Port Dalhousie: An Intimate History

FOREWORD

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.

INTRODUCTION

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?

David Serafino

THE THREE OLD LOCK ONES

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.

PART I - A NARRATIVE

A NARRATIVE HISTORY OF PORT DALHOUSIE

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.

TWELVE MILE CREEK SETTLEMENT

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.

THE FIRST WELLAND CANAL 1824-29-33

"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