By 1825, James Crooks, a prominent entrepreneur and land speculator of West Flamborough, had acquired over 1,000 acres here at the rapids on the Trent River. He soon erected a small grist-mill but made no further improvements until the government began the canalization of the Trent waterway in 1837 and constructed a lock and dam at "Crooks Rapids." Crooks erected a new grist-mill and a sawmill and, in 1839, surveyed a village plot. Few lots were sold and, in 1851, the whole property was acquired by Henry Fowlds, a lumberman from Asphodel Township. Fowlds expanded the mills, began a steamship service and established several textile industries. Within ten years, the community, renamed Hastings, contained about 700 inhabitants. Hastings was incorporated as a village in 1874.

Location

In the park on the north bank of the Trent River, between Hope and New streets, Hastings

Themes

• Communities
• Transportation systems and communications