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Welcome to a meander down the west side of Josephine Street in Wingham, Ontario. We will start where flood waters lapped the main street every spring and winter winds closed the roads.

The section of Josephine Street West between Scott and Victoria Street has been built up, washed away and built up again over the last 120 years. Today it is a bustling strip that leads south to a strip mall on the edge of town. Since 1960, several hundred truckloads of fill has enabled Wingham to push their boundaries and grow in retail.

For our tour we are going to limit our walk down the streets of the past to the downtown core of Wingham.

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Josephine Street looking south, 1900
1900
Josephine Street - looking south

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We begin with a view of the road leading from Wingham in 1900 and contrast it with a view of the same road in 2004.

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South view of Josephine Street from the Victoria Street corner, 2004
2004
Josephine Street - looking south

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The Frosty Queen under spring flood, 1960s.
1960
143 Josephine Street, Wingham, Ontario, Canada

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Now let's begin our exploration of the west side of Josephine Street.

We'll start at 143 Josephine Street - the Frosty Queen. There was nothing on this property. Beside it to the south was the town dump. It was filled in, in the 1950s.

In 1957, the Frosty Queen was built by Carl Bennet for Fred Templeman and has been serving flame-broiled hamburgers and cold, delicious milk shakes ever since.

In the early days, before the dams and Highway 86 were changed, the yearly spring flood often invaded the Frosty Queen. But it was dried out by the time it opened for the summer.

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The first fast food restaurant in Wingham, built by Murray Taylor and Fred Templeman in 1957.
2004
143 Josephine Street, Wingham, Ontario, Canada

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The Frosty Queen continues to serve ice cream, milkshakes, hamburgers and hot dogs. But it is now open year-round and has an eat-in area at the back of the building for the comfort of its patrons.

The Frosty Queen and the large municipal parking lot behind it host three car shows each summer. People drive their vintage cars and hot rods into Wingham for a night of mingling with other car enthusiasts, music and entertainment, not to mention great Frosty Queen food.

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Jack Reavie's White Rose gas station, 1930s
1930
161 Josephine Street, Wingham, Ontario, Canada

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In the lot north of the Frosty Queen, a blacksmith shop was torn down to make way for a White Rose gas station in 1928 at 161 Josephine Street.

Jack Reavie ran the White Rose service station until 1951. In 1969, C.E. MacTavish bought the property.

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There has been a service station on this corner since 1928.
2004
161 Josephine Street, Wingham, Ontario, Canada

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Cam E. MacTavish started with a British American gas station on the east end of Alfred Street in 1945.

In 1959, he started a Petrofina station with a bulk plant on the northern town limits of Wingham, but moved it to the corner of Josephine and Albert Street in 1967.

In 1969, he bought the present garage from Charlie Hodgins and has filling vehicles with gas ever since.

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McClymont Bros. Carriage Works.
1879
Southwest corner of Josephine and Victoria, Wingham, Ontario, Canada

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The McClymont Bros. Carriage Works was located across the street from the Exchange Hotel at 161 Josephine Street in the 1800s. It was owned and operated by William and Tom McClymont. They were born in Stanley Township, near Varna, Ontario. William McClymont served as a member of the first Wingham town council.