No pioneer farming community would be complete without a general store, and Churchill was no different.
For two decades, John Samuel Lucas stood behind its gleaming wooden counter, surrounded by a dizzying array of goods and with a warm smile on his face.
Lucas was born in 1844, the son of local farmers John and Roseanne Lucas. The Lucas clan hailed from the north of Ireland, where they were small landholders. They immigrated to Canada in search of better opportunities when young John was six months old.
The journey to Canada was a lengthy and strenuous ordeal. The family left Ireland in May but didn’t reach their new home — Lot 18, Concession 5 — until August, almost four months by ship and foot. There was no time to rest: Lying ahead was the equally taxing chore of taming the wilderness lot Lucas had purchased.
Instead of following in his father’s footsteps by depending on the bounty of the land for his livelihood, the younger Lucas elected to become a schoolteacher. He taught for several years in an old log schoolhouse on the corner of Yonge Street and the 5th Line. By all accounts, he was a good teacher, but there was little money or prestige in the position. Lucas wanted greater things for himself.
On Sept. 29, 1869, Lucas married 23-year-old Elizabeth Allan. Perhaps his new bride inspired him to make a career change, or maybe with marriage came the realization a meagre teacher’s salary would not be enough to comfortably support a family. Whatever the reason, shortly after the union, Lucas made a fateful career change: He gave up teaching and started to keep store in Churchill.
The Lucas store was originally wood, but it was soon bricked over. It was the rural department store of its era, a place where anything a villager could reasonably expect to need could be purchased. Most storekeepers served as village postmaster, and Lucas was no different.
He was also seen as a benevolent pillar in the community, a leading figure in church and various social organizations. He gifted a bell to the Churchill United Church that still graces the church to this day, served as a magistrate for six years, and was active in local politics.
Beloved in Churchill, it was therefore a painful blow when he announced in 1886 he was selling the store and moving to Toronto. In the city, he owned the Lucas Temperance Hotel and a general store, and was a grain wholesaler.
Lucas died in 1923.
