Share Your Information about the Wismer Nursing (Maternity) Home!
Over the years, the Archives has had researchers share that they, or a relative, were born in the “Wismer Nursing Home” in Port Elgin, Ontario, and that they would like to discover more information about it. Consequently, an Archives volunteer worked with staff to gather as much information from the resources in the Archives & Research Room as possible. We have been unable to verify exact start and end dates for the home. If you have a newspaper notice or birth registration mentioning the Wismer Nursing Home or birthing house outside of the years 1943-1946, or more information about its operation, please feel free to contact archives staff to share the item or information: archives@brucecounty.on.ca, Research Room Direct Line: 226-909-2890.
[December 2024 update: Thank you to those who reached out after this article was initially posted; as a result of community feedback, we have been able update the known years of operation from only 1946 to the range of December 1943 to 1946. We welcome continued feedback and information.]
History of the Wismer House Building (before the “Nursing Home” era)
The building, currently known as the restaurant The Wismer House, was built in the 1870s by Henry Hilker, a merchant in Port Elgin. He was co-owner, with Mr. W. H. Ruby, of the store Ruby & Hilker located on the corner of Goderich and Mill Streets. The Wismer House, located at 705 Goderich St., Port Elgin, on the northeast corner of Goderich and Elgin Streets, was built in the Georgian style, and still features the original rod iron fence today.
The ownership of the house remained mostly in the Hilker name until 1922 when it was sold to Dr. James Struthers. He owned it for a few years before selling to the Trustees of Tolmie Memorial Presbyterian Church in 1926 for use as a manse, when they finished building a new church next door. In September 1927, Rev. Douglas Hill and Miss Mitchell were married and took up residence in the manse (later known as the Wismer House). Some remodeling of the manse took place including removal of the veranda, and the “outlook” on the roof, as well as some redecorating.
The book, “Reminiscences Port Elgin 1874-1974,” pg. 92, shows a picture of the “Henry Hilker Residence” –this is an early picture of The Wismer House. The picture shows the verandah and the outlook before the 1927 renovations.
During the Depression in the 1930s, the congregation experienced financial problems. Between 1937 and 1941, the congregation was without a resident pastor, and as the manse was vacant; it was decided to rent it for $10 per month with the Board having authority to sell, giving tenant(s) one month’s notice.
Entry of the Wismer Name
John Henry Wismer (b.1856), a horticulturist, came to the Saugeen Shores area around 1876 to establish a nursery. He married Lydia Eby Trafelet in 1879 and they had 5 children – Winnie, Pearl, Emery, Hallick “Floyd”, and Annie. In December 1883, he purchased two small parcels of land from Samuel Bricker Jr. for his orchard in Saugeen Township: Lot 9 in Concession 8. He sold this property to Joseph Thede in August 1934, just two months before his death. The Port Elgin Times newspaper wrote in 1934 that Mr. J.H. Wismer, well-known local resident and proprietor of P.E. Nursery business, died at home Oct. 28th.
In May 1942, the name “Wismer” appears on the Land Registry for the property of 705 Goderich St, Port Elgin. The Trustees of Tolmie Memorial Presbyterian Church of Port Elgin Church sold the church manse to John Henry’s son and wife, Emery Fry Wismer (1886-1961) and Louise Ina (Ockley) Wismer (1896-1971) for $2,800.
Nurseryman Emery and Louisa married in 1916, and lived in Harriston, Ontario for a time (as per the They purchased the Wismer House, Port Elgin, in spring 1942, and owned it until late 1960 when they sold it to son Jack. For at least some years during that time period, the house operated as a birthing house. Birthing houses were often known as nursing homes at that time.
Wismer Nursing Home (Maternity Home)
There is only a little information currently available in the Bruce County Archives regarding the birthing house and its years of operation. In the 1940s, there was no hospital in the Saugeen Shores area, as the Saugeen Shores Memorial Hospital did not open until October 1947. Until that time, local physicians offered medical care from their offices. Other area hospitals “nursing homes” were difficult to get to with rough roads and a minimal number of residents owning vehicles. If residents needed the care of a hospital or the “nursing home” expertise of a midwife, they would have had to reach out to the nearest one(s): Bruce County General Hospital, Walkerton; private hospitals in Wiarton, including another birthing house known as Spears Nursing Home which opened in 1939 for births and patients convalescing; and the Owen Sound General and Marine Hospital. (For more information about hospitals, see the article “Bruce County Hospitals”.)
Wismer Nursing Home owners Emery and Louisa Wismer had five children – Muriel, John, Betty, Harry, and Elizabeth. Their son John (Jack) Fry Wismer, a soldier in WWII, married Evelyn A. Gymer in England on September 19, 1943. She sailed to Halifax, Canada on the Acquitania in April 1946 as a war bride. Evelyn later wrote about her experiences during the war in England and her new life coming to Canada. While her husband Jack finished his Public Health Exams, she stayed with his family in Port Elgin (at the Wismer House) for a few weeks. Evelyn found life quite different there, mentioning that Mother Wismer’s home was a maternity home – she recalled how one day she had to get two patients their meals as the third was having her baby. Evelyn and Jack moved to Wiarton shortly after this as he accepted a Health Inspector position for Bruce County.
The 1971 newspaper obituary for Louise Wismer states that Mrs. Emery F. Wismer (Louise) passed away on June 25, 1971 in her 76th year, and that she operated a nursing home in Port Elgin during the days of WWII. Information received from a person whose certificate of birth confirms his place of birth as the Wismer Nursing Home on December 25, 1943 confirms the Home was in operation as early as December 1943 (and possibly earlier). A birth notice in the March 13, 1946 Port Elgin Times provides an example of notices referencing the Wismer Nursing Home, and confirms continued operation at that time.
Later, in the 1970s, this building housed a law office, hair dresser, and insurance office. Since 1987, it has been a restaurant.
The exact dates of the Wismer Nursing Home’s operation are unknown. If you have a newspaper notice or birth registration mentioning the Wismer Nursing Home / maternity home, please feel free to contact archives staff to share the item or information: archives@brucecounty.on.ca, Research Room Direct Line: 226-909-2890.
Sources:
- Ancestry.ca, Birth, Death, Census records re: Port Elgin Wismer family.
- Bruce County Genealogical Society Surname Collection, at BCM&CC, notices and obituaries for surname Wismer.
- Levie, Carmin J. “Reminiscences : Port Elgin Centennial 1874-1974.” Port Elgin, Ont.: Port Elgin Rotary Club, 1974. Print. (Photo, page 92)
- Lindsay, Sandy. “Local couple celebrates 50th anniversary.” Saugeen Times, October 10, 2022. https://saugeentimes.com/local-couple-celebrates-50th-anniversary/. Accessed August 2024.
- Ontario. Town of Port Elgin Land Abstract Index Book, page for Block 69, Plan 11, Lot 34. BCM&CC AL999.001.
- Port Elgin Times. “Kelso” March 15, 1946
- Saugeen Shores. “Historic Port Elgin Walking Tours.” https://www.saugeenshores.ca/en/explore-and-play/resources/
- Tolmie Memorial Historical Committee. “Building in Faith: Tolmie Memorial Presbyterian Church, Port Elgin, Ontario, 1926-1996.” 1996. Print. (Pages 8 19), BCM&CC AX2018.034.001
- Tolmie Memorial Presbyterian Church. “One hundred years of Presbyterianism in Port Elgin 1861-1961”. 1961. Print. BCM&CC A2012.125.030.
- Underwood, Audrey. “The Search for the Wismer Apple” in “Historical Notes: Yearbook Edition 2015” Bruce County Historical Society. Print.
- Wismer, Evelyn. “War wife’s life began 50 years ago.” The Walkerton Herald Times, May 1, 1966, BCM&CC AT2016.008.007.
