McNab Street

McNab Street was laid out in 1873 by Jannett McNab Grant, but it was then called Mary Street. Grant's survey appeared on the 1879 map of Stratford in the Perth County atlas. The survey also included Grant Street.

It is believed that Jannett's maiden name was McNab, and that she was born in Quebec in 1820. She married Scottish-born Benjamin Grant of Stratford in about 1816, and it is thought that Jannett named Grant Street after her husband's family and Mary Street after her first daughter. Because Stratford already had a Mary Street (later changed to Waterloo Street S.), Jannett Grant probably decided to honor her maiden name and changed her Mary Street to McNab Street. Stratford went from having two Mary streets to having none. Benjamin Grant lived 188 Erie St., and owned and operated the Crystal Hall Store, where he sold crockery, glassware and china in the late 1800s. His store was next to the W. F. McCulloch hardware store on Ontario Street.

Among the Streets of Stratford, Grant and McNab are a unique married couple. They have lived happily together for well over 100 years. By: Stanford Dingman