Opening of Rifle Ranges - 1899

At 2:15 p.m., Saturday September 23, 1899, four hundred citizens boarded a special train at the Hunter Street Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway station to be transported to the new Rifle Ranges. A formal opening ceremony was scheduled for that afternoon although the ranges had been is use since early that morning.

Equipped by the Dominion Government in Ottawa for the use of Hamilton’s militia units, the ranges were very much needed for the training of the citizen soldiers. Located in the shadow of the Niagara Escarpment, the ranges were about midway between Hamilton and Dundas and close to the line of the T.H. and B. railway. The officers of the 13^th battalion anticipated that the T.H. & B. company would be willing to provide special trains on the occasions when special shooting matches were scheduled to take place at the new rifle ranges.

The formal portion of the afternoon was scheduled to be held at 4 p.m.:

“When the special train arrived at the ranges, the senior shots quit firing to take part in the opening ceremonies. The officers of the battalion first took their guests up to the targets and gave a practical demonstration of the new mode of signaling. The ground and ranges were then inspected after which those present walked back to the 600 yard where the speech-making took place.”¹

¹ “The Ranges Opened”

Hamilton Spectator.     September 25, 1899.

Lieutenant-Colonel Henry McLaren was the first speaker. He said it was a pleasant duty for him to preside at the opening of the first rifle ranges that the 13^th Battalion had ever owned. He said that “heretofore the battalion had been the tenants of the Victoria Rifle Club, but now the order would be reversed and the V.R.C. would become the tenants of the battalion.”¹

When it had been decided that the battalion was in need of a proper rifle range, Musketry Instructor Lieutenant Pain and Assistant Musketry Instructor Hayhurst were instructed to select a suitable site. When their selection had been approved, the contract for the work necessary to make first-class ranges was awarded to John Dickenson who, Lieutenant-Colonel McLaren said, had done the work so well that the 13^th Battalion was equipped with ranges as good or better than any other battalion in Canada.

In introducing Mayor Teetzel, Lieutenant-Colonel thanked the city for its efforts on the part of the Thirteenth Battalion, but he felt more could be done:

“The Toronto council have voted $20,000 for the rifle ranges of their regiment and $100,000 for a site for the new armories. He then referred to the lack of accommodation on the new rifle ranges for the local riflemen and suggested that it would not be out of the place for the City Council of Hamilton to vote $1,000 towards building a pavilion and caretaker’s house on the grounds.”¹

In response, the mayor pledged to bring the matter to his successor that some action be taken on the commanding officer’s suggestion. Mayor Teetzel felt that great praise should be given to both the Thirteenth Battalion and the Fourth Field Battery:

“They had done much to advertise the city from one end of the world to the other, and their members had always stood in front rank in anything they went in for. From the time Col. Gibson won fame with his rifle until the present, it had been one series of victories for the Thirteenth.”¹

Lieutenant-Colonel McLaren then introduced Henry Carscallen, member of the Ontario legislature for Hamilton. The Lieutenant-Colonel knew that Mr. Carscallen could not be asked for anything in his official capacity, but nonetheless it was acknowledged that a $500 grant for the establishment of a croquet lawn and bowling alley in connection with the rifle ranges would be a good idea:

“Mr. Carscallen said that unfortunately he was not on the side of the house that had the voting of grants but promised to remember the request when his party did get into power. He considered that the government of Canada had never given the Canadian militia the support it deserved, and thought the remuneration given to officers and men was insufficient.”¹

The last speaker on the agenda was the Honorable Lieutenant-Colonel Gibson, who Lieutenant-Colonel McLaren referred to in his introduction as one of the best shots the Thirteenth ever had:

“Mr. Gibson thanked the chairman for his kind remarks and then reviewed the history of rifle-shooting for the past half century. He was present in 1864 when Mrs. Buchanan formally opened the old ranges and was pleased to see Mrs. McLaren fire the first shot on the new ranges. During the thirty-five years that intervened, rifle shooting had had its ups and downs. The riflemen were chased off the first ranges because property was becoming very valuable in the part of country, and then located on the range they recently deserted because the T.H. & B. railway had run its tracks through the property. He thought that the T.H. & B. might compensate the riflemen by giving by giving them free passes on the road to and from the ranges.”¹

After the speech-making was concluded, Mrs. McLaren was then called on to officially open the ranges. Using Lieutenant-Colonel Pain’s rifle, which had been sighted by Color-Sergeant Skedden. Mrs. McLaren, at a favorable moment when the wind was light, pulled the trigger and the bullet whistled through the air:

“There was a short wait, and then up went the signal showing that a bull’s eye had been made at No. 1 target, and the crowd cheered lustily.”¹

At this point, Captain Tidswell stepped forward to present Mrs. McLaren with a handsome souvenir of the occasion:

“The souvenir was in the shape of a certificate of the first shot being fired from the 600-yard range and read : ‘This is to certify that Mrs. Henry McLaren officially opened the Thirteenth battalion rifle ranges situated on lot 56, concession 1, Township of Ancaster, by firing the first shot at 600 yards on the afternoon of September 23, 1899.”¹

After the ceremonial opening of the ranges, an exhibition of quick firing was given by the Maxim Gun detachment. The officers were then ‘at home’ to their guests in a large tent erected on the grounds. The return to the city was made by special train which left the which left the ranges at 5:30 p.m.