Cultural Landmarks of Hamilton-Wentworth

A History of the City of Hamilton

Hamilton and area has gone through many changes since the first Europeans saw the area. Let us try to give you an overview of what it means to say you are from Hamilton and what that heritage entails, warts and all.

The first documented European visitor to the Hamilton area was Etienne Brule in 1616. Early travellers and settlers called the area by different names. The southwest side of the Bay was called Burlington or Burlington Heights. The settled area along the north of the bay was called Head-of-the-Lake or by the township name of Barton.

By the beginning of the 19th century, settlers were drifting into the area. Many of them were Loyalists who had fled the Revolution in the U.S. In 1791 there were 31 families and by 1823 there were 1,000 people.

John Ryckman, born in Barton, described the area in 1803 as he remembered it: "The city in 1803 was all forest. The shores of the bay were difficult to reach or see because they were hidden by a thick, almost impenetrable mass of trees and undergrowth...Bears at pigs, so settlers warred on bears. Wolves gobbled sheep and geese, so they hunted and trapped wolves. They also held organized raids on rattlesnakes on the mountainside. There was plenty of game. Many a time have I seen a deer jump the fence into my back yard, and there were millions of pigeons which we clubbed as they flew low."

One of the major attractions to settlement here was the lovely harbour. Twice the size it is now, it was crystal clear with gleaming white sand you could wade out on forever. There were, however, drawbacks too.From the beginning of settlement along the bay shore, excess water was a problem. Many large inlets went far up into what is now the heart of the city and in the spring the area turned into one great bog, cutting the northern half of the town off from the southern half. Malaria was rampant in the marsh that was the north end of the city.

On March 22, 1816 the Legislature of Upper Canada passed an Act "to erect and form a new District...to be called the District of Gore." They also established a court house and gaol to be erected in the Town of Hamilton in the township of Barton, thus giving first written confirmation of the name of the new town. Hamilton is named after George Hamilton, a local politician and entrepreneur who spent a lot of time during these early years promoting the settlement that bore his name. Many downtown streets bear witness to his devotion to naming streets after his family members.

With the advent of the 1830's at the Head-of-the-Lake, an era of unparalleled prosperity seemed to be dawning. There was an easily navigable and protected harbour, accessible through the new canal cut in 1827. There had been at least one fatal accident during the cutting of this new canal. One of the workers had his leg crushed. The doctor amputated but he died anyway and an inquest was called. The leg had been placed in a barrel of whiskey to preserve it until the coroner could determine cause of death. When brought out, the keg was empty. The rather strong illness that broke out in two of the onlookers at the inquest could have had something to do with an overindulgence in said questionable liquor. The town became a logical staging point for passage through to the expanding west. Emigrants were pouring through in ever-increasing numbers and many, seeing the area's potential, chose to stay here rather than continue on. They brought in new industry and prospering commercial interests. Real estate was up, construction was booming and, besides all these pecuniary enticements, many found other reasons for settling in the area.

"We are very well provided for, with regard to a situation. We have a very good house and our fire round us, and George has wages 100 dollars a year, and all his keep; which is much better than I should have found in England. My master is an Englishman, and a very good master, for he makes everything to my satisfaction, and I am very happy to think the Lord has provided me so well, and I have to inform you that I never desire to come to England any more, for we found it a troublesome journey to that happy spot where we are now situated. I have to inform you that we need not go to bed a-cold nights for want of something to keep us warm, for we can get good liquors very cheap, good rum at 5d. per pint, whiskey 7 1/2 d. per quarts, &c."

On January 8, 1833 the Legislature passed a further act "To define the limits of the Town of Hamilton, in the District of Gore, and to establish a Police and public market therein."

The Garland, a local newspaper devoted entirely to literature, published a synopsis of Hamilton at this time, specifying that it contained "about one hundred and twenty dwelling houses and upwards of one thousand inhabitants" and then went on to list 4 public buildings, 7 taverns, 16 stores, 2 watchmakers, 2 saddlers, 4 merchant tailors, 4 cabinet makers, 4 boot and shoe makers, 2 bakers, 4 newspapers, 1 druggist, 1 tin and sheet iron manufactory, 1 hatter and 3 milleneries. The Garland's motto was "To raise the genius and mend the heart." A sample of their raised genius can be seen in the following which was printed on February 16, 1833: "Why is a debtor confined to jail like a leaky boat? D'ye give up? Because he wants bailing out"

By 1834 the town was well on its way to becoming a typical town of the time. Noted credits accruing to them totalled L630/7/4 and total debits against them totalled L630/7/4. A balanced budget!

The city was settling down into a stability that would lead, in the decade to follow, to the incorporation of the Town of Hamilton as the City of Hamilton. The population was growing, industry and commerce were growing, the boundaries were expanding, burglaries, public bathing and swine running at large were firmly under control, due to strict city bylaws, and the town was on its way.

In 1846 Hamilton officially became a City. For the next few decades the city had its ups and downs, almost going bankrupt in the 1860's. That was a potential disaster. The bailiffs seized the furniture of the city hall along with the portraits of the past esteemed mayors of Hamilton and put them on the block to raise money on Hamilton's debt. No one wanted them. A public spirited citizen finally bought them and donated them back to the city. To stall off the auditors the City Clerk took a vacation with the Assessment Rolls until the crisis was over and Hamilton was safe once more.

It was during the time period of the 1890's that Hamilton became an industrial hub in south-central Ontario. The early concentration of iron and steel manufacturing here was not accidental. Hamilton was in a very advantageous location. Nearby coal supplies in the states and the plentiful supply of iron ore in Northern Ontario plus Hamilton's superb natural harbour on the great lakes made it the logical focus for the new industry. An American visitor to Hamilton in 1889 who was greatly impressed with Hamilton's industrial potential wrote: "Look down upon it from the mountain top and it is one vast field of tall chimneys and the smoke from its hundreds of factories hangs over the city like a beautiful web."

His comment brings up one of Hamilton's little idiosyncracies; our mountain.

A newspaper once quoted a Torontonian as saying that Hamiltonians only use their mountain to see if they can catch a glimpse of Toronto. Sheer mountain envy. Of course, to be honest, there are those sceptics who do say Mountain? What Mountain? When the Hon. H.H. Stevens launched his election campaign for his Reconstruction Party in Hamilton in 1935, Controller Nora-Frances Henderson was a member of the welcoming committee the afternoon he arrived. He said some nice things about Hamilton whereupon Miss Henderson asked him if he didn't think the Mountain, then a huge random heap of spring foliage, didn't offer a beautiful contrast to the city proper.

"Did you say 'mountain?'" the visitor asked. Then with a twinkle, "Yes, indeed, but you must remember Miss Henderson, that coming from Vancouver as I do, I-"

"My dear Mr. Stevens," she interrupted, "you are no doubt thinking of mere mountain. I speak of The Mountain."

And in the ring of her voice you could not only hear the capital M but also the capital T.

The Mountain, to the inhabitants of Hamilton-Wentworth, is the escarpment just south of the city. And make no mistake, to Hamiltonians it is, as Miss Henderson said, The Mountain.

Early Mountain settlement was primarily rural in nature as industry tended to settle in the lower city. Part of this lay in the difficulty in getting from one point to the other. Until the system of mountain accesses was developed, rough trails were the only way up and down and quite often they had tollgates.

In 1910 Mount Hamilton, as it was called, was a quiet rural area where the residents were starting to get restless. Since Hamilton had taken over their services they had been increasingly put out by the lack of concern the city showed over their welfare. They wanted street improvements since the roads became impassable with mud every time it rained, they wanted an efficient water supply as most of them relied on wells and there was always the danger of contamination and epidemics and they wanted fire protection. In response to these requests the city placed a fire shack right in the middle of Upper Wentworth Street. Not only was it a public nuisance (as it obstructed the road) but it was useless. The city did not put any fire apparatus in the shack. It was empty. Besides that, there was no reliable water supply for fighting fires anyway. When the mountain waterworks system broke down yet again in 1913 some residents suggested they would have to start frequenting saloons to forestall an epidemic from bad water. The Mayor of Hamilton suggested that "it would be in the interests of the people on the hill to break away from Hamilton and launch a municipality of their own. They could buy water from the city"

By 1913 a building boom started. Real sidewalks began appearing. Sewers were built although the construction left many roads 2 to 3 feet higher than the sidewalks and dangerous. As the area expanded another need became apparent. They needed a police force. The mountain residents requested 4 officers to share two shifts - day and night. In 1923 the city set up a police station. There was one officer, no telephone and he was to be on duty 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The city also announced that in his spare time he was also to serve as Sanitary Officer.

The city had begun acquiring the escarpment land in 1914 to preserve it and prevent any development from marring what was considered a great natural resource. They decided it should be left in its natural state. In 1924 they planted 40,000 seedlings on the mountain face as well as 100 signs warning potential tree thieves that they would be prosecuted. If you look at the escarpment today, particularly with the beautiful fall colours, you can thank these politicians for giving us a lovely natural landscape.

The 1950's saw a phenomenal growth on the mountain. Building was constant and the demand for the services that went with all these new dwellings was more than the city could meet. Many streets remained quagmires with no way to use them in wet weather. East 36th Street was called Swamp Alley by the residents who complained that they were prisoners of the mud. One man moved into his new house on the mountain but his furniture stayed on the truck. The movers took one look at the street and refused to enter it. There was so much water that, in order for the children to get to school, they had to install a pedestrian bridge above the water. A flock of ducks moved in and settled on the pond that was the street.

In 1946 the population of the mountain had been 8,000. By 1954 it was 33,545.

Despite their complaints about City Council's neglect, the Mountain decided to stick with Hamilton and tough it out.

The other outstanding feature of Hamilton that you cannot avoid noticing is the Harbour. First called Lake Geneva and then Burlington Bay the name was officially changed to Hamilton Harbour in 1919. A haven for smugglers in the early days it was, and is, one of the finest natural harbours on the entire Great Lakes system. Recreation abounded during the entire year. Boatbuilders practiced their art and sailboats flourished during the summer. During the winter ice boats sped along. Children swam in the summer and skated in the winter and fishermen plied their rods all year round. In the winter the icehouses sent their teams out on the harbour to cut ice in what many considered to be the first harvest of the season. Big companies filled to capacity their great ice sheds along the bayfront and you could see sleighs loaded with blocks of ice moving up the streets. One ice firm in the 1920's prided itself on cutting 4 tons of ice per minutes for a total of 2,000 tons of ice daily. With the growing popularity of electric refrigeration as well as the growing pollution of the bay's waters, the picturesque job of ice harvesting gradually faded away.

The Harbour is the responsibility of the Harbour Commission. The House of Commons created this body by bill in 1912. The commission was to have jurisdiction over the bay, the waters of Coote's Paradise and the inlets and water lots along the bay. They were also to administer the navigation laws and have power to make regulations for the control of navigation. The Harbour Commission is still actively involved in the running of Hamilton's Harbour.

Visitors coming into Hamilton along the Skyway get a great view of the Harbour. The Skyway Bridge was opened in 1958 and used to have toll gates. Tolls were collected until 1973. The bridge was twinned in 1984 with the opening of the second bridge. This caused a terrific controversy as the Ontario government announced that the new name of the bridge would be the James N. Allan Skyway Bridge. Letters flew to the editors of the local papers in righteous indignation. This was the Burlington Bay Skyway Bridge. By the time the official opening came around the bridge was called the Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway. It doesn't matter what it is called. To Hamiltonians it always was and will be simply the Skyway.

Hamilton, back in the 1920's, was beginning to recognize the significance of alternate modes of transportation to the car and boat. From the Skyway you could see the site of Hamilton's first airport. In 1928 the city purchased 201 acres of land for $197,000. It was leased to Canadian Airways Ltd. and four runways were constructed at a cost of $28,000. As opening day approached, the excitement grew. Firestone flew in their new executive plane, the first of its kind to land in Hamilton. Two of the Goodyear blimps arrived and hovered overhead (not an unfamiliar sight as Hamilton was in the path of the regular blimp run between Toronto and Akron). Premier G. Howard Ferguson was there to greet the crowd who greeted him back with the singing of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" and three cheers and a tiger. He attempted to christen an airplane in the traditional manner with a bottle of champagne. After failing several times he finally succeeded in breaking the bottle over the nose of the aircraft, cutting his hand open at the same time. By the 1940's the airport was too small for the larger planes and there was nowhere for them to expand. The city had reached and surrounded the airport. The site was sold to the Hamilton Housing Authority and in 1948 they developed a scheme for housing for veterans on the site. This project became Canada's largest housing project ever, to that date and was officially named Roxborough Park in 1953.

Anyone reading our local newspaper, The Spectator will notice that the Hamilton Tiger Cats are much in the minds of the population of Hamiltonians. In 1874 the Hamilton Football Club was formed and the now famous yellow and black colours introduced. The Hamilton Tigers joined the Ontario Rugby Football Union and they brought the first championship to Hamilton in 1906 by defeating McGill 29-3. Their first Grey Cup appearance was in 1910 but they lost to the University of Toronto 16-7. The Grey Cup came to Hamilton quite frequently in those early years. In 1950 the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Flying Wildcats amalgamated into one team, the Tiger-Cat Football Club and, as the Tiger Cats won their first Grey Cup in 1953. The Ti-Cats play at Ivor Wynne Stadium, which used to be called Civic Stadium, in the east end of the city. Near there was the site of the House Built in a Day. To celebrate Hamilton's centennial of settlement in 1913 a local alderman, James Bryers, wanted to do something spectacular. Well known as a builder he hit upon the idea of building a house in a day. Following many problems with the unions he came up with a plan to have 250 labourers ready to make the attempt. On August 12, 1913 Major Allen turned the first sod and the race was on. Taking into account a 2 hour power outage they succeeded. They built a house in 24 hours. It became a tremendous tourist attraction and was even included in Ripley's Believe It or Not. This great tourist attraction was torn down in 1932.

Tearing down and building up seem to be a constant theme in most large cities. Around the time they were tearing down the House Built in a Day in the east end of the city they were building up something else in the West End of the City. McMaster University had opened in Toronto in 1880. They expanded so much that they began to look around outside and decided on Hamilton. McMaster moved to Hamilton in 1930. At that time it consisted of 6 buildings. McMaster certainly has flourished here. One of the more interesting aspects of McMaster is there nuclear reactor. The reactor was finished in 1959 at a cost of $2 million and was officially opened by the Hon. John Diefenbaker. At the time of its construction it was the only privately owned reactor in the British Commonwealth and is still the only reactor of its type at a Canadian University.

Near McMaster used to be the Hamilton Art Gallery. The new Gallery never had the problems that this older gallery had. The cornerstone was laid April 11, 1953. The following day the Curator had to call the police to report that the cornerstone had been stolen. Someone had driven up in a truck, pried the 250 pound stone loose and left with it. Major Jackson declared "the culprits must have a depraved sense of humour." Some other local officials suspected local Scottish nationalists of copying the stealing of the Stone of Scone which had recently been in the news. The stone was eventually found in a creek minus its copper box insert. They replaced the stone and guarded it. It stayed put this time.

The western part of the city was developed rather later than some of the other areas. As a matter of fact it was chosen by the Hand Fireworks Company for their headquarters in 1878 because of its isolation from populous areas. If you lived in the area, however, you certainly were aware of them as explosions were a hazard of the trade. On March 26, 1878 a tremendous explosion was heard but there was no real damage done, as the Spectator reported, only "the disarrangement of the various articles of pottery...on the cupboard shelf, the fainting of a few weak minded females and the shattering of a few panes of glass." A neighbour, Mrs. Oliver, was quite voluble in describing her experience: "Deed...I thought it would come to this. I was entertaining some company and had just gone out to feed the pigs, when ker-slam went the powder and knocked my spectacles off...Many a time last summer, when I was hoeing potatoes in my garden have I heard the ker-swish of the rockets into the air when they'd be sending them up on their trial trip, but it's mighty exhausting for one of my years to be dodging the ugly sticks as they come down, bad cess to them."

Hand Fireworks moved out in 1930 as civilization started to press in on them to a more remote location in Cooksville.

There are many stories and sites in Hamilton highlighting its unique cultural identity.

The fabric of a community is woven of many threads highlighting the physical and cultural diversity of the area. Hamilton and area is rich with such sites and we hope that you will enjoy reading about the select few that we have been able to share with you.