That time that Ironvale was almost a thing

From the archives of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library:

For many of us, our daily drive to and from downtown can become routine and we may overlook the significance of driving through one of our city’s older neighbourhoods.

For those driving in from the west end, you have probably driven through the centre of Steelton many times, but do you know how this community formed?

Sault Ste. Marie had been established along the shores of St. Mary’s River, first as a small village supporting the fur trade and fishing but as time passed the community grew and became the judicial district hub. This meant that more people moved to the area and opened businesses making it an attractive location for new business enterprises.

Enter Francis H. Clergue in 1894 and the establishment of his industrial empire located on the western edge of Sault Ste. Marie. This proved to be a significant period in history for the city and in particular the areas surrounding the new industries.

The location and growth of these businesses, including Algoma Steel Company, Lake Superior Power Company, Sault Ste. Marie Pulp and Paper Mill and other related industries meant that large numbers of workers were needed, and immigrants began arriving in the area and looking for homes nearby.

By 1902 there were about 1,600 people living in the area close to the new industrial hub. Initially, this area was simply identified by a mailing address and known as New Settlement but understandably the residents wanted an official name for their community.

The first name that was chosen was Ironvale but when the name was submitted to Ottawa, it was felt that it was too similar to another community, Irondale, a hamlet in Haliburton County. The new postmaster, Henry Madden was given the task of creating a list of possible names for the new post office.

After consulting with others, including J.W. Curran, the editor of the Sault Star, he sent his list of names to the Governor-General, The Lord of Minto. His list included Astoria, St. Lusson, Victor and Steelton and as we now know, Steelton was selected as the best option.

In 1904, provincial township boundaries were re-aligned, and Steelton was incorporated as a town on April 26, 1904. Incorporation meant that the fledging town needed formal infrastructure and government including the election of a mayor and council.

The first mayor was William Goodwin and there was an enthusiastic response for filling the council positions. In a newspaper account about the history of Steelton, it was said that the residents took a “lively interest in the affairs of the town and it became a saying that: if you wanted action, go to Steelton.

Council meetings were apt to be stormy and on more than one occasion blows were exchanged, though the reports hasten to add that these were usually deserved!” Sault Ste. Marie and Steelton were completely independent of each other, with their own water and lighting companies, transportation systems, schools, streets, and sewers.

By 1912 the town had taken over its own water and light plant. According to a newspaper account, “history was made” on March 7, 1912, when all the streets east of the Algoma Central Railway tracks were lit up with fifty incandescent lights.

These lights replaced the four arc lights which had been located at the two railway crossings in Steelton. These new lights greatly increased the illumination and safety of the town.

However, this was not the only improvement that Steelton made. Town Council strongly supported Mayor James Lyons’ proposal that new sidewalks were to be constructed of cement instead of planks. They also indicated that paving of Wellington Street should be undertaken, replacing the current muddy street.

Streets in both Sault Ste. Marie and Steelton were in poor condition and this was clearly illustrated by an account from the city Fire Department.

Fire Chief Wetmore reported that a new West End Fire Hall was to be constructed. He explained that during two fire calls in November of 1912, firefighters were required to travel to the extreme west end of the town causing them great problems.

“The streets were in a deplorable condition, and the second run was very hard on the horses, so much so that the members (of the fire department) took the streetcar to the scene of the fire, leaving the trucks to get there as soon as possible. We could do nothing but watch the progress of the flames until the arrival of the hose wagon.”

Unfortunately, these services required a strong tax base, and the new town was not attracting enough businesses and new residents to maintain the services that people wanted to have. At this point the population of Sault Ste. Marie was about 13,000 while Steelton’s population was 6,000.

Initially, access to clean drinkable water was a problem for Steelton. After some negotiation, Algoma Steel agreed to supply water to the town for five cents per thousand gallons, but before long, a spring was discovered within the boundaries of Steelton, and it was able to provide the residents of Steelton with the purest water in the area.

Another issue was the condition of schools. Some of the schools were located inside private homes. In one case, a house on Fourth Street had a class meeting upstairs and another class meeting downstairs while beautiful new schools were being built in the adjacent town of Sault Ste. Marie, creating a disparity between the two communities.

Having a town and a city adjacent to each other presented some problems for conducting daily business.

The city draymen (or deliverymen) could not make deliveries in Steelton unless they had a special license to deliver in the adjoining community. Imagine the problems for people living in Steelton and not being able to have products delivered from businesses in Sault Ste. Marie.

Check back next week to find out how residents responded when amalgamation was suggested.

Each week, the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library and its Archives provides SooToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.

Find out more of what the Public Library has to offer at www.ssmpl.ca and look for more Remember This? columns here