A ghost of the town’s past will vanish as Centre Wellington council approved the closure of a portion of the other Tower Street here.
Those familiar with Fergus know that from the St. Andrew Street intersection, Tower Street heads uphill towards St. Andrew’s Church, jogging right one block around the church property, then jogging left to proceed on its original course towards Garafraxa Street.
What is less known is that another Tower Street remained on the map between St. Andrew’s Church and James McQueen Public School.
At least on maps, the church would have faced onto James Square, with Tower Street running either side of the square and the church.
Today Tower Street bisects James Square and the eastern section of Tower Street (between Hill and St. George Streets) was essentially a walkway between the church and the school.
On June 24 councillors here discussed the conveyance of the unopened road allowance to the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) and St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.
In his report to council, managing director of planning and development Brett Salmon explained that in 2009 the council of the day approved the conveyance of a parcel of land to the UGDSB and to the trustees of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church.
However, the transaction was not completed at the time and recently the UGDSB approached the township to resurrect the transaction.
A portion of the land includes a parking lot and sidewalk that has been maintained by the school board over the years. As well, the land contains a stone wall that is associated with St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.
The conveyance of the land includes an easement in favour of the trustees of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church to permit the maintenance of the stone wall.
No questions were asked by council prior to its approval of the road closure.
