By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer

He was arguably Sarnia’s greatest Mayor.

James C. Barr, who served two terms as the Head of Council, played a key role in the establishment of Canatara Park – the crown iewel of the City’s parks system. He also pushed through a motion that dramatically reduced the size of Council, making local government less costly and more efficient.

Born on Christina Street in 1876, he was the son of former Sarnia Mayor David Barr.

As a young man James worked for his father in the family jewelry store, taking over the business himself in 1909.

He won a seat on City Council in 1921 and quickly gained a reputation as an Alderman with a fantastic memory for figures.

Elected Sarnia’s 43rd Mayor four years later, he was instrumental in reducing the size of Council from 14 Aldermen to just eight. The move has saved the City hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years.

But it was in his second term as Mayor – in 1932 when he was elected the City’s 49th Chief Magistrate – that he really made his mark.

It was the year that negotiations for the Canatara Park project were started. At the time, the Great Depression was under way and the City couldn’t even afford to pave crumbling downtown streets.

There was widespread criticism of the plan to buy land on Lake Huron for a park, but Mayor Barr pushed hard for the project, arguing the property was the only open space left on the lake within City limits. If it was lost, he said, City residents would be denied easy access to the lake for all time.

It looked like an impossible task but when Mrs., W.J. Hanna agreed to contribute $10,000.00 if the City would find the balance of the cost, Mayor Barr convinced Council to do just that.

In a cabin near the park’s popular animal farm, there’s a picture of Mayor Barr with an inscription that notes he “resolutely provided the political leadership to acquire the Canatara Park property in 1932”.

At the time, however, some referred to the purchase as ‘Barr’s folly’. Today, it’s impossible to imagine the City without Canatara Park.

After leaving Council he served on Sarnia Hydro Commission for 19 years.

In a 1955 editorial, The Observer noted, “there is probably no Sarnian living who has given more of his time and talent toward the betterment of Sarnia then has Mr. Barr”.

He died on November 2, 1962, at age 86.