Pre-1780's |
- Occupied by the Iroquois nations
- Explored and visited by the French but not settled
- Land was gradually transferred through treaties and proclamations to the British (who had
defeated the French for control of Canada)
|
1783-84 |
- The first settlers, Sergeant Jacob Dittrick and Private John
Hainer of Butler's Rangers, came to the area where
Dick's Creek met Twelve Mile Creek. This eventually became the centre of town
- Native trails were used as travel routes, resulting in present day radial road pattern from
the city centre
|
1783-86 |
- First business was established -- a goods storehouse
owned by Robert Hamilton and located near the present day Burgoyne Bridge
|
1786 |
- First mill opened -- Crown Mills
|
1787-89 |
- Land was surveyed
- Townships were created
- Grantham Township was created from part of Township #3
- No provisions were made for the town site, resulting in haphazard growth
- A small settlement was established known as The Twelve
- Settlers now included military claimants, United Empire Loyalists, Mennonites and Quakers,
mostly of English, Scottish, German Protestant, French Huguenot and Dutch Calvinist heritage
|
1792 |
- Area became an important milling centre with five mills
|
1793 |
|
1796 |
- St. George's church was founded on land deeded by Robert
Hamilton for "the church at St. Catharines". It was located near the corner of Ontario Street
and Niagara Road (what is known today as St. Paul Street)
|
1797 |
- The first inn was built by Thomas Adams, located on
the east side of Ontario Street next to what is now St. Paul Street. It became a community
meeting place and stagecoach rest stop
|
1798 |
- The Twelve became known as Shipman's Corner --
named after the inn's new owner
Paul Shipman
|
1799 |
- A wooden school house was built
- Successful farms were emerging
|
1808 |
|
1810 |
- "St. Catharines" name used on some merchants' bill-heads
|
1812-14 |
- "War of 1812" with the United States
- Village was not attacked but buildings were used for military purposes
- Laura Secord walked 19 miles from Queenston to John DeCew's house to warn of an impending
American attack on Beaver Dams
|
1816 |
- Population now just under 100
- Salt springs were discovered
|
1817 |
- The post office was established with the name
"St. Catherines" (note the spelling)
|
1818 |
- William Hamilton Merritt, along with other mill owners
George Keefer and John DeCew, surveyed the ridge separating the headwaters of Twelve Mile Creek
and the Chippawa River (later known as the Welland River) with the idea of linking the two to
insure an adequate water supply for their mills
|
1819 |
- A fire destroyed much the village
|
1821 |
- Name now officially being spelled "St. Catharines"
|
1824 |
- Welland Canal Company incorporated. Its committee
included: William Hamilton Merritt; his father Thomas; mill owners George Keefer, John DeCew
and George Adams; tavern owner Paul Shipman; and merchant William Chisholm
- W.H. Merritt obtained funding from the governments of Upper Canada and Britain, and from
individuals in New York State and England
|
1825 |
- Paul Shipman died and Niagara Road was renamed St. Paul
Street in his honour
|
1826 |
- Shipbuilding industry established
- Bathing establishment started by Dr. William C. Chace at the salt works
- The first newspaper was published -- "Farmer's Journal and Welland Canal Intelligencer"
|
1827 |
|
1828 |
- A schooner named "Welland Canal" was launched
|
1829 |
- The first Welland Canal was opened from Port Dalhousie
to the Welland River, following the Twelve Mile Creek and Dick's Creek. It had an eight foot
draft and 40 wooden locks (each lock was 110 feet long and 22 feet wide)
- A feeder canal was constructed from the Grand River in Dunnville to provide water for the
Welland Canal since it could not be excavated deep enough to match the Welland River. This canal
also provided local sawmills with access to timber resources of the Grand River Valley
- Grantham Academy, a grammar school, opened. It was later named the St. Catharines' District
Grammar School. Pupils came from across the peninsula to attend
|
1830 |
- A dry dock was built in the valley below St. Paul
Street
|
1832 |
- A schooner named "W.H. Merritt" was launched by
Russell Armington
|
1833 |
- The first Welland Canal was extended from Welland to
Port Colborne (then known as Gravelly Bay)
- The newspaper merged with the "British Colonial Argus" to become the "British American
Journal"
|
1835 |
- Population reached 1,130
- The first bank, "Farmer's Bank", was established
- Land on North Street was given to the Blacks by W.H. Merritt and Oliver Phelps
- The "British American Journal" joined with the "Farmer's Journal" and became the "St.
Catharines Journal"
|
1836 |
- St. George's church was destroyed by fire
|
1837 |
- Following Armington's death, his shipyard was purchased
by Louis Shickluna. The Shickluna Shipyards built many of the largest and fastest lake vessels,
and designed special hulls -- including one for ice breakers
- St. Catharines became a major shipbuilding centre of Upper and Lower Canada
|
1840's |
- St. Catharines called the "Garden City" for its
location in the peninsula (which was known as the "Garden of Canada") and for its many
gardens and nurseries
|
1842 |
- Welland Canal purchased by the government of Canada
- 2000 impoverished canal labourers looted stores, mills and a schooner for food
|
1845 |
- Town of St. Catharines incorporated (with "ar" spelling)
- Second Welland Canal opened with a slightly changed route. Wooden locks were replaced with
limestone ones, 150 feet long, 26.5 feet wide and 9 feet deep
- Population reached 3,500
|
1846 |
- Telegraph system completed
|
1847 |
- Bottling operation opened to market the mineral springs
water
|
1849 |
- New town hall built at the junction of King & James
Streets. It was also used for concerts and theatrical events
|
1850's |
- Town became a popular haven for runaway slaves.
Harriet Tubman, the "conductor" or "Black Moses" of the underground railroad, lived for a time
on North Street
|
1850 |
- First mayor, Burnard Foley, elected
- Town divided into four wards (numbered one to four)
- Second major newspaper, the "Constitutional", started
|
1851 |
- Population at 4,368 (according to first official
census)
- 1,093 of the total population were Irish who had come to work on the canal
|
1852 |
- "The Pride of Canada" was launched from Shickluna
shipyards and sailed directly to England
- Steamer named "Welland" was also launched
|
1853 |
- "Great Western Railway" construction was completed,
linking Windsor and Niagara Falls with a stop at St. Catharines
- "St. Catharines and Welland Canal Gas Light Company" formed
- St. Catharines was the first community in the peninsula to use gas for street lights
|
1854 |
- Wards were reduced to three and named St. George's,
St. Paul's and St. Thomas'
|
Mid-1850's |
- Resort hotels (spas) added. Gradually, spas became
more important than the original salt works
|
1855 |
- Railway access extended to Buffalo, Boston, New York City
and the American West with the completion of a suspension bridge over the Niagara Gorge
- Hamilton to Toronto section of railway opened
- Water for fire-fighting remained scarce. The firehouse itself burned down
- African Methodist Church, later renamed
the British Methodist Episcopal (BME) Church, was dedicated
- Full-time police force began with three constables
|
1856 |
- "Welland Railway" line from St. Catharines to Port
Dalhousie was opened. Station located on Geneva Street, north of Welland Avenue
- "Great Western Railway" line from Toronto to Montreal completed
|
1857 |
- Separate school system established
- St. Catharines Horticultural Society formed
|
1858 |
- "Welland Railway" line extended to Thorold
|
1859 |
- "Welland Railway" line extended to Port Colborne
- Steamer "Peerless" took passengers from Port Dalhousie to Toronto
|
1862 |
- The Town Hall became the court house for Lincoln
County
|
1863 |
- Newsprint and fine paper industry started to develop
with the establishment of St. Catharines Paper Mills in Merritton
|
1870 |
- First central fire hall built
|
1875 |
- Bylaw passed to construct a water works
|
1876 |
- St. Catharines was incorporated as a city
- City almost doubled in area as 1,000 acres, mostly in the north and east, were added
(comprised of six wards: St. Andrew's, St. George's, St. James', St. Patrick's, St. Paul's and
St. Thomas')
|
1877 |
- Textile industry began with the opening of Warren
Knitwear on St. Paul Street
|
1878 |
- The telephone arrived with the relay of a concert
from Hamilton to the Methodist Church on Ontario Street
- Lachlan McKinnon opened a hardware store on St. Paul Street and manufactured carriages & wagons
in a building behind the store. McKinnon's later became General Motors
|
1879 |
- Telephone switchboard opened in an Ontario Street
building
- The first streetcars appeared called the "St. Catharines Street Railway".
They ran from Welland House on Ontario Street along St. Paul and Queenston Streets to
Hennessey's Corner at Thorold Road (now called Oakdale Road)
|
1880 |
|
1881 |
- Charter obtained for an independent railway
("St. Catharines and Niagara Central Railway") to connect St. Catharines to Niagara Falls
- Train tunnel completed under the
future site of the third Welland Canal. The tunnel was built to avoid delays for trains
while the third Welland Canal was being constructed
|
1882 |
- The Great Western and Welland Railways were purchased by and
amalgamated into the "Grand Trunk Railway", giving the new system a monopoly to serve St. Catharines
|
1883 |
- "Bell Telephone Company" established an exchange
on St. Paul Street in the office of Charles E. Stuart
|
1884 |
- The Canada Hair Cloth Company was incorporated
- St. Catharines Electric Light and Power Company was incorporated
|
1885 |
- Bell had 114 telephone subscribers and two public phones
|
1887 |
- "St. Catharines and Niagara Central Railway" line
opened from Niagara Falls to Thorold
- Third Welland Canal opened. Locks were 270 feet long, 45 feet wide and 14 feet deep. The route
differed between Port Dalhousie and Thorold -- it no longer followed the valley route and instead
cut diagonally across farmland (bypassing the town centre). Original section from St. Catharines
to past Merritton was closed to navigation but remained open to provide water power to mills
- Streetcars powered by electricity supplied by a generating
station on the Welland Canal
|
1888 |
- "St. Catharines and Niagara Central Railway" line
extended to St. Catharines. Station built on James Street at the end of Raymond Street.
|
Mid-1890's |
- Train tunnel under the Welland Canal replaced by a
double-track steam-operated bridge on the original line of the track
|
1894 |
- The six wards established in 1875 were reduced to three:
St. Andrew's, St. George's and St. Patrick's
|
1895 |
- Long distance calls could be made
- St. Catharines became the centre of the fruit growing industry in Ontario
|
1898-99 |
- "St. Catharines and Niagara Central Railway" offered
for sale and bought by a newly-formed company known as "Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto
Railway" (NS&T)
- NS&T granted the right to extend electric railway and to use vessels on the Niagara River
and Lake Ontario
|
1902 |
|
1903 |
- First rowing regatta held
|
1905 |
|
1909 |
- Reo Motor Car Company, founded by Ransome E. Olds,
purchased Packard Electric motor car department to build automobiles. About 100 cars were
produced per month
|
1910 |
- First taxi cab commissioned -- a Reo car
|
1911 |
- Population reached 12,484
|
1912 |
- Jack Haney, a 23-year-old mechanic with the
Reo Motor Car Company of St. Catharines, drove across Canada from Halifax to Victoria
in a 1912 Reo Special touring car with English writer Thomas Wilby
|
1914 |
- The Glen Ridge (later, Glenridge) and Burgoyne bridges
opened
|
1921 |
- Population reached 19,881
|
1931 |
- Population reached 24,753
- Fourth Welland Canal
completed with entrance at Port Weller
- Four bridges constructed across canal between Lake Ontario and the escarpment
- Old (third) canal was filled in, with the middle portion being used as road lines
|
1932 |
- Fourth Welland Canal was officially opened
|
1935 |
- Canal depth increased to 25 feet
|
1940 |
|
1940-present |
More to come soon! |