Strange

For additional information: 

Album of Oldies / Gillham,  Elizabeth McClure

Early Settlement of King / Gillham, Elizabeth McClure

Timeless King

Tweedsmuir History - Snowball

Strange is located on the 6th concession between the King Road and 15th sideroad.  It was originally known as Williamstown.

In 1840, William Wells decided he wanted to start a town in this area. His first store, opened in 1841 anddid a good business. In 1880, Dr. Frederick William Strange, elected representative for the area, secured a post office for the town.

Strange, about 1920.

Photo from Album of Oldies / Elizabeth McClure Gillham.

In gratitude, the name of the settlement was changed from Williamstown to Strange. The store and attached residence were destroyed by fire in 1922. Mr. Rutherford, the store's next owner, built a new residence reserving one room to be used as a grocery store. The store finally closed in 1940.

By 1853, William Wells had abandoned his vision for a town at Strange, when the railway went through Springhill (King City) instead of his settlement.

A Wesleyan Methodist Church was built in Strange but it closed in 1904 and the congregation moved to the Methodist Church in Laskay. In 1837, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church was built of log construction in Strange. A new stone church was built in 1860. The church closed in 1958 and became a private residence.

Strange Post Office, 1908. Courtesy of Elizabeth McClure Gillham