Reverend Joshua Dyke (September 15, 1849 – August 11, 1934) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

-born

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister, business owner and politician in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. He served as mayor of Fort William from 1902 to 1903. He was born in

Wednesfield Wednesfield () is a town and historic village in the City of Wolverhampton, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England; it was historically within the county of Staffordshire. It is east-north-east of Wolverhampton cit ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

and came to Canada in 1871. Dyke founded Wesley Methodist Church (later Wesley United Church) in Fort William in 1890. After beginning to lose his voice, Dyke left his post as a minister and became involved in business. He was a real estate and insurance agent. He also owned the Dyke Block, a commercial building, in Fort William. Dyke supported a publicly funded streetcar system for Port Arthur and Fort William since private sources of funding were not interested in the project. During his time as mayor, a municipal telephone system was established and Vickers Park was donated to the town. Also, the first Fort William town hall was destroyed by fire. Dyke submitted his name for the 1909 mayoral election but was forced to withdraw after he suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. Dyke died in Fort William at the age of 84. His daughter Edith, one of the first women to practice law in Thunder Bay district, established the Joshua Dyke Family Scholarship in his honour.

References

1849 births 1934 deaths People from Wednesfield Mayors of Fort William, Ontario Canadian Methodists 20th-century mayors of places in Ontario {{Ontario-mayor-stub