Ninety years ago, my family moved into a house at 24 Putney Road. It was a wonderful neighbourhood, known to all as The Caston Subdivision.
Most of the families were young, so there was an abundance of children. In summer, it was a ball game in a vacant lot. In winter, it was the Alex Muir rink.
I remember the Bennett, Thompson, Hone, Tipton, Rose and Boston families on The Crescent; the Lake, Chalmers, Buchan, Hesson, Miller, Watkinson, Mervyn and Dunne families on Forest Avenue; the Porter, Sisler, Simard, Gerhart, Young, Cameron, Wilcox and Ross families on The Drive; and the Hannah, Leslie, Moodie, Hayman and Nixon families on Putney Road. All were proud to be living in “The Caston”.
I was recently at a gathering where I remarked that I grew up in the Caston Subdivision. None of the people there had ever heard of The Caston and had no idea where it was. I decided it was time to identify the boundaries of the subdivision, determine when and how it was created and find out where it got its name.
Through online research, old newspaper articles, and invaluable assistance by Lindsey from the Library and Michelle from City Hall, the story began to unfold.
On June 14, 1898, Plan 5437 was registered in Ontario creating the Caston Subdivision in Sault Ste. Marie. The surveyor who created the plan was Joseph Cozens and the lawyer who signed the subdivision plan was Harry E Caston.
The subdivision was located north of the railway tracks and south of Pim Hill. It was bounded on the west by Pim Street, on the north by Ontario Avenue, on the east by Upper Simpson Street and on the south by Forest Avenue.
Harry Edmonds Featherston Caston was from Putney, England. He came to Toronto, Canada in 1862 with his brother and sister. By the early 1880s Harry Caston was working at the Caston & Galt law firm. By the late 1880s he had established his own law firm, Caston & Co.
In 1899 he published a book titled, Taxes And The Assessment Law. The book was of such significance that it continues to be sold today. It was last reproduced in 2015 and is for sale on Amazon and elsewhere.
Harry Caston died at Niagara Falls in 1907. His obituary describes him as a well-known barrister, 51 years old and unmarried.
The Caston Subdivision lay dormant until May 6, 1909, when it was purchased by an investment syndicate led by Wilcox-Eldridge Co. Ltd. In a newspaper article titled, A Big Deal it was reported that, “The new owners intend to make extensive improvements and put the the subdivision in first-class condition before the lots are put on sale. There will be building restrictions to protect against any objectionable buildings going up. Lot prices will be attractive and reasonable.”
Thomas J Wilcox and Rufus C Eldridge were entrepreneurs from near Niagara Falls, New York. Wilcox moved to Sault Ste. Marie in 1901. Eldridge continued to live in New York.
The Wilcox-Eldridge firm was involved in multiple business ventures in and around Sault Ste. Marie. Wilcox had real estate and insurance businesses and was said to be instrumental in moving the Algoma Steel head office into the old Cornwall Hotel Building.
It may have been normal in those days, but newspaper articles list many properties attributed to Wilcox-Eldridge as being in arrears on taxes. In 1907 all lots in the Caston Subdivision are shown as being in arrears for 3-5 years, with total amounts owed varying from $10 to $30 per lot.
The next reference to the Caston Subdivision is on May 20, 1909, when Thomas Wilcox appeared before City Council to propose that the subdivision owner install sewers in the subdivision. The work would be, “Under city direction but at the owner’s cost.”
Wilcox projected there would be about a mile of sewers costing $1 per foot, for a total cost of over $4,000. He proposed that the city agree to take over the sewers and refund half of the owner’s cost after the subdivision streets were substantially built on.
The Council thought the scheme was a good one and endorsed it without hesitation. Over the next five years the lots sold rapidly at prices ranging from $300-$500. Houses were built with stated values of $3,500-$5,500.
By 1920 almost all the lots had been sold and houses built.
Thomas Wilcox built a house at 42 The Drive where he lived with his wife Elizabeth, who was also from Niagara Falls, New York. Early on the morning of July 2, 1926, he left his home, walked over to upper Simpson Street and proceeded through the bush to an old stone quarry located just west of where the Pine Street armoury is today.
It was there that he shot himself through the right temple. When he did not return from his walk, his wife went looking for him and discovered his body.
The Sault Star headline read, “Suicided While Mind Deranged From Years of Illness.” There was no inquest.
The old stone quarry was well known to parents in The Caston. As children, we were forbidden to go there. The quarry had steep walls and was filled with water. Rumour had it that the quarry was haunted. Naturally, although forbidden, we kids had to go and see for ourselves.
I admit to some trepidation as I looked down at those black waters and thought about the ghost possibilities.
The Caston Story has now been fully unravelled. It was created by Ontario Subdivision Plan 5437, registered June 14, 1898.
The subdivision was named after Harry E Caston, the Toronto barrister who signed the Plan. The subdivision is located east of Pim Street, above the tracks and below the hill, with boundaries as previously described.
The subdivision was purchased in 1909 and developed by an investment syndicate led by Wilcox-Eldridge Co. Ltd. Lots were fully sold and houses built between 1910 and 1920.
The Caston Subdivision remains a safe, convenient, friendly neighbourhood with well-kept homes and yards. It is regularly renewed as older people move on and young families move in. It was a wonderful place to grow up. May it always be so.
Peter M Nixon
March 13, 2025