James Hodd-Miller/Mayor
154 Railway Avenue, Stratford, ON
1892
The lovely house at 154 Railway Ave. was built by one of Stratford’s more prominent citizens at the turn of the 20th Century.
James Hodd was born on June 28, 1850, in Woking, Surrey, England, the eldest son of James Hodd and Elizabeth Hull. He was baptized in the over 900-year-old St. Peter’s Church in Old Woking, Surrey, on September 15, 1850. He was educated chiefly at an endowed school in Hungerford, Berkshire, after which he worked on his father’s farm. In 1871, James, his parents, and all his siblings (Margaret, William, Robert, Frank, George, Mary, Donald, and Emily) immigrated to Canada and settled in Wentworth County outside of Hamilton, Ontario, where James worked alongside his father as a farmer.
He began training in the milling business in Dundas and on August 24, 1875, he married Maria Ann Frederick, the 18-year-old daughter of John and Mary Frederick at Christ Church in West Flamborough, Wentworth County. They settled nearby and children soon followed: Alice (1878), Olive (1880), Charles (Charlie) (1882), Kate (1885), and George (1890). After several years of experience in Hamilton, Dundas, Detroit, and the western US, he began his own milling business in Clifford, Wentworth County in 1880. In 1882 James formed a partnership with fellow miller John Cullen and they formed the Hodd and Cullen Milling Company. Tragedy soon followed when John Cullen and most of his family died of consumption in 1886. Cullen’s father-in-law, John Frederick, purchased Cullen’s share of the company and worked as a grain buyer, but James continued to operate the business under its original name. The following year he purchased the H.A. Jameson grain warehouse in Stratford from the sheriff for $2,600, a real bargain since it cost $4,000 to build less than 10 years before. By 1890 James and his family were living on the west side of Wellington St., between St. Patrick and St. David, and he was operating the mill on the north side of George St. between Downie and St. Patrick, with his daughter Alice keeping the company’s books. In 1890 he purchased land on Railway Ave. and in 1892 built the house at 154. He rented it to John Dunn, an employee in his mill, and by 1896 had sold it to teamster John McQuaid.
James soon began his life of public service in Stratford, having been acclaimed as Councilman for Romeo Ward in 1894, elected as a Councilman for Shakespeare Ward in 1898, acclaimed as Mayor of Stratford in 1899, and elected as Mayor on January 3, 1900. He was also prominent in his occupation as a miller, serving on the board of the Dominion Miller’s Association and he was appointed to the Grain Survey board in 1904. While he was mayor, James Pringle served as secretary-treasurer of the company and saw to the day-to-day operations.
Tragedy would strike on April 21, 1901, when a fire broke out in the mill. The flames had already made great headway by the time the firemen arrived and as water pressure was very weak, efforts to contain the fire were ineffective. The buildings were completely gutted with only the walls left standing. About 11,000 bushels of wheat, oats, peas and barley in the elevator were destroyed. The damage was $40,000 but the company was insured with several companies and they began to rebuild.
Tragedy would strike again the following year on April 28 when the boiler at the mill exploded, shattering windows and spewing debris for 4 blocks. Miraculously no one was injured from the blast.
By 1904, James had sold the mill to A.C McLeod and the family moved out west, settling in Winnipeg where he worked in the grain business before moving further west and buying large tracts of land near Maple Creek, Saskatchewan for himself and his sons. While visiting his daughter Kate Gillelan in Lethbridge, Alberta, James died on March 30, 1914, after a brief illness. He is buried in Mountainview Cemetery in Lethbridge, Alberta. Maria died on July 18, 1939, in Maple Creek, and she and several of their children are buried both in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
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