Caledonia, Ontario – My Top 6 Picks

Caledonia, Ontario – My Top 6 Picks

Caledonia is a small riverside community located on the Grand River in Haldimand County. It is located at the intersection of Highway 6 and Highway 54 (within the town, these streets are called Argyle Street and Caithness Street respectively).  On Highway 6, the town is 10 kilometers south of Hamilton and 10 kilometers north of Hagersville. On Highway 54, the town is 15 kilometers east of Brantford and 10 kilometers west of Cayuga.

The Grand River flows 293 kilometers from the Dundalk Highlands to Lake Erie and is the largest river in southern Ontario. The river winds its way through marshes, woods, farmsteads, and communities. Rainbow trout use this river in their migration.

Caledonia was once a small strip of land between Seneca and Oneida villages. The Grand River traveled through Caledonia dividing it into two sides, North and South. In 1834, Ranald McKinnon was hired to build a dam in Seneca and a dam in Caledonia. Completed in 1840, the dams made water power available. The dam at Caledonia was constructed as part of a series of dams, locks and canals to facilitate navigation of the Grand River from Lake Erie to Brantford. Mills were built throughout Seneca village, and five mills were built in Caledonia by 1850.  Commercial navigation ceased by 1879, but the dam continued to serve the local mills and provided a recreation opportunity. The present dam was built in 1980 downstream of the original structure.

Architectural Photos, Caledonia, Ontario
204 Caithness Street – paired cornice brackets, corner quoins, decorative verge board trim on gable of two-and-a-half-story tower-like bay
Architectural Photos, Caledonia, Ontario
153 Argyle Street – Gothic Revival cottage, corner quoins, decorative brickwork
Architectural Photos, Caledonia, Ontario
4 Argyle Street – Toll House c. 1875 – built as an office and residence for the collector of tolls for the bridge over the Grand River
Architectural Photos, Caledonia, Ontario
11 Orkney Street – Gothic Revival
Architectural Photos, Caledonia, Ontario
78 Sutherland Street
Architectural Photos, Caledonia, Ontario
Grand River Mills – Caledonia Milling Co. – built in 1846 – the last timber-frame water powered mill along the Grand River in Ontario