Ostler’s General Store, Plevna

Clarendon Miller Community Archives | Apr 14, 2016

George W. Dawson, who was originally from Sligo, Ireland, arrived in Plevna in 1877 and took over a store on the south side of Frontenac Street (now Hwy. 509), west of the bridge (likely the first in Buckshot/Plevna) from George and Abigail Caprin.

By 1882 Dawson had built and opened the store on the north-west corner of Frontenac and Church Streets (now 506/509/Buckshot Lake Rd), which became the largest in the area. He gave up running the store when he was elected MP in 1891 and moved to Ottawa.

Gilbert Ostler, originally from Yorkshire, England, started clerking for Dawson in 1888. He took over the running of the store in 1891, purchased it from Dawson in 1897 and operated it until his death in 1944. Both the Dawson and Ostler families lived in the attached residence and Gilbert Ostler was known for his beautiful gardens.

The families were related through several links, including Gilbert’s nephew Harry’s marriage to G.W.’s daughter Grace.

The Ostler family, Gilbert’s wife Claribel and daughter Ione, continued to run the store until it closed in 1956 or ‘57.

The McInnes family in the late 50s/60s lived in the store, took in boarders and operated a garage there. The property was owned at one point by Clarence Tooley. Bev Whan later had an ice cream parlour in the building and in the early 2000s Janet Kellar ran a pizza take-out from the store and a craft/gift shop within.

The Dawson/Ostler store was spacious, with room for all kinds of groceries, dry goods and hardware. Shipping invoices from 1881 showed fabrics and other sewing supplies, including 6 doz spools of thread ($2.13) and 2 doz. thimbles $.22); dry goods such as tea (52lb./$15.60), rice (25lb./$.98) and nutmeg (1lb/$.98), as well as medicines, and lead pencils and copy books (each $.20 a dozen). Ostler had space for clothing and cloth, though many families ordered from the Eaton’s catalogue.

The store did not sell fresh goods, fruit veggies or meat as these were produced locally. Dawson and Ostler also provided a market for customers’ goods including butter, eggs and fur. Muskrat pelts earned $1.00 in the 1920s; mink $15. At Ostler's you could buy licences - hunting for $1 and trapping for $5. Ostler’s later sold gas across the street, initially in gallon bottles then in tanks with glass tops.

The store was designed with ample room for customers to sit around. In effect it was a community centre where people could gather on Saturday nights to discuss current news and exchange gossip, or even to doze. The store would also have been popular as it housed the Post Office and the Post Office Savings Bank. G.W. Dawson had been Postmaster as of 1877 til 1891 and Gilbert Ostler served from 1896 til 1944. Gilbert also served as church warden at Holy Trinity Anglican, which was established and built through the efforts of G.W. Dawson, for some 50 years.

The Ostler store had an early “generator”, a Delco that was gas powered and powered lights in the store. It was kept in the drive shed across the road.

Thomas Armstrong clerked for George Dawson in 1880/81 as did members of his family (Laura and Martha) for Gilbert Ostler in later years. Other clerks included A.W. Wood and Ross Thompson.