Frederick William Crooker was born in Waterdown on the 28th December 1862 and the only son of William Harris Crooker and Sarah Jane Rymal. He received his education at the Waterdown Public and High School on Main Street South. During his youth he was a regular attendant at the Wesleyan Methodist Sunday School and in later years became a Teacher and Superintendent.
After completing his schooling, he probably went to work for his father who had been in business in Waterdown since 1857 and was listed as the village druggist in the 1871 Census Returns for East Flamborough Township. In 1894 Frederick Crooker married Alice Elizabeth Davis of Burlington, daughter of the late Gilbert Davis, U.E., and the couple went to live in a large brick house on Dundas Street that today is known as The Parlour.
Soon after his marriage probably about 1896, Frederick Crooker established his own business in Waterdown. He built and operated for over 20 years a general store in the Village of Waterdown, dealing in dry goods, groceries and hardware that was located at the north-east corner of Main and Dundas Streets (across from the former Kirk Hotel, now The Royal Coachman Pub).
The building also contained the village Library and Post Office for which Mr. Crooker served as Postmaster until his retirement. Known as the Crooker Building, it was an extraordinary structure for the small village and because of its imposing size and grandeur it was considered the finest mercantile building in Waterdown. No other commercial property of this size was to be found in the village and it even rivaled the commercial buildings on King Street, Dundas.
The building survived the 1906 village fire, but was destroyed less than a decade later on 25 May 1915 when another major fire broke out at this corner. This time almost the entire Crooker Block was destroyed, including the Village Library located on the upper level of the store, and the General Store and Post Office on the lower level. The volunteer village fire brigade although quickly on the scene, were unable to cope with the blaze and all the books were lost. Ironically activities in the village on this Victoria Day had been to raise funds for the village Library.
The corner was rebuilt by Mr. Crooker and for a short period he continued to operate his General Store. However, after a third village fire in 1922 he decided his interests lay elsewhere, he retired from his business and returned to politics. In 1924 he ran in the local Municipal Election. On the 10th of January 1924, The Hamilton Spectator recorded the results of the election and Frederick William Crooker was elected Reeve of Waterdown having polled 60 more votes than his opponent.
He only served for one term as Reeve but he appears to have been a popular politician as he was described as ” always a capable leader, he proved himself a man of foresight when, largely through his efforts, the Waterworks System was installed in the village”. Possibly after seeing his business destroyed in three Waterdown fires he believed it was time the village had an efficient fire department and water system.
On 24 June 1927, Frederick W. Crooker died in the Hamilton General Hospital from gangrene. He had been ill for about three weeks, his illness caused by an infection in a toe. In an effort to save his life, his leg was amputated but he was unable to survive the shock. Frederick Crooker and his wife had no children and no surviving relatives at the time of his death.
© The Waterdown-East Flamborough Heritage Society 2000, 2023.
