Street name honours another Stratford parks pioneer

Court was named for Alexander (Alex) Wilson, who was the founder of Dufferin Park. Wilson Court is a cul-de-sac off of Maple Avenue just south of Dufferin park.

Born in Belleville in 1868, Alex Wilson came to Stratford with his parents as a boy. As a young man, he entered an apprenticeship at the Grand Trunk Railway shops and qualified as a machinist. He lived for many years on Dufferin Street, near an open field that he thought would make a fine park for sports and a play area for children

So in 1909, Alex Wilson went before the parks board and gave a proposal to submit a bylaw for $10,000 to establish a park in the area. It was defeated and the project was shelved, but Alex Wilson did not give up. He was appointed to the parks board in 1910 and never missed an opportunity to promote his project. Early in 1913, the parks board named a committee to look for a site in the Shakespeare Ward. George McLagan, board chairman and a main benefactor of the river park system, advanced money to buy Dufferin Park. Wilfred A. (Wink) Wilson, son of Alex, helped to lay out the first baseball diamond. The Tigers were the first Stratford baseball team in inter-city league played at Dufferin Park. Wink Wilson was a member of that team, beaten 11-1 by Kitchener Dominion Rubber.

An open-air skating rink was in use for the first time during the winter of 1920. During its formative years, the parks board provided funding while the people in the neighborhood gave generously of their time. Alex Wilson was elected president of the new city baseball league, and the Beacon Herald described Dufferin Park as having the best baseball diamond in the city. Howie Morenz, one of Canada’s greatest hockey players, played baseball at Dufferin Park for the Grand Trunk Railway apprentices . Alex Wilson died in 1952 at the age of 80.

Alex Wilson’s father was Cpl. James (Shootin’ Jimmie) Wilson. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1829 and came to Canada in 1852. A crack marksman, James acquired the nickname “ Shootin’ Jimmie.” He won 125 prizes, some of them medals and cups, with his Enfield rifle. He was also awarded medals for service in the Fenian Raids of 1866 and 1870.

In 1910, when Cpl. Wilson attended an “old boys” celebration in Belleville, he rode in a carriage with his old friend, Sir Mackenzie Bowell, Canada’s prime minister from 1894 to 1896.

For more of the story, see www.streetsofstratford.ca and select Wilson Street.

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Streets of Stratford: Wilson Court

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21.12.2023

Street name honours another Stratford parks pioneer

Court was named for Alexander (Alex) Wilson, who was the founder of Dufferin Park. Wilson Court is a cul-de-sac off of Maple Avenue just south of Dufferin park.

Born in Belleville in 1868, Alex Wilson came to Stratford with his parents as a boy. As a young man, he entered an apprenticeship at the Grand Trunk Railway shops and qualified as a machinist. He lived for many years on Dufferin Street, near an open field that he thought would make a fine park for sports and a play area for children

So in 1909, Alex Wilson went before the parks board and gave a proposal to submit a bylaw for $10,000 to establish a park in the area. It was defeated and the project was shelved, but Alex Wilson did not give up. He was appointed to the parks board in 1910 and never missed an opportunity to promote his project. Early in 1913, the parks board........

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