In 1831, the Welland Canal Company selected Gravelly Bay as the southern terminus of their waterway connecting Lakes Ontario and Erie, and in 1833 asked the permission of Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Colborne to name the site "Port Colborne". The Hon. William H. Merritt, president of the Canal Company, had streets laid out on both sides of the canal in 1834 and, with several partners, built a gristmill by 1835. Initially the community's economy depended largely on the canal, but from the 1850s, Port Colborne developed as a wheat-shipping point, railway junction and industrial centre. It was incorporated as a village in 1869 and council first met on January 17, 1870.

Location

At 239 King Street, Port Colborne

Themes

• Communities
• Industry and trade
• Transportation systems and communications