Christine Aloian-Robertson
David Serafino
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.
First Printing: 2020
ISBN 978-0-9685401-3-8
Dalpeer Productions: 6 Pine St., St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, L2N4T1
portdhistory@gmail.com
By David Serafino
I first met my writing partner, Christine Aloian, in May, 1977. We had both been hired onto a project sponsored by Port Dalhousie Quorum (PDQ); I, to manage a non-profit housing initiative and she, to write a history of Port Dalhousie. As an aspiring writer, I was intrigued by her undertaking and reveled in the details and photos she was uncovering. I wanted to be a part of it, and in a small way I was. As an objective ‘outsider’ I could see the value of what she had accumulated, so offered tips on how it might be organized. The undertaking expanded in proportion to the material she collected and, what had been intended as a booklet, grew into a book. As a result, the funding ended before the book was completed but PDQ published it shortly thereafter under the title ‘A History Outline of Port Dalhousie’, with photos by Dennis Cushman and a detailed front cover drawing by PDQ board member Jim Taggart. It sold out quickly as did the second printing.
Though that book and this book only cover the period up to amalgamation with the City of St. Catharines in 1961, we must define the interval when PDQ came into existence as a significant turning point for Port Dalhousie. The former town had fallen into decline with the loss of its industry and the closing of Lakeside Park. In the early 1970s, grants were being offered under a joint federal-provincial funding program to communities in need of upgrading infrastructure and housing. This was the Neighbourhood Improvement Program (NIP). The stipulation was that 50 people needed to form a quorum within the community to access this funding. Port Dalhousie senior, Jim Rennie, took on the challenge and went door-to-door to get the required 50 signatures and, in 1974, Port Dalhousie was awarded a NIP grant. The resurgence of Port Dalhousie began and the newly created Rennie Park was later named posthumously in his honour.
I came to live in Port Dalhousie in 1977. After my employment with PDQ ended, I joined the board as a volunteer which included editing the group’s newsletter for two years. PDQ continued on for two more decades during the time that Port Dalhousie developed into the city’s major tourist attraction. In 1997 I began publishing the monthly community magazine ‘Dalhousie Peer’ (1997-2010). I asked Christine if she would write a history column and she agreed, submitting an engaging column on time for every issue for the next 14 years. In 1999 we collaborated on a history book called ‘A Nickel A Ride’. With her first book long out of print, we decided to use some of the material from that book as well as new material. Now with both books out of print and Dalhousie Peer no longer being published, we are assembling both narrative articles and interviews into a more complete book, including a number of captivating photographs that illustrate the transition during the 20th century.
History only gets better with age as stories and memories recede further into the past - but only if recorded. We were fortunate to have captured those memories over the past forty-plus years through interviews conducted with over forty people, including two who were actually born in the 19th century. Port Dalhousie continues to evolve and create its more recent history. Change has been dramatic in the new millennium in spite of the former village having been designated as a heritage district in 2004. Though all significant heritage buildings are now protected from demolition as well as their facades from major alteration, progress continues with the construction of residential condominium buildings and the reconstruction of the two piers. The more recent history, since the time of amalgamation, is recorded in reports and studies and copies of old newspapers and magazines. One day, a book may be written about this era, but it could never be as dramatic or intriguing as the period covered in this book, from early settlement at the dawn of the 19th century to the days when it ceased to officially exist.
The history of Port Dalhousie is episodic. The drama changed with the times. In some respects, the community was not that much different from any other in terms of the zeitgeist; but in terms of personality, temperament, appeal and such, through the eras it maintained a unique identity.
Port Dalhousie was witness to the best and the adverse of humanity through its entire existence. This book does not portend to expose the “warts and all” as people prefer to reminisce of those happy days; and certainly, we encouraged that. This is a factual history with regard to the narrative content, but one that can’t include every detail that may be of human interest. The subject interviews are as factual as memory has allowed and the reader can be the judge of their veracity. We trust the honesty of our interview subjects but we also acknowledge that memories can extract folklore spoken as fact. We love our heroes.
William Hamilton Merritt, the visionary who initiated the building of the First Welland Canal is one such hero. And because he features so prominently in our history, he is elevated to a height just south of sainthood. But we must remember that Merritt was primarily a businessman. His motivation was to bring more water to his mill to enhance his manufacturing capacity. Fortunately, others saw the merit in his plan as they too could profit by this speculative venture. But this is not to diminish the greatness of this man or those who supported him. Remember, this was the early 19th century. To meet in Hamilton, Ontario, as they did to further their goals, they had to travel the 30-plus miles over rough roads by horse drawn carriage; a journey of about 8 hours, sometimes in winter, and often.
Communications were slow and tedious, but they got the job done. Today some would argue that the current Welland Canal (the 4th) is the greatest in the world. Perhaps not as famous as some, but measured in length, breadth and elevation, it sits comfortably in the top tier of contenders. Would it even exist if not for Merritt? Of course it would. It just would have been built later, perhaps much later and maybe not with its northern terminus in Port Dalhousie. But it was, and this is the feature that resulted in our unique and unbridled history. Thanks Bill.
In this reading you will also come across the names of others who feature prominently in our history. You can find their names on street signs and headstones. However, you will not find a headstone for the name Tenbroeck, at least not in either of our two graveyards. Nor will you find a street sign. Was this an oversight? Maybe, considering that the land upon which Port Dalhousie was built was Crown land granted to Captain Peter Tenbroeck of Butler’s Rangers fame in 1796. Or was it just that no one could agree on the spelling of his name since it appeared differently on various documents and maps?
Equally ironic is that we do not have a Muir Street, in spite of Google Maps identifying a private driveway as such. Yet, Alexander Muir has hero status in Port Dalhousie. It was his dry docks, built with the assistance of his brothers starting in 1850, that provided a century of employment for the community, continuing long after our canal was eclipsed by the current one built four miles east in Port Weller. And then there is Peter Nath known as ‘Dutch Pete’, an immigrant from Germany who arrived here in 1852 and spawned a family of fisher men and women that led to a prosperous fishing industry lasting well into the 20th century. He remains a bit of a mystery but there is a good picture of him as well as some interesting folklore as told by his great-grandson, Lawrence Bentz. For a synchronistic anecdote regarding Mr. Bentz, read the ‘Epilogue’ at the end of the book.
The aforementioned are Port Dalhousie heroes for what they contributed in terms of commerce, but we also have our romantic heroes and no one fits this bill better than James ‘Chief’ Smiley. When you see his promotional photo you’ll understand why. He is an icon of an era that stirs our consciousness to fantastic proportions. Chief Smiley, as a young man, was a sharpshooter on the Vaudeville circuit but in Port Dalhousie he became a legend. His story is elegant and dramatic and one that everyone who grew up in Port knew. During an age when westerns played out in black & white in theatres and on television (if you were lucky to have one) here was a real-life cowboy living in their midst.
Port Dalhousie had its heroes through the ages. We’ve had our war heroes and sports heroes and in more recent times our artist heroes. The history we cover in this book begins with our first settlers, United Empire Loyalists who began arriving at the beginning of the 19th century. We conclude with the time of amalgamation in 1961 when Port Dalhousie ceased to be a legal entity unto itself. But we allowed ourselves to drift into the 60s with the recollections of some of our ‘younger’ interview subjects. These are those who never quite gave up the banner and still claimed to be from “Pordaloozie” even though it had now been relegated to the status of ‘suburb’. And a poor one at that, the whims of time having taken their toll. In spite of its diminished stature, people who lived here maintained their pride.
That pride is best exemplified in ‘The Port Dalhousie Stories’ a book written by Dennis Tourbin who grew up in “Port.” Born in 1946, he moved here with his family when he was thirteen and in grade nine. Tourbin captures the spirit of an era undergoing rapid cultural change. This was the 60s after all. And though he went on to great acclaim as a writer, poet, painter and performance artist, he started out as the drummer for the 60s rock band The Evil. That’s when I first became aware of him though I would only meet and speak with him years later when I first moved to Port Dalhousie. I was one of the many in the Lion Hotel listening to his reading of his ‘yet-to-be-published’ book. I now have both book and recording. Google it. You might be able to get a used copy. Unfortunately, following a major stroke, Dennis departed this world in the spring of 1998.
Among the aforementioned, though celebrated locally, none have achieved international fame. That achievement belongs to only one individual. Like Tourbin, he was not born here but spent his formative years experiencing the thrills of Lakeside Park. In fact, he wrote a song with that name. Of course, I speak of none other than the greatest rock drummer of all time, Neil Peart from the band Rush. Neil too died young at the age of 67 on January 7, 2020 following a four-year battle with brain cancer. The new Lakeside Park Peart Pavilion was named in his honour. In 1994 he penned a two-part article for the St. Catharines Standard titled ‘A Port Boy’s Story’. It can be found archived on the Standard’s website and offers rare insights into the nature of Port Dalhousie. “Until I was in my teens, I didn't know a single black person, or an Asian, or even an American. I didn't know what it meant to be Jewish, and I didn't think I knew any of them either. The Catholics were different somehow, with the Star Of The Sea Church, and I wondered why the kids were kept in a ‘separate school’, but it didn't seem to mean much - we all played together in the streets.”
In our research and interviews, we found little evidence of racial bias. Perhaps because of being a port town with a variety of people passing through. Or perhaps, being exclusively Anglo-Saxon and Christian, there were no minorities to objectify. There was sectarian rivalry between Protestants and Catholics however, revealed to us in hushed tones and off the record. And there was bullying as referenced in Peart’s memoir. “...it wasn't the water in Port Dalhousie that nearly killed me - it was other kids.”
And what is racist now was not considered racist then. The popular minstrel shows were commonplace back then and black-face was part of it. One photo from St. John shows eight of the thirty performers wearing it. Of course, we know better now but you will feel the joy and pride expressed in the retelling of those fun times of entertainment that were presented annually by the locals to sold out crowds.
We start the story of Port Dalhousie with an overview of the town as expressed through maps, written by our friend, Colleen Beard. And who doesn't love maps?
by Colleen Beard
Colleen is a resident of Port Dalhousie, Map Librarian, Emeritus, Head of the Map, Data & GIS Library, Brock University. Her article provides clarity with the actual routes of the first three canals that passed through Port Dalhousie. (Originally published in Dalhousie Peer Magazine, October 2000.)
You gotta love maps! And I do. This short account touches on the local history of Port Dalhousie using maps and air photos to uncover canal features, even if only in our imagination.
The Welland Canals, that once dominated the landscape still remain as significant features though now somewhat obscured. The first map (A-1) precedes canal times showing the original survey and landowners of Port Dalhousie. This early (circa 1791) survey map of Grantham Township (originally surveyed by Daniel Hazen) shows the dominance of the land owned by Peter Tenbroeck – a United Empire Loyalist and officer of the Butler’s Rangers.
These survey maps, which laid the foundation of the present road network, show the many hundreds of acres granted to Tenbroeck. Each parcel of surveyed land on the map represents a 100-acre lot.
Being the port entry to three Welland Canals between the years 1829 to 1932, the most significant canal landmarks remaining in Port Dalhousie are the two Lock Ones from the Second and Third Welland Canals. Lock One from the First Canal can only be imagined. (Its remains were unearthed temporarily under an archaeological dig in October 2008.)
At the base of the stairs (at the corner of Lock Street and Dalhousie Avenue) leading into the park, is where, over 170 years ago, wooden sailing ships passed through Lock One of the First canal. Evidence of the Lock is featured on the 1839 map (A-2) surveyed by William Hawkins. This map also illustrates the extent of the piers and the inner basin. Unfortunately, no surface features are visible, its wooden structure now buried. However, underwater shadows of the piers can still be seen on the 1995 air photo (B-1).
Notice, on the map (A-2) the natural shoreline east of the lock that appears as a slim strip of beach, and the topography of the village that is a peninsula on its own. The original floating towpath is shown as the double lined feature extending from Lock One through the Twelve Mile Creek harbour. The water depth soundings and the orchard detail on this map also adds to its cartographic appeal.
The circa 1855 map (A-3) shows the route of the Second Canal with the new harbour and pier as it survives today. The location of Lock One of the Second Canal is located at the foot of Lock Street opposite the Murphy building. Built in 1842, this lock was increased in size to handle the larger sailing ships. Its stone construction is still visible although the south half has been filled.
The associated “new towing path” is somewhat significant since it later established the west wall of the present harbour and the inner shoreline of Rennie Park where the Henley rowing timing tower sits.
The 1886 map (A-4) shows the location of the three old Lock Ones. Lock One of the Third canal, situated on the east side of the harbour, creates an island where the former Maple Leaf Rubber/Lincoln Fabrics building sits. Built in 1880s, this is the only lock of the Third Canal that displays remains of the wooden gate detail and the steel mechanism used to operate the gate. This map is delicately detailed with topographic shadings, property lines, and many buildings in the village and in Lakeside Park.
An interesting comparison over many years is the alteration of the inner harbour, from a very natural shoreline to a rigid engineered concrete wall.
The two air photos (B-2 & B-3) ultimately capture the extent of dramatic landscape change with the comparison between 1931 and 1998. With the Third Canal still in operation in 1931, a bustling community is evident with boat traffic around Lock One and at the site of the Muir Dry Docks area (now Rennie Park). In recent years, areas such as Rennie Park, Lakeside Park, and the Michigan (east) side of the harbour have been developed for passive recreation.
Port Dalhousie is the only place in St. Catharines that can boast of a history of all three early Welland Canals. Although the paths of the First and Second canals differed only slightly, the Third Canal completely diverted from these routes and carved a straight path through the city from JC Park (the site of the second lock of the Third canal (B-2) opposite Henley Island) to the Lock Three Viewing Complex on the present Welland Ship Canal. However, all three Old Lock Ones reside in this town.
These maps, and others, were produced as official survey plans that captured the lay of the land at their time and are truly works of art and treasures of “Old Port” history. All map reproductions and images are from the Brock University map collection held in the Map, Data & GIS Library.
During European colonization in Canada, the prime concern of the settlers was survival and the development and exploitation of natural resources. Much effort was exerted in the creation of a new homeland. Unfortunately, it would seem that less time and consideration was devoted to the preservation and documentation of our cultural heritage through the early generations. Consequently, many valuable documents, personal accounts, and artifacts were either lost, forgotten, destroyed or shipped to other countries. Nerveless, over time and with new technology, the governments of Canada and Ontario have attempted to alleviate this situation by making access to what does exist easier to find.
This publication provides a limited historical account of Port Dalhousie, concentrating on the most significant aspects that have given this town its unique character. It does not purport to be a complete history but one that provides a commodious glimpse into our past. Having served as the original northern terminus of the Welland Ship Canal, the home of the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta, and sporting a 1921 functioning carousel as well as the oldest ‘small’ jail in Ontario, Port Dalhousie’s history is colourful and intriguing. The recorded history began with the arrival of the United Empire Loyalists following the American War of Independence. Prior to that it had been a settlement for indigenous peoples who hunted and fished the bountiful land and waters.
The transformation into a commercial center began with the construction of the First Welland Canal commencing on November 24, 1824 and opening to traffic on November 27, 1829. The evolution from settlement to town is fascinating. During the last two centuries the area has supported a thriving fishing industry as well as a prolific ship building enterprise, and welcomed hordes of fun seekers to its popular beach. On January 1, 1961, the town was incorporated into the City of St. Catharines. The following is a history of the settlement, the village, and the town of Port Dalhousie.
When the first Welland Canal was completed, Port Dalhousie was a small settlement but steadily began to grow as the canal traffic increased. Located at the mouth of the Twelve Mile Creek and at the entrance to the canal, it attracted millers and labourers. Canal-related industries developed and prospered.
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, this area consisted of swamp and dense forest. Wild game, deer, beaver, bear, rattlesnakes and wild turkeys roamed, and the creeks and streams were plentiful with fish. The Neutral Indians, who originally occupied the peninsula, built their villages in the coastal areas and hunted in the interior wilderness creating trails and clearing forests. Their diet consisted of corn, beans, squash, fish and meat. In 1650 these Indians, who had previously avoided conflict with the Huron tribes to the north and the Iroquois in the east, were annihilated by the Iroquois who had just defeated the Hurons. Soon after, the Mississaugas, a branch of the Chippawa tribe, settled in this area and further developed trails that would be used by the French who followed. One such Indian trail later developed into Martindale Road. Throughout the years, arrowheads from these early tribes have been uncovered in McMahon’s farm (now a subdivision), on Read Island (Henley Island) and in other areas of Port Dalhousie.
Prior to the building of the canal, Port Dalhousie was a fertile farmland, somewhat isolated and containing few families. These families, United Empire Loyalists, were British Colonists in America who refused to take up arms against Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War of 1775. Some instead, fought in Butler’s Rangers. The treaty of Paris in 1783, ended the war and those who had not abandoned their allegiance to the King found that they were disenfranchised and landless and so fled to Canada where they hoped to obtain valuable land. The British government gave them free grants of fertile land as well as food, clothing and livestock.
One of the first United Empire Loyalist settlers was Captain Peter Tenbroeck, an officer in Butler's Rangers in Niagara, who re-entered civilian life with hundreds of others when Butler’s Rangers was disbanded. In 1796 he received over eight hundred acres of Crown land. The land that Port Dalhousie was later built on was listed in the Crown grants in the name of Captain Tenbroeck.
Benjamin Pawling, also a Butler's Ranger, received a large tract of land in the township of Grantham just east of Port Dalhousie. He and his brother Jesse were sons of a Welshman who settled in Pennsylvania before the American Revolutionary War. Later Jesse married Captain Tenbroeck's daughter Gertrude and they had several children.
On December 28, 1821, Captain Tenbroeck's son Jacob sold Henry Pawling (Jesse and Gertrude's son) 300 acres of land now in what would become Port Dalhousie. On the same day, Henry deeded the land to his younger brother Nathan Pawling, who became a prominent and active member of the community. He performed the duties of magistrate, postmaster, schoolteacher, storekeeper, as well as operating a farm along the Twelve Mile Creek. Following the death of both Jesse and Gertrude, along with Benjamin Pawling, Henry Pawling became their heir. With the speculations of improved communications between Lakes Erie and Ontario, Jacob had ensured that the Pawlings had the lucrative land deed of the area.
The settlement was called 'Dalhousie' as early as 1826 as is seen in an advertisement placed in the ‘Farmer’s Journal and Welland Canal Intelligencer’ by Nathan Pawling in an attempt to encourage new settlers to the area. It was not yet a port and was named after the Earl of Dalhousie (pronounced Del-howsie) who was governor-general of Canada from 1820-1828. Nathan respected the Earl and had followed his career. Both men shared the idea of developing a canal between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Many felt the town should be named after Nathan Pawling, but he felt otherwise.
On April 5, 1826 Squire Pawling placed an advertisement in the Farmer's Journal and Welland Canal Intelligencer. He presented an enticing picture of life in the small settlement. Mention was also made of the soon to be completed canal and all its advantages. Despite his depiction, those who arrived faced the same hardships as their predecessors in their attempts to clear and cultivate the land, build homes for their families and establish businesses. Many factors contributed to the misery of settlement life: the severe drought of 1818; the increases in population upon completion of each canal, and the resulting poverty and starvation; the depression in the early 1830s and 1840s; and the Fenian feuds and raids. The road was paved with tragedy and suffering, often resulting in the loss and abandonment of hope.
“Ann & Jane of York” and “R. H. Boughton” (of Youngstown) decorated with flags, ensigns, pendants and a fanciful style affected their passage through this village and all the locks above on the Welland Canal, with ease and the spontaneous and hearty cheers and salutes of those assembled to witness the exhilarating scene …" (Farmers Journal and Welland Canal Intelligencer 2 Dec. 1829) So read the eyewitness account of the opening of navigation between Lakes Ontario and Erie.
It was on the frosty morning of November 27, 1829 that the British schooner “Ann & Jane followed by the American schooner “R. H. Boughton” entered Lock One Port Dalhousie and slowly began the historic ascent of the locks to Port Robinson. Colours were streaming from all parts of her rigging and the “Ann & Jane” carried a silk flag with the words ‘The King, God Bless Him’ imprinted in gold letters. Once in Port Robinson, they passed into the Welland River and moved eastward to Chippawa, up the Niagara River arriving in Buffalo on December 2nd.
As it was so late in the season, the ice in some parts of the canal was two to three inches thick. In order to allow the passage of the schooners, the ice had to be broken up by a scow. The inclement weather did not deter the great numbers of people who crowded the banks firing muskets and hailing the vessels as they gracefully made their way through each lock. The canal was marked by the angular silhouettes of these two ships with their majestic sails.
They began the return journey the next morning and the “Ann & Jane” safely arrived in Port Dalhousie harbour Saturday, December 5th. The “R, H Boughton” docked for the winter in Centreville, her captain Isaac Pheatt stating that the trip to Port Dalhousie would be made if desired. It marked the beginning of an era of transportation and commerce that would bring prosperity and rapid growth to the settlement.
The idea of the waterway was born as early as 1710 when Louis XIV’s engineer, De la Mothe, believed that a canal could be built to bypass the cataracts at Niagara. (The Welland Canal, Canadian Geographical Journal, XXXIV, May 1947 p.205) Also, Robert Hamilton, over a decade before his death in 1809, conceived the idea of a waterway around Niagara Falls. But it was not until William Hamilton Merritt became interested in the prospects of an inland channel that real progress began.
In 1796, when Merritt was three, his family, United Empire Loyalists, brought him to the area near the Twelve Mile Creek. He fought in the War of 1812 and upon his return purchased land on the banks of the Twelve Mile Creek. In 1816, he began operating a sawmill and soon discovered that the Creek would not supply sufficient water during the summer months to run his mill. By 1818, he owned several mills and was in search of a steady and abundant source of water to maintain his operations effectively. Initially he intended to convey water from the Welland River to his mills, which were now often idle. The idea of a channel connecting the lake developed later.
In the fall of the year, with the aid of two fellow mill owners, John DeCew and George Keefer, and a borrowed water level, Merritt conducted the first surveys for the water route. He believed that a feeder canal could be cut from the headwaters of the Twelve Mile Creek through the Short Hills of Pelham to Chippawa Creek. As his businesses were suffering, he was personally unable to finance the construction and thus developed the ideas of a commercial waterway carrying ships of trade.
Another element served to generate interest in the peninsular waterway. As work on the Erie Canal (1817-1825) had commenced the year before, it was believed, and rightly so, that unless an internal seaway was developed, much of the upper lake traffic could be diverted to New York via the Hudson River. The government of Upper Canada had to act in order to thwart American encroachment.
On June 19, 1824, a charter was granted to the Welland Canal Company, a private enterprise, and George Keefer became its president. After several surveys were conducted and amendments to proposed plans and actual routes made, stage one of the First Welland Canal was completed in 1829 and was ready to receive the numerous sail-craft which would ply the waters and ornament the landscape in the years ahead. William Hamilton Merritt and other mill owners on the Creek were now provided with a regular supply of water to ensure survival, continual operation and success of their mills.
The entrance of the canal was at the west end of Lakeside Park. It passed along the northeast side of Lock Street, behind the present Lincoln Fabrics (Harbour Club Condos) and followed the natural course of the Twelve Mile Creek to Merritton. It then moved on to Port Robinson, along the Welland River to Chippawa and up the Niagara River to Lake Erie. A second smaller canal known as the ‘Feeder’ was constructed from the Grand River to Port Robinson to provide the canal with an adequate water supply.
Due to the swift currents of the Niagara River, the original plan was abandoned and the route of the canal altered. Work progressed slowly and many hardships were met. An outbreak of Asiatic cholera in 1832 took the lives of many labourers and their families, thus impeding work on the canal. It wasn’t until the next year that the second stage was completed and the canal took a more direct route now moving south from Port Robinson to Welland and on to Port Colborne on Lake Erie. Through the years of construction, the Welland Canal Company suffered financial losses and had to seek loans from the government.
The canal consisted of forty small timbered locks 110 feet long, twenty-two feet wide and eight feet deep. Schooners, barges, sloops and scows moved slowly and steadily along and this scene became an integral part of the towns which were developing along the water route. As the winds were not always favourable, these small sailing ships had to be towed through sections of the canal by teams of mules, horses and oxen. A rather bleak picture of the arduous existence of the towboys and their teams is described by Barlow Cumberland, a Canadian Northern Railway Agent who brought the Chicora through the canal during five days in the fall of 1877:
“The canal bank and towpaths were a sticky mush, which in those autumn months was churned and stamped into a continuous condition of soft red mud and splashing pools. From two to six double teams were employed to haul each passing vessel, dependent upon whether it was light or loaded, but in either case there was the same dull, heavy, continuous pull against the slow-moving mass, a hopeless constant tug into the collars, bringing raw and calloused shoulders.
Poor beasts, there was every description of horse, pony, or mule forced into service, but an all-prevailing similarity of lean sides and projecting bones, of staring unkempt coats, gradually approaching similar colour as the red mud dried upon their hides. Rest! they had in their traces when mercifully for a few moments the vessel was in a lock, or when awaiting her turn at night, they lay out on the bank where she happened to stop. It was the rest of despair.
The poor devils of ‘drivers’, boys or men, who tramped along the canal bank behind each tottering gang, were little better off than their beasts. Heavy-footed, wearied with lifting their boots out of the sucking slush, they trudged along, staggering and half asleep, until aroused by the sounds of a sagging tow line, with quickened stride and volley of hot-shot expletives, they closed upon their luckless four-footed companions. What an electric wince went through the piteous brutes as the stinging whips left wales upon their sides! A sudden forward motion brought up by the twang of the tow line as it came taut, sweeping them off their legs, until they settled down once more into the sidling crab-like movement caused by the angle of the hawser from the bow to the tow path.”(A Century of Sail and Steam on the Niagara River pp. 68-69)
The opening of the First Welland Canal caused a migration to the area of a canal labour force, as well as industry and services to meet the needs of the growing settlement. Most of the men who had come to work on the canal were fortunate enough to establish themselves in the settlement, some on canal and bank maintenance, and others on canal concerns and businesses.
One industry, which developed, was shipbuilding. The abundant growth of virgin timber at the water’s edge and the proximity to the canal directly resulted in the birth and growth of this enterprise in Port Dalhousie and St. Catharines.
In 1837, Robert Abbey, a Scotsman whose trade was boat building, established a shipyard at Port Dalhousie, building yawls, sailing yachts and steam yachts. In the same year, another Scottish immigrant, Alexander Muir, who was largely responsible for the early growth of the village, arrived. He left Scotland, having come from a line of land workers, to take a position on board a sailing vessel. He made several trips here and to China and India, discovering things which would later prove helpful in the establishment of his dry dock. He observed that the ship’s sails were constantly in need of repair and that the ship’s carpenter was always busy “caulking the deck and the ship’s sides on a stage hung over the sides of the ship.” (Alexander Muir diary). Experience had shown him the necessity and shortage of such a marine service. These men were to see many changes in their small settlement as the shipping trend caught on.
In the early days of the canal when movement was slow, the tolls were set low as incentive to draw traffic. The main cargo shipped was pork, beef, timber, salt, flour, coal and whiskey.
Harbour improvements had to be made at Port Dalhousie to meet these demands. In 1842 the first steam vessel travelled through the Welland Canal and traffic began to grow. There was one group who inevitably would suffer considerable losses as a result of this—the tow-teams. Towing of boats was an important factor of canal navigation. As the barges, sloops, scows and schooners had no power with which to propel them, they relied heavily on this service. There were, at the time, one hundred and fifty teams of horses stabled at the west end of Lakeside Park. With the advent of steamships and tugs for towing purposes, the use of the horse and oxen teams at Port Dalhousie and other points along the canal was on the wane. The tow men understandably objected strongly to the use of steam tugs for towing. Although their decline was gradual, they ultimately met their demise during the period of the Third Welland Canal.
Mrs.
Rhoda Abel, a well-known resident of Port Dalhousie, born in 1889
recalls:
“My brother Clyde drove one of those teams belonging to Mr. E. McMahon. He had teams, which towed the barges up. Great big heavy teams of horses, which pulled those barges to Thorold. When they got them to the long level at Thorold, they were towed by tugs. It was a long level because there weren’t any more locks. The next lock from Thorold was, then, in Port Colborne. Steamboats were towing the barges but they couldn’t fit into the lock together. The steamboats would go through and leave the barges to be towed through by the horse teams.”
In 1863, Port Dalhousie, with a population of 1,364, was incorporated as a village. With Confederation in 1867, the canal was transferred from provincial to federal jurisdiction, and the government was soon compelled to make essential revisions and improvements. In 1869, the east pier was rebuilt and the following year, the harbour was dredged and deepened. Work began on the Third Welland Canal in 1875 ushering in an era of unparalleled prosperity. A more direct route was followed, no longer utilizing the Twelve-Mile Creek. A towpath was constructed and, although most of the vessels passed through the canal on their own power, the tow teams did remain active towing barges and sail-craft.
It is widely believed that the tow teams are responsible for the designation of the east bank of the canal as the ‘Michigan side’. As the nature of their employment was seasonal, the tow boys and teams were jobless when the canal froze and shipping had arrested for the winter. At that time the teamsters transported their men and teams by rail to Michigan where they were engaged to cut and haul timber. In the spring these men returned to Port Dalhousie to resume their business and settled on the east side of the canal which was then termed the ‘Michigan side.’
Shortly after the first canal was completed, it became evident that it was inefficient and could not accommodate the volume of traffic. The wooden locks deteriorated quickly and each season repairs had to be made. This meant considerable cost to the Welland Canal Company and they found the low tolls originally imposed were now insufficient.
When Merritt first devised the plan of a waterway, his intention was to regulate the flow of the Twelve Mile Creek, which had diminished as the forests were cleared for settlement. Creating a ship canal was secondary. Through the years, as traffic increased and larger ships were being built, the channel proved too narrow and shallow. Costly restoration and alterations had to be made or the canal would soon become obsolete.
Government intervention at this time was inevitable. The Welland Canal Company was requesting additional loans to make the necessary repairs and changes, having already amassed a sizable debt. As it was obvious that repayment was not feasible, the government of Upper Canada converted the loan to stock in 1837 gaining directorial control of the Company. In 1841, after the union of Upper and Lower Canada, the government purchased the entire company from the private stockholders and began the much-needed canal revisions.
With word of canal improvements and the prospect of employment, immigrants, mostly Irish, began arriving in search of security and stability. This created a surplus of labour and many were unemployed as the contractors were not ready to commence work immediately. As canal work progressed slowly, these families were destitute. Desperate, hungry and bitter, the men threatened to attack the stores and prospering businesses in Port Dalhousie and other points along the canal. Troops and a mounted police force were summoned and stationed along the waterway to suppress violence. Much pillaging and brutality occurred before the matter was laid to rest.
Amid this unrest, phase one of the Second Welland Canal, begun in 1842, was opened to canal navigation in 1851. The completed canal was deepened to 10 feet and widened to 126.5 feet. 27 cut stone locks, each 150 feet long, with wooden gates, were built to replace the 40 timbered ones.
Rhoda Abel recalled her father’s days as lock master on the Second Welland Canal. He received a medal from King Edward VII for his twenty-nine years of faithful service on the Welland Canal.
“My father worked on the canal all his life. The old lock used to come in down there in front of that lobster place (corner of Lock and Front Streets). All the while my father worked on the locks, he opened them by hand. There was no other way. And when they put seventeen boats through one night while it was raining cats and dogs, they really earned their living. They got about $1.25 a day. But 25 cents would buy you anything in those days. Everything was so cheap then.
Right behind that old lock in those days, there was a customs house where they had to pay to go through the canal. The customs officer was Mr. Bev Clark and he lived down on Lock Street. He had to sleep there because as the boats came through, he had to take the money. Being the customs officer, that was his home and his business. Somebody tried to rob it once. Two men came. One went inside while the other waited outside. He came in through a window or something. Mr. Clark woke up, heard him and said, ‘Who is there, who is there, WHO IS THERE?’ He didn’t get an answer from the man. Mr. Clark shot and killed him. His name was Pat Sharon. They took his body to the Town Hall (now the library) and held a case there. I don’t know where he came from. Off a boat or something, I guess. The other fellow tried to help his friend get out, as he wasn’t dead yet. Mr. Clark could never forget that. It troubled him. He was a very fine man and a very good church man. Whenever you talked to him and he’d be telling you about it he’d say, ‘I’ll never forget that I sent that man to his maker without a chance to repent for anything. It was an awful thing, but I asked him three times.’ Everybody tried to tell him that he did what he should have done, but it still bothered him greatly all his life.”
At the time of the opening of the Second Welland Canal, Port Dalhousie was a growing settlement. It was portrayed in 1846 as “a small village on the west side of the canal, in the north west corner of the township of Grantham, five miles from St. Catharines, where is a shipyard. Port Dalhousie contains two hundred inhabitants, two stores, one tavern, and two blacksmiths.” (Smith’s Canadian Gazette, 1846).
As the settlement steadily grew, there arose certain community needs such as a church and a school, which had to be met. In the early days, travelling missionaries held service in a log schoolhouse in the west end of Port Dalhousie near the land dedicated as St. John’s Cemetery. The Anglican parish of St. James Louth was founded in 1834 and the first church was built in 1841 on land donated by Thomas and George Read. The name was changed to St. John’s in 1868 when the present brick building on Main Street was constructed. The following year the original wood structure was moved by scow up the canal to Merritton where, in 1892, it was destroyed by fire. The St. Catharines Constitutional of August 11, 1870 carried an advertisement for an excursion to Toronto in order to help the church of St. John’s pay off its debt.
Around the same time, the Presbyterian parish of Port Dalhousie was forming, holding services at the log schoolhouse. In 1849, Nathan Pawling donated land for a church and burying ground, as well as promising financial support. A few years later, a frame building was constructed on Church Street and opened for worship. St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church and Sunday School were constructed in 1894. On June 10, 1925 the Church decided to join with the Methodists, Presbyterians and the Congregationalists to form the United Church of Canada.
The Star of the Sea church was built in 1871 on land purchased from Owen McMahon. It was made of stone which was brought here on ships from Kingston as ballast. The stones were dropped off at Lock One and Catholics and Protestants joined in a common cause. Anyone passing the pile felt obligated to load their wagons and buggies and carry the stones to the church site. Mention is made of a structure used as a church prior to this. Legend has it that a group of sailors caught in a sudden violent lake storm promised in prayer that they would build a church when they arrived safely ashore. Their prayers were answered and their promise kept when they landed in Port Dalhousie. The original steeple was built tall enough to be seen from the middle of the lake, a navigational aid to other vessels. It was blown over in a terrible storm around 1928.
The first schoolhouse, constructed of logs, was situated in the west part of the village on what used to be the Corbett farm. It was replaced by one on Dalhousie Avenue near Gertrude and then by a two-room structure on Dalhousie near Elgin. It was later bought by the Separate School Board and used until a new school was built on Dalhousie Avenue. The cornerstone for St. Ann’s Catholic School was laid July 11, 1915. It contained two classrooms downstairs. The second floor had a hall with a stage where plays, dances, dinners, sewing bees and bingo were held. In 1956, three classrooms were added. In 1993 the new school was built on Main Street.
In 1877, Port Dalhousie Public School was built and contained three classrooms which comprised the front rooms of the building. In 1881, an organ was acquired and the teaching of music began.
Rhoda Abel recalled: ‘My mother was one of the first teachers in the school the first year it was built. She came here on New Year’s Day and went to work the first of the year. She boarded with Jimmy Smiley’s mother and they were good friends until the day they died. She met my father there as he was boarding with Mrs. Smiley as well.’
As the village grew, the necessity for a larger school was felt; so in 1913 an upper storey with a hallway and three rooms was added. A basement and washrooms were installed in 1922, as well as a new heating and ventilating system. In 1948, the final addition was completed and in 1955 the ten-room school was renamed McArthur in honour of George A. McArthur, principal from 1938 to 1947. The same year Gracefield School was built on land owned by Mrs. T.B. Read and Mrs. R.F. Grace. Now Port Dalhousie had three schools to meet the growing needs of the village.
With the influx of marine activity, the population of Port Dalhousie continued to increase steadily. Application was made to the County Council and, on October 30, 1862, the bylaw to incorporated the village was passed. Prior to 1862, it had been under the jurisdiction of Lincoln County. Members of the first council were: Reeve John Lawrie and councillors Alexander Muir, Nathan Pawling, Owen McMahon, and Richard Wood. John Hindson was the village clerk. By 1872, the council had begun to collect taxes for various purposes, such as street maintenance.
Port Dalhousie was entering a period which would prove to be more affluent, boisterous and mercantile than the last century. The new canal brought more traffic and new concerns began to develop.
Many of the ships built prior to the opening of the First Welland Canal were unable to pass through the locks, so the design of ships had to conform to the size of the locks. In November 1830, the Welland Canal Company, in an advertisement in the local newspaper (St. Catharines Journal) authorized the “…construction of a dry dock, 230 feet long by 65 feet wide and capable of admitting any vessel of not more than 31 feet 6 inches.” This stimulated an expansion of the shipbuilding industry and soon shipbuilders were drawn to the area to fulfill the need for repairing, refitting and building suitable vessels to carry the cargo. Many came to Port Dalhousie as it was at the mouth of the Twelve Mile Creek and the entrance to the canal.
One of the earliest and most prominent dry docks in the area was the Shickluna Dry Docks located at Shipman’s Corners on Twelve Mile Creek in what is now downtown St. Catharines. As the canal promoted more ship traffic and, hence, more ships, the need for more dry docks became evident as Shickluna could no longer handle all the work headed his way, causing delays to owners of these ships.
Opportunity was at hand for an industry that would grow in relation to the ever-increasing development of the Welland Ship Canal. The first to build a dry dock in Port Dalhousie was Robert Abbey, a boat builder by trade. In 1837 he opened his shipyard.
In 1857, Donaldson and Andrews, who had started out at Shipman’s Corners with a yard bought from Shickluna, began construction of a dry dock on the east side of the canal. By 1860 another shipyard, Donaldson, Andrews and Ross had been established in Port Dalhousie.
They built ships on their own as well as in partnership with one another. Donaldson had a shipyard on the east side of the Port Dalhousie harbour. In December 1857, when Shickluna reacquired Donaldson & Andrews yard, they immediately started building a dry dock and shipyard at Port Dalhousie on the future site of Lock 1 of the Third Welland Canal.
Important as they were to ushering in the era of shipbuilding and repair in Port Dalhousie, neither achieved the stature of the Muir brothers and their dry docks.