One of Flamborough’s most influential physicians was Dr. John Owen McGregor, who practised in the Waterdown area from 1884 to 1927. He was born on the 19th of December 1850, attended high school in Guelph and acquired his degree of Medical Doctor at the University of Michigan in 1873. He was declared a Medical Practitioner at the University of Toronto in 1875 and began practice in Dundas following his graduation. In 1878 he married Elizabeth (Eliza) Mary Mackenzie, who had come from Scotland as a young child. They had a family of eight children, two of whom became notable surgeons in the Hamilton area and three of whom became nurses. In 1884 he moved his practice to Waterdown where he remained until his death in 1928.
Dr. McGregor’s first practice was located on the southeast corner of Dundas and Main Streets, where he also operated a pharmacy. He acted as both physician and druggist, prescribing and filling prescriptions. He later moved his practice to his home, and the then empty second storey above the pharmacy became known as McGregor Hall, where various village meeting and activities were held. This building was destroyed in the great Waterdown fire of 1922.
The Scotch Church Grant from Waterdown’s Knox Church, a piece of land along Main Street North left vacant by the amalgamation of two Presbyterian churches in Waterdown was purchased by Dr. McGregor. On this ground he built his stately home, Clunes, named after the Scottish home his wife was born in. This house still exists at 49 Main Street North. The grounds contained summer cottages for his children and grandchildren, but these have all now disappeared as the property has been redeveloped into housing.
Dr. McGregor was very active in the political life of Waterdown. He was elected Reeve of Waterdown in 1895, served on the Village of Waterdown Council for 16 consecutive years and was Warden of the County of Wentworth for two years beginning in 1897.
Dr. J. O. McGregor, however, is most remembered for his devotion to medicine. An article in the Hamilton Spectator, 16 January 1892, about the spread of grip in the countryside, stated “Dr. McGregor of Waterdown has ninety-one patients sick with him. He drives nearly 100 miles a day between 7 am and 9 pm, using up 2 teams of horses. Some nights he does not go to bed at all”.
He made calls in Waterdown for fifty cents, and his charge for confinements was five dollars. The day after a medical visit he always made a courtesy call, often accompanied by his wife. He was described as “a venerable old type country physician” and “a law unto himself”. An editorial of the Hamilton Spectator in 1928 reads “He was more than the family physician, he was the family adviser and mentor, friend and guide; he was loved and trusted by all”.
In 1927, Dr. McGregor was struck by an automobile, and as a result of his injuries was forced to end his medical career. He died on the 23rd of April, 1928 at the Hamilton General Hospital from complications resulting from this accident. He left an estate of $46,466, and asked that no ostentation of show be made at his funeral. He was buried beside his son, Archie, in Union Cemetery, Waterdown, where his epitaph reads “administered to the sick in this district for 48 years”.
© The Waterdown-East Flamborough Heritage Society 2000, 2023.
