By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer
No Mayor in Sarnia’s history faced a crisis comparable to the one that confronted John McGibbon in 1912.
McGibbon, who was born near Milton in 1859, became Chief Magistrate at a time when the Municipality was reeling from outbreaks of diphtheria and scarlet fever.
Within weeks of his election the situation had become so serious that authorities were forced to quarantine nearly 50 homes. At least one person died and there was widespread panic.
The outbreaks, according to Provincial Government Officials, could be traced directly to the fact that local drinking water was unsanitary.
At the time, Sarnia’s tap water was drawn from the St. Clair River by a 40-year old pumping station on George Street that was literally falling to pieces.
The River, then as now, was not the cleanest body of water in the world. Indeed, the Observer reported “experts from Toronto were brought here, looked at the River, and condemned it as a polluted stream”.
To get around the problem, Mayor McGibbon worked with Point Edward officials to have a new pumping station built on Lake Huron. The facility, which opened in 1913, featured more modern pumps and purifiers.