The Street Names of St. Catharines

1 INTRODUCTION This compilation has had a very long gestation period. It was written to provide some brief information and history about the names of some of our St. Catharines streets. Unfortunately there is no central location where such information has been gathered. Therefore what I have assembled has come from many sources. But, of course, I have not been successful in gathering all of it. Hopefully those who have information that I have not uncovered will make a point of sharing it. Otherwise, with the passage of time that information will fade into oblivion and be lost forever. A few years ago, in a moment of indiscretion, I suggested to Paul Hutchinson, then Chair of the Program Committee of the Historical Society of St. Catharines, that it would be interesting to have someone give a talk about the origins of some of our street names. He agreed it was an excellent topic. The only problem was that he didn’t know of anyone who was prepared to do it. So, he said “why don’t you do it? “ When I demured, he assured me there was lots of information on the subject at the Public Library, plus there were many people who would be more than willing to share information with me. I finally caved in and have been working for over ten years on the project. But it was some time before I realized that I was in the process of compiling a book. With the benefit of hindsight I would have better organized my material. I would have kept far better records of those who had helped me and I would have been far more diligent about recording reference sources. I confess to my oversights and apologize to those whom I have inadvertently omitted from my acknowledgements. And , why are street names important? Without them, identifying locations would be extremely difficult. Just imagine trying to tell someone where you live if our streets had no names. But in addition to their functional value the origin of street names in many cases, also tell us something about our past. Therefore finding out the history behind the names has been the real challenge and the motivation for compiling this book. Many changes take place over time. In 1796, St Catharines, then known as “The Twelve” (being approximately 12 miles from the Niagara River) had only about 50 settlers. Prior to that there were few inhabitants in our area. The Native peoples had made trails through the woods and over the open land. Some of these became our first streets resulting in some of the irregular patterns of our present-day street system. In the early 1800’s Paul Shipman operated a tavern at the junction of what is now St Paul and Ontario Streets, the forerunner to the increasing number of bars and restaurants in our present downtown area. The community then became known as Shipman’s Corners. The conclusion of the American Revolution in 1782 brought in an influx of refugees who had remained loyal to the British Crown and they became an important element in the founding of our community. They are known as United Empire Loyalists and some of our streets are named after them. By 1829, when the first Welland Canal opened, the name, St. Catharines, was well established as the name of the community which then had about 400 inhabitants. By 1851 the population had increased to over 4,000, and St. Catharines had officially become a town. In 1876, with a population of over 12,000, it became a city. In 1961, the amalgamation of St. Catharines with the Towns of Port Dalhousie and Merritton plus part of Grantham Township resulted in the need to change the names of one hundred streets in order to avoid duplications. Over the years other streets names have changed for a variety of reasons. As new subdivisions are created, new street names are needed and so it is a continuing process. 2 The naming of streets is a Municipal responsibility. St. Catharines has a Heritage Committee comprised of volunteer citizens who make recommendations on street names to City Council. Before doing so the Committee refers proposed names to the Fire Department which deletes those that sound similar to existing street names and those that are too difficult to pronounce and so might be a problem in an emergency. It is impossible to say with certainty where all of our street names came from. Many people and sources have contributed to this compilation. Some sources of information are in conflict with others so I have had to make judgement calls as to which appears to be the most likely. In many cases I have made what I hope are reasonable assumptions. Inevitably some of them will be incorrect, for which I accept full responsibility and welcome correcting information from readers with more accurate knowledge. In some cases there is more than one plausible explanation for a street name and this is reflected in the narrative for it. It is then not an exact science and neither is this the definitive authority on our street names. Streets, in the northeast part of the City which, prior to the 1961 amalgamation, were part of Grantham Township have many intersections that are not the conventional 90 degree angles. The reason for this is that when that area was originally surveyed the east-west concession roads were laid out more or less parallel with the lakeshore whereas the north-south roads adhered to the more traditional magnetic north-south alignment. The resulting parallelograms give the area its rather distinct appearance, as we, as well as occasional frustration and confusion for drivers. It was never my intention to provide commentary on every street. In fact, my original goal was to provide explanations for 200 streets. However, I have ended up with information on over 1000! Anyone with information about those that are not included could make a valuable contribution to this project by sharing their information with the Planning Department of the City of St. Catharines at 905-688-5601 extension 1660. Additions and amendments from the public will be reviewed by the Heritage Committee which will decide if the information is valid for inclusion in this Street Names Compilation. I am grateful to everyone who has shared information with me and who has, in the process, helped make this compilation possible. I am particularly indebted to the late Bob Ure, OLS, who from his vast pool of knowledge and surveying experience, provided information on a good number of street names. I am also indebted to my wife, Marilyn who on many occasions came to my rescue when I encountered computer problems that were beyond my capability. And last but not least I am greatly indebted to John Burtniak, local historian of note, who spent countless hours meticulously editing my work. Maurice Gomme 21 August 2017 3 Acknowledgements A great many people have contributed to this compilation. Regretfully I did not always have the foresight to note their names as they contributed. The unfortunate result is that I am now not able to identify and acknowledge all of them. My sincere apologies to those who have been overlooked. Here are those that I can identify. Dr. Angus Adams Tom Fraser John Read Lt. Col. Cliff Baker Dennis Gannon Bruce Reesor Marjorie Baker Winnifred Gibson Graham Repei Carolyn Bassett Russell Gomme Sara Rogers Bob Bell Fred Habermehl Norma Rolls Cathy Burtch Bob Halfyard Beth Seymour John Burtniak Dr. Archie Heidi Stan Skrzezewski Lou Cahill Martin Heikoop Bill Stevens Marjorie Cain Ming Hensen Sheldon Sulman Dina Caplan Alun Hughes Alan Swayze Frank Caplan Sandra Hunt Corlene Taylor Gail Collins Michelle Hyatt Sandra Timco Shirley Cooper Michael Johnson Anne Tucker Lorraine Cordner Jim Kaufman, Sr. Marlene Veillette Carey Cozocar Norris Kowl Fred Verroche Don Crocock Ivan Little Tom Urlocker Leo Difabio Paul Lewis Dennis Walker John Dewar Elizabeth Loucks Glen Walker Brad Doner Brian MacDonald Sam Walters Robin Dunn Norman MacDonald Don Ward Tim Dunn Timothy Masterson Bob Welch Marie Eckstein Archdeacon Bruce McPetrie Eric White Rick Emmett Alex Ormston Edie Williams Caroline Fancott G. L. Overholt Don Ziraldo D. Faulkner Nick Podoberick 4 SOURCES Many sources relating to the history of St. Catharines have been consulted. For a comprehensive list, please refer to the Bibliography in the volume St. Catharines: Canada’s Canal City by John N. Jackson and Sheila M. Wilson pages 375 – 395, published by the St. Catharines Standard in 1991. Also consult the resources of the St. Public Library’s Special Collections. 5 6 7 From Illustrated Historical Atlas of the Counties of Lincoln & Welland, Ont. (Toronto 1876) by H. R. Page 8 From Illustrated Historical Atlas of the Counties of Lincoln & Welland, Ont. (Toronto 1876) by HJ. R. Pagee 9 From Illustrated Historical Atlas of the Counties of Lincoln & Welland, Ont. (Toronto 1876) by H. R. Page 10 Abbey Avenue This street runs north-westerly off Bayview Drive in Port Dalhousie. It was named after Robert Abbey (1788-1866), one of the most important people in the development of Port Dalhousie. A native of Leith, Scotland he came to Canada in the late 1830's and became one of Port Dalhousie's leading citizens. Upon arrival he recognized the need for a shipyard and immediately set about establishing one. His shipyard was one of the first established in Ontario. He had six sons and three daughters. Prior to amalgamation in 1961 this street was called Third Avenue. Abbot Street Runs easterly off Oakdale Avenue. Abbott Street West is directly across the old (Second) Canal and runs off Moffatt Street.

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