maintained strict moral and financial standards.

She was a member of the War Memorial Sick Children's Hospital Committee. Not sure, but this might have been part of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (I.O.D.E.), the organization that raised the money to build the hospital. 

She was a member of the Canadian Tax Conference of the Citizens' Research Institute. The latter was founded to promote effective, efficient government. It held conferences to bring together municipal assessors, civil servants, and tax experts to discuss public finance in Canada. 

She represented the township at the "Chamber of Commerce." I assume this means the London Chamber of Commerce, founded as the London Board of Trade in 1857.

For her war work in the Red Cross Society, she was presented with a life membership. This might have been the London Red Cross, unless the county had its own organization. 

She was president of the Ontario Municipal Association, now the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, in 1922. You can see Mary's name on the list of presidents here.

One of her most interesting positions was that of Secretary of the London Township Hydro-Electric System. Here, "she emphasized the benefits to be derived from Hydro by farmers' wives" and "was eager to see labour saving devices installed in every rural home."*** No doubt she had watched her mother and other pioneer women struggle and hoped to make rural homemaking easier through electricity. 

Mary might have had other positions besides those above. But her most remarkable achievement was retaining the position of clerk-treasurer of London Township until she died in 1934, a record of 34 years.  And at a time when few women held municipal offices of any kind. 

Mary Grant died of colon cancer on March 5, 1934, at St. Joseph's Hospital, London. Newspapers carrying her obituary included The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star. As a trailblazer and advocate for women, she had become a celebrity.

Seems like she deserves an historic plaque, doesn't it?

* There seems to be some confusion as to whether these were two separate positions or only one, that of clerk-treasurer. I'm going with the version found under the Grant family history in Alice Gibb, ed., London Township: Families Past and Present. Arva, ON: The London Township History Book Committee, 2001, p. 155. Mary and her father are also covered in volume 1 of the above work, London Township: A Rich Heritage, p. 30. 

**Miss Mary Grant New President Ontario Association. The Victoria Sentinel, Victoria, BC, December 22, 1922, p. 6. Accessed through newspapers.com. Yes, Mary made the news all the way out in BC. 

***Mary Grant, London Township. Grand River Sachem, Caledonia, Ontario, April 25, 1934, p. 7. Accessed as above. 

Wrecking a Restaurant: The Fate of Crossings ... oops, Pierside

Crossings Pub, one of the few buildings in Hyde Park with any character. Photo by Paul Grabowski.

If you enjoy Crossings, you'd better get there while it's still open. 

The pub at 1269 Hyde Park Road may be demolished by North Development Corp. to make way for a new restaurant and two apartment buildings. See here for an artist's rendering of the proposed development.

The Italianate farmhouse was built in about 1872 by George Nixon. Local folklore says John A. MacDonald used to stay here when visiting the area. While that story sounds like something dreamt up one night after too many pints at the bar, Nixon was a politician, which makes the rumour a bit more plausible. Unfortunately, there's no proof. 

According to Crossings' website, the building became a stationhouse for local train and stagecoach lines. More recently, in 1977, John and Winnifred Kamen converted the home into a restaurant called The Horse & Hound. Later, it became Volker's, and lately it's been Crossings. The building probably holds many fond memories for locals. 

But you know how it is. The property is on a transit corridor, the area is underdeveloped, and we need density. And, gosh, according to this, developer Paul Weigel says he'll "salvage materials to add plaques and storyboard murals framed by the bricks and building trim attached to the parking garage along a public trail next to the rail track." (This tendency to preserve a few bricks to satisfy silly history buffs like myself is also planned by York Developments for Kent Brewery downtown.)  If we're really lucky, maybe Mr. Weigel will hang a lovely painting of the old house in the lobby of one of his apartment buildings. 

A little changed from its original appearance, Crossings still has Victorian charm. (The proposed development, you will note, has no charm whatsoever.) The pub is also one of the few older buildings remaining in Hyde Park, a neighbourhood that bears little resemblance to the quaint country intersection of yesteryear. And Crossings isn't even falling down, so the phrase developers always like to use - "It's too dilapidated to be saved" - doesn't apply here. 

City Hall staff weren't interested in the development and recommended heritage designation for the old house. The city report states the property has three of the nine criteria needed for designation. Unfortunately, City Councillors don't always listen to staff, and on Wednesday afternoon, PEC (Councillors Steve Lehman, Shawn Lewis, Peter Cuddy, Elizabeth Peloza, and Steve Hillier) voted to refuse the heritage designation. Later in the meeting, they voted for rezoning to permit two high-rises. 

My first thought: If this new development is to include a restaurant, how about using the restaurant that's already there - Crossings - and incorporating it into the plan? Of course, the stately mansion would look ridiculous surrounded by high-rises, but as we say in the heritage world, "It's better than tearing it down."

Then I found the Heritage Impact Statement prepared by Stantec for the developer. If you wade through it to the end, you'll learn that they, too, believe Crossings has CHVI (Cultural Heritage Value or Interest). The building is a representative example of an Italianate residence and possesses value as a landmark. Unfortunately, the report also states the home is in the way of the development's proposed fire route and parking area.

One solution might be to move the old house closer to the road, so it's not surrounded by the high-rises and still serves as a landmark. But according to the Stantec report, this would mean moving the building twice: once to a place where it's not impacted by the underground parking, and a second time closer to Hyde Park Road. There's also the question of whether the underground parking garage could support the weight of the former residence. 

Altogether, I wish North Development Corp. would just get lost. Or develop one of our downtown surface parking lots instead. While no demolition permit has yet been issued, the future of this old house looks iffy.  

Only one solution left: could a saviour please buy this old pub and move it to a lot nearby?

The George Nixon house, as it appears in a photo on p. 307 of London Township Families Past and Present, published by The London Township History Book Committee, 2001.

Advertisement from a local cookbook.

Update, November 2025: The restaurant is now closed. City Council voted 10-5 to deny heritage designation and approve demolition. Councilors voting against were Anna  Hopkins, Skylar Franke, David Ferreira, Elizabeth Peloza, and Sam Trosow. Remember this at our next election.

Update, April 2026: Surprise.

Another photo from Paul G.

You never know what will happen in London. Apparently a new pub, complete with patio, will open here just in time for warmer weather. Why? Because the developer has decided to put off his towers for a couple of years, "waiting for market conditions to align." 

Hmm. I thought we had a "housing crisis." The crisis seems to have disappeared as soon as the developer had permission to build. Will these towers ever be constructed? Who really knows? 

In the meantime, maybe I'll stop for a pint and get some pics.