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London and Port Stanley Railway, The
After the Great Western Railway reached London in 1853, local businessmen and politicians began promoting a competitive line south to Lake Erie. The London and Port Stanley Railway began operations in 1856. Like most early Canadian railways, it was expensive to build and difficult to pay off, but it contributed enormously to the local economy. Its main business was shipping coal from Pennsylvania and carrying tourists to and from the lakeshore. The City of London... -
Great Western Railway, The
The main line of "The Great Western", from Niagara Falls through Hamilton and London to Windsor, was opened in 1854. The company extended its line from Hamilton to Toronto in 1855, from Komoka to Sarnia in 1858, and from Glencoe to Fort Erie (the "Loop Line") in 1873. "The Great Western" was an important connecting link for through traffic between railways in Michigan and New York states. This necessitated conversion from the original 5'6" gauge... -
Founding of Belle River, The
The settlement of this area began following the survey in 1793 of the lots fronting on the Belle River, among the early settlers were many French Canadians from the vicinity of the Detroit River. When the Great Western Railway was constructed, 1852-53, a station name Belle River was opened here. By 1855 a steam grist-mill and sawmill had been erected by Luc Ouellette and others, and a community known as Rochester soon developed. It was... -
Founding of Stoney Point, The
French-speaking settlers from the Detroit-Sandwich area and Lower Canada (Quebec) were the first to locate in Tilbury West Township after it was surveyed in 1824. They established farms along Lake St. Clair and later near the Tecumseh Road and by 1851 formed a community called Stoney Point. After the arrival of the railway in 1854, the village developed into a market and industrial centre serving an agricultural and lumbering hinterland. In 1881, Stoney Point and... -
Founding of Tecumseh, The
The intersecting of the Tecumseh Road, named for the eminent Indian leader, by the Great Western Railroad line in 1854 stimulated settlement in this largely French-Canadian area. A community gradually developed, and in 1873 it contained a sawmill, several stores and hotels, and a population of about 200. The village, first called Ryegate, and later Tecumseh, evolved from a local service center to a shipping point for area timber, cordwood, and especially grain. The establishment... -
Founding of Hanover, The
A tavern established here about 1849 by Abraham Buck provided the nucleus around which a small settlement began to develop. Strategically located at the intersection of the Durham Road and a branch of the Saugeen River, the community grew quickly as settlers, many German in origin, flocked to the area. A town plot was surveyed in 1855 and the next year the hamlet, known as Buck's Crossing, then Adamstown, was renamed Hanover. By 1867 it... -
Founding of Dunnville, The
The construction of a dam and canal designed to feed water from the Grand River to the new Welland Canal fostered the development of a settlement here during the late 1820s. A town plot, named Dunnville after John Henry Dunn, Receiver General of Upper Canada, was laid out and, following the opening of the Feeder Canal to navigation in 1829 the community thrived as a trans shipment point and industrial centre. By 1832 it contained... -
Upper Canada's First Paper Mill 1826
The province's first paper mill operations began in 1826. Situated about 150 yards downstream from here, it was owned by James Crooks (1778-1860), one of Upper Canada's most successful entrepreneurs. On four hundred acres of land purchased here in 1811, Crooks had, by 1822, erected a number of other mills, creating Crooks' Hollow, one of the province's largest concentrations of industry. Construction of the paper mill was encouraged by an expanding domestic market and the... -
Founding of Bayfield, The
In 1832 Carel Lodewijk, Baron van Tuyll van Serooskerken, a Dutch nobleman, purchased large holdings in the Huron Tract including 388 acres here which he set aside for a settlement. During the next decade an extensive town plot was laid out, grist and sawmills were erected and a community was established. The settlement, named Bayfield after the nautical surveyor Henry Wolsey Bayfield, developed as a centre for the surrounding agricultural community. By 185l the hamlet... -
Founding of Clinton, The
The earliest settlers on this site had arrived by 1834. Peter Vanderburgh opened a tavern north of here at the junction of the London and Huron Roads, and Jonas Gibbings began farming to the east. "The Corners" grew slowly until William Rattenbury purchased three corners of the intersection and laid out a town plot. In 1852 a post office was opened and named Clinton, reportedly after Lord Clinton on whose English estate Rattenbury's father lived... -
Indian Flint Bed, The
Some two miles west of here, on the shoreline of Lake Huron, are outcroppings of chert. Nodules of this material, released by ice and water erosion, provided the Indians with highly prized flint for their arrow points, spearheads and scrapers. Archaeological investigations in the area have disclosed numerous campsites where the nodules were fractured and chipped into desired forms. Carbon dating has indicated that these "workshops" were in existence some 2,700 years ago, and they... -
Founding of Sarnia, The
The French-speaking families of Ignace Cazelet, Jean-Baptiste Paré and Joseph LaForge arrived here 1807-1810. Other settlers, many of Scottish descent, came in 1832-1834 following the 1829 survey of Sarnia Township. A community called "The Rapids", renamed Port Sarnia in 1836, soon developed and among its prominent early residents were Richard Vidal, George Durand and the Hon. Malcolm Cameron. Called Sarnia after 1856, the village flourished, stimulated by regional lumbering activity, nearby oil discoveries and the... -
British Garrison in London, The
In one of several concentrations of British troops in Upper Canada, various infantry and artillery units were stationed on a military reserve here during the mid-19th century. The garrison, which contributed significantly to the economic growth of London, was first established in 1839 to guard against border raids following the Rebellion of 1837. Although its troops were withdrawn in 1853 to serve in the Crimean War and military duties were assumed by pensioners, it was... -
Founding of Lucan, The
Lucan was founded in anticipation of the construction of the Grand Trunk Railway in Sarnia, projected in 1854 and built 1855-59. The first settlers had been members of the Negro Wilberforce Colony in 1830-35. One of this group, Peter Butler Sr., had by 1855 acquired the western part of the site of Lucan. The eastern part was acquired jointly by the Hon. Donald and John MacDonald, and the first village lots were sold in 1855... -
Founding of Newbury, The
The opening of a railway station near here in 1854 on the recently completed Great Western main line from Niagara Falls to Windsor provided the nucleus around which a community was soon established. In that year, John Tucker and Robert Thompson registered subdivisions and a post office named "Newbury" was opened. The community flourished and by 1857, with a population of almost 500, it contained hotels, stores, sawmills, a grist-mill, a foundry and several other... -
Founding of Parkhill, The
The opening of a railway station near here in 1860 on the recently completed Grand Truck line from Guelph to Sarnia, provided the nucleus around which a community soon became established. A post office named Westwood (renamed Swainby in 1861 and Park Hill in 1863) was opened that year. In 1861, a village plot was laid out by William Kelly. Growth was slow until 1865 when a bonus subscribed by the citizens induced John Harrison... -
Founding of Strathroy
In 1830, James Buchanan, the British Consul at New York City acquired a tract of 1,200 acres of unsettled land in Adelaide Township. He transferred control of the property to his son, John Stewart Buchanan (1815-1875), who settled there within the next two years. By 1836, John had built a sawmill and grist-mill on the Sydenham River. These pioneer industries formed the nucleus of a settlement which was named Strathroy by James Buchanan after his... -
Long Point Settlement, The
Long Point was known to traders and travellers before the area was purchased from the Mississauga Indians in 1784. In this unsurveyed area twenty to thirty "squatters" had settled by 1791, some of whom were allowed to remain following surveys and Governor Simcoe's visit in 1795. Further land grants were made to approved applicants, including many Loyalists. During the War of 1812 General Brock raised militia volunteers here for the attack on Detroit. The settlement's... -
Long Point Portage
This portage, which crossed the isthmus joining Long Point to the mainland, was used by travelers in small craft following the north shore of Lake Erie in order to avoid the open waters and the length of the journey around the Point. Although used earlier by the Indians, the portage was first recorded in 1670 by two Sulpician missionaries, Dollier de Casson and René de Bréhant de Galinée. For about 150 years traffic increased over... -
Founding of Stratford, The
In 1832, some three years after company surveyors had erected shanties near this site, the Canada Company, a large private land settlement agency, initiated the development of "Little Thames" as the market centre for the eastern Huron Tract. By 1834, a tavern, sawmill and grist-mill existed here and a year later, a post office called Stratford was opened. Settlement was slow until the early 1850s when the advent of the railway and the designation of... -
Goldie Family and the Village of Greenfield, The
From 1817 to 1819, Scottish botanist John Goldie (1793-1886) visited Canada and the northern U.S. to collect plant specimens. He returned with his family in 1844 to settle here on a farm they named "Greenfield". By 1850 the Goldies were operating a grist and oatmeal mill. In 1865 they opened a larger mill to refine local wheat for international markets. Many features of the village that grew up around it are evident today. In addition... -
Sudbury Structure, The
Sudbury Structure" is a collective name for the unique geological feature that encompasses this city. Its central component is the Sudbury Basin, a shallow elliptical depression 60 kilometres long, situated northwest of here. It also includes the Sudbury Igneous Complex, a ring of hills rimmed by ore that surround the Basin, and the Sudbury Breccia, fragmented rocks extending 80 kilometres from the Complex. Scientists continue to seek an explanation of the Structure's origin. Some think... -
Toronto-Dominion Centre
Designed by Modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in association with John B. Parkin Associates and Bregman and Hamann Architects, the Toronto-Dominion Centre is located in the heart of Toronto's financial district. The Centre was commissioned by Allen Lambert, chairman of TD Bank, in partnership with Fairview Corporation. The complex is arranged around a granite-paved pedestrian plaza and originally consisted of three buildings: the 56-storey Toronto-Dominion Bank Tower (1967), the one-storey Banking Pavilion (1968)... -
Douglas Point Nuclear Power Plant
The Douglas Point Nuclear Power Plant began generating electricity in 1967 and continued until 1984. This joint project between Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. and Ontario Hydro was the first commercial-scale Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) reactor. The Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD) reactor in Rolphton, Ontario had proven the CANDU concept in 1962 and the 200-megawatt Douglas Point plant, ten times larger than NPD, demonstrated that a CANDU nuclear power plant could be scaled up for... -
Mutual Life Head Office
The head office of The Mutual Life Assurance Company of Canada (now the head office of Sun Life Financial's Canadian operations) was completed in 1912. Designed by Canadian architect Frank Darling, of the Toronto firm Darling and Pearson, the impressive Renaissance Revival style building is ornamented with features such as the two-storey fluted, paired Ionic columns supporting a large segmental arch above the main doors, elaborate window surrounds, and a parapet with a balustrade. It...