St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada’s Niagara Region in Southern Ontario. It is 51 kilometers (32 miles) south of Toronto across Lake Ontario, and is 19 kilometers (12 miles) inland from the international boundary with the United States along the Niagara River. It is the northern entrance of the Welland Canal.
St. Catharines carries the
official nickname “The Garden City” due to its 1,000 acres of parks,
gardens and trails.
The city was first settled by Loyalists in the 1780s. The Crown granted them land in compensation for their services and for losses in the United States. Early histories credit Sergeant Jacob Dittrick and Private John Hainer, formerly of Butler’s Rangers, as among the first to come to the area. They took their Crown Patents where Dick’s Creek and 12 Mile Creek merge, now the city center of St. Catharines.
Secondary to water routes, native trails provided transportation networks, resulting in the present-day radial road pattern from the City center.
After the Butler’s Rangers disbanded in 1784 and
settled the area, Duncan Murray as a former Quartermaster was appointed by the
Crown to distribute free Government supplies (victuals) for two years to the
resettled Loyalists. He did this from his mill, built on the 12 Mile Creek in
Power Glen. After his death in 1786, his holdings went to merchant Robert
Hamilton of Queenston. Hamilton became land wealthy, expropriating lands from
subsistence Loyalist settlers who were incapable of settling their debts.
Hamilton’s major profits were derived from transhipping supplies for the
military and civic establishments from his Queenston enterprise. He sold his
business to Jesse Thompson before the turn of the 18th century.
The Merritt family arrived; they were among the
later Loyalists to relocate following the American Revolution. In 1796, Thomas
Merritt arrived to build on his relationship with his former Commander and
Queen’s Ranger, John Graves Simcoe, now the Lieutenant Governor of Upper
Canada.
An old Iroquois Trail was renamed St. Paul Street
by the settlers by the mid-19th century. Several mills, salt works,
retail outlets, a ship building yard, distillery and various other businesses
were developed next.
15 Bayview Drive22 Bayview Drive – arched entranceway with a pillared open balustrade balcony above; verge board trim and finials on gables; two storey turret, dormers56 Bayview Drive – chipped gable, Tudor half-timbering135 Bradley Street was built about 1849-1851 and was originally used as a semi-detached Lock tender’s House and was located adjacent to the second Welland Canal. It is a one-and-a-half storey dwelling built of local sandstone laid in random coursing with dressed limestone quoins at the corners. In the backyard of the property there used to be a quarry and some of the stone that was used on the Second Welland Canal was quarried here.77 Bradley Street was constructed in 1851 and was a Lock tender’s House providing accommodations for men tending the locks of the Welland Canal. The semi-detached, one-and-a-half storey dwelling was built of sandstone cut from a quarry close to the house. It is accented with limestone corner quoins and stone lintels and sills. Lock tenders aided the navigation of ships through the Welland Canals.51 Mountain Street – Jacob Ball, United Empire Loyalist – circa 1824 – The original stone portion of this house has a two-storey, five bay aspect facing the driveway. The main façade is of split face ashlar coursing with cut stone quoins. The sidewalls are of a more random coursing and all stone is local. All the windows have solid stone sills, some with solid stone lintels and others with a flat arch of the same local stone. The land on which the building is located was originally a Crown Grant to George Ball in 1796. The property was sold to the Public Works Department in 1843 and was then turned over to the Welland Canal Loan Company. During this period, the building was used as the home of the lockmaster, overseeing the work of seventeen lock tenders.343 Merritt Street – The former Merritton Town Hall was constructed in 1879 by James MacDonald. The building is a rectangular structure made of local sandstone on the exterior. It is described as Victorian architecture with contrasting quoins, a string belt course, and radiating arch voussoirs over the windows and doors. The projecting bell tower has detailed stone work and an interesting shaped roof. The hip roof is trimmed with a boxed cornice with a frieze and brackets. The front double doors have a fan transom and are inset in the center of the bell tower. The building housed municipal offices, a community center, the mechanics institute, the waterworks commission, and the library. In 1888, the fire department was formed and moved into the building. Merritton Town Hall was the hub of the community where town members gathered for dances, concerts and movie showings.159 Moffatt Street – The Phelps-Austin House is located in a prominent location overlooking the former second Welland Canal and the valley where the original owner, Noah Phelps, operated his sawmill. It is a two-storey frame house with a high cross-gabled roof. Each façade is arranged in a picturesque fashion.124 Rolls Avenue – Saints Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church – The style is Byzantine Revival which is typified by domes, decorative brickwork and stone arches. The plan of the building is typical church cruciform with a main rectangular body (nave) crossed by a transept. There are six multi-sided domes on the roof. The elaborate detailing is characteristic of this style and features seven different colours and textures of brick and stone executed mainly as varying heights of bands around the building. The front elevation is a gable with towers and domes symmetrically placed on either side. The front entrance features a grand tiled staircase with decorative pre-cast concrete piers and painted iron railings. The glass doors and semi-circular transom above are trimmed with stone. The windows are semi-circular and trimmed with brick or stone.
