Editing Hamilton, Ontario (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Hamilton, Ontario}}
In pre-[[New France|colonial]] times, the [[Neutral Nation|Neutral First Nation]] used much of the land. They were gradually driven out by the [[Iroquois|Five (later Six) Nations]] (Iroquois) who were allied with the [[Canada under British Imperial control (1764-1867)|British]] against the [[Wyandot people|Huron]] and their French allies.<ref name=canenc/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Warrick |first=Gary |title=The Precontact Iroquoian Occupation of Southern Ontario |journal=Journal of World Prehistory |volume=14 |issue=4 |year=2000 |pages=415–466 |doi=10.1023/A:1011137725917 |jstor=25801165 |s2cid=163183815}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/74782313-5881-435D-A35C-78F0661FE11B/0/WoodburnBridgeClassEAFinalReportAppCStage1Archaeology.pdf |publisher=City of Hamilton |title=Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment: Woodburn Bridge Replacement |year=2014 |access-date=March 6, 2021 |archive-date=September 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911032517/http://www2.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/74782313-5881-435D-A35C-78F0661FE11B/0/WoodburnBridgeClassEAFinalReportAppCStage1Archaeology.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The hamlet of [[Westover, Ontario|Westover]] was built in an area that was originally a Seneca Iroquois tribal village, [[Tinawatawa]], which was first visited by the French in September 1699.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.whs.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/1920.pdf |title=Eighth Annual Report |year=1920 |page=109 |publisher=Waterloo Historical Society |access-date=March 21, 2021 |quote= |archive-date=May 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518233301/https://www.whs.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/1920.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

After the [[American Revolutionary War]], about 10,000 [[United Empire Loyalists]] left the United States to settle in [[Upper Canada]], now southern Ontario. In 1792, the Crown purchased the land on which Hamilton now stands from the [[Mississaugas]] in Treaty 3, also known as the Between the Lakes Purchase.<ref name=ontariotreaties>{{cite web |url=https://www.ontario.ca/page/map-ontario-treaties-and-reserves |title=Map of Ontario treaties and reserves |publisher=Government of Ontario |date=February 22, 2021 |access-date=June 9, 2021 |archive-date=June 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603121855/https://www.ontario.ca/page/map-ontario-treaties-and-reserves |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://mncfn.ca/treaty3/ |title=Between the Lakes Treaty No. 3 (1792) |publisher=[[Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation]] |date=May 28, 2017 |access-date=June 9, 2021 |archive-date=February 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210043018/http://mncfn.ca/treaty3/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Crown granted the Loyalists lands from this purchase to encourage settlement in the region.<ref name=encyclopedia/> These new settlers were soon followed by many more Americans, attracted by the availability of inexpensive, arable land. At the same time, large numbers of Iroquois who had allied with Britain arrived from the United States and were settled on reserves west of Lake Ontario as compensation for lands they lost in what was now the United States.<ref name=LOYALISTS>{{cite web |url=http://www.uelac.org/PDF/loyalist.pdf |title=A Short History of the United Empire Loyalists |access-date=January 4, 2008 |last=Mackenzie |first=Ann |publisher=United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201030444/http://www.uelac.org/PDF/loyalist.pdf |archive-date=December 1, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> During the [[War of 1812]], British regulars and [[Canadian militia|local militia]] defeated invading American troops at the [[Battle of Stoney Creek]], fought in what is now a park in [[Stoney Creek, Ontario|eastern Hamilton]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=521 |title=Battle of Stoney Creek National Historic Site of Canada |location=Canada |publisher=Parks Canada |access-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116024855/https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=521 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The town of Hamilton was conceived by [[George Hamilton (city founder)|George Hamilton]] (a son of a [[Queenston]] entrepreneur and founder, [[Robert Hamilton (judge)|Robert Hamilton]]), when he purchased farm holdings of [[James Durand]],<ref name="WEAVER1985">{{cite book |last=Weaver |first=John C. |title=Hamilton: an illustrated history |year=1985 |publisher=James Lorimer & Company, Publishers |pages=15–16 |isbn=0-88862-593-6}}</ref> the local member of the [[Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada]], shortly after the War of 1812.<ref name="WEAVER1985"/> [[Nathaniel Hughson]], a property owner to the north, cooperated with George Hamilton to prepare a proposal for a courthouse and jail on Hamilton's property. Hamilton offered the land to the crown for the future site. Durand was empowered by Hughson and Hamilton to sell property holdings which later became the site of the town. As he had been instructed, Durand circulated the offers at [[York, Upper Canada|York]] during a session of the Legislative Assembly, which established a new [[Gore District, Upper Canada|Gore District]], of which the Hamilton townsite was a member.<ref name="WEAVER1985"/>

Initially, this town was not the most important centre of the Gore District. An early indication of Hamilton's sudden prosperity occurred in 1816 when it was chosen over [[Ancaster, Ontario]] to be the new Gore District's administrative centre. Another dramatic economic turnabout for Hamilton occurred in 1832 when a canal was finally cut through the outer sand bar that enabled Hamilton to become a major port.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Origin and Development of the Road Network of the Niagara Peninsula, Ontario 1770&ndash;1851 |first=Andrew F. |last=Burghardt |publisher=McMaster University |year=1969}}</ref> A permanent jail was not constructed until 1832, when a cut-stone design was completed on Prince's Square, one of the two squares created in 1816.<ref name="WEAVER1985"/> Subsequently, the first police board and the town limits were defined by statute on February 13, 1833.<ref>''Statutes of Upper Canada, 1833'', 3° William IV, p.&nbsp;58–68. Chapter XVII An act to define the Limits of the Town of Hamilton, in the District of Gore, and to establish a Police and Public Market therein.</ref> Official city status was achieved on June 9, 1846, by an act of [[Parliament of the Province of Canada]].<ref name=1846est>''An Act to amend the Act incorporating the Town of Hamilton, and to erect the same into a City'', Statutes of the Province of Canada 1846 (9 Vict.), c. 73.</ref><ref name=HENLEY>{{cite book |last=Henley |first=Brian |title=1846 Hamilton: From a Frontier Town to the Ambitious City |url=https://archive.org/details/1846hamiltonfrom0000henl |url-access=registration |publisher=North Shore Publishing |year=1995 |isbn=0-9698460-7-X}}</ref>

By 1845, the population was 6,475. In 1846, there were useful roads to many communities as well as stagecoaches and steamboats to Toronto, Queenston, and Niagara. Eleven cargo schooners were owned in Hamilton. Eleven churches were in operation. A reading room provided access to newspapers from other cities and from England and the U.S. In addition to stores of all types, four banks, tradesmen of various types, and sixty-five taverns, industry in the community included three breweries, ten importers of dry goods and groceries, five importers of hardware, two tanneries, three coachmakers, and a marble and a stone works.<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Wm. H. |date=1846 |title=Smith's Canadian Gazetteer - Statistical and General Information Respecting All Parts of the Upper Province, or Canada West |url=https://archive.org/details/smithscanadianga00smit |location=Toronto |publisher=H. & W. ROWSELL |pages=[https://archive.org/details/smithscanadianga00smit/page/75 75]–76 |access-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403155457/https://archive.org/details/smithscanadianga00smit |archive-date=April 3, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
 
As the city grew, several prominent buildings were constructed in the late 19th century, including the [[Grand Lodge of Canada]] in 1855,<ref name=GRANDLODGE>{{cite web |url=http://www.grandlodge.on.ca/ |title=A Brief History of Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario:1855 ~ 2005 Then and Now |publisher=Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario |access-date=January 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226224557/http://grandlodge.on.ca/ |archive-date=December 26, 2007 |url-status=live}}(Requires navigation to article).</ref> West Flamboro Methodist Church in 1879 (later purchased by Dufferin Masonic Lodge in 1893),<ref name=dufferin>{{cite web |url=http://www.dufferinlodge.com/lodge.php |title=Dufferin Masonic Lodge No. 291 A.F. & A.M. |access-date=January 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218083030/http://www.dufferinlodge.com/lodge.php |archive-date=December 18, 2008 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> a public library in 1890, and the Right House department store in 1893. The first commercial telephone service in Canada, the first telephone exchange in the [[British Empire]], and the second telephone exchange in all of North America were each established in the city between 1877 and 1878.<ref name=headlake>{{cite web |url=http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/ic/can_digital_collections/cultural_landmarks/twps.html |title=Chronology of the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth |access-date=January 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015225930/http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/ic/can_digital_collections/cultural_landmarks/twps.html |archive-date=October 15, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> The city had several interurban electric street railways and two inclines, all powered by the Cataract Power Co.<ref>''Cataract Traction'', by John M. Mills (Canadian Traction Series, Volume 2)(1971).</ref>

Though suffering through the [[Hamilton Street Railway]] strike of 1906, with industrial businesses expanding, Hamilton's population doubled between 1900 and 1914. Two steel manufacturing companies, [[Stelco]] and [[Dofasco]], were formed in 1910 and 1912, respectively. [[Procter & Gamble]] and the [[Beech-Nut|Beech-Nut Packing Company]] opened manufacturing plants in 1914 and 1922, respectively, their first outside the US.<ref name=HISINDI>{{cite web |url=http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cdc/industrial/default.htm |title=Industrial Hamilton – A Trail to the Future |publisher=Canada's Digital Collections |access-date=January 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090528232906/http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cdc/industrial/default.htm |archive-date=May 28, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> In June and July 1916, the [[1916 Hamilton machinists' strike|a strike of up to 2,000 machinists]] was caused by a failure of employers to improve working conditions or pay during a booming World War I economy. The strike disrupted production at many of the largest manufacturers and was the largest dispute in the city's history.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Siemiatycki |first1=Myer |title=Munitions and Labour Militancy: The 1916 Hamilton Machinists' Strike |journal=Labour / Le Travail |date=1978 |volume=3 |page=134 |doi=10.2307/25139910 |jstor=25139910 |url=https://www.lltjournal.ca/index.php/llt/article/view/2384 |access-date=19 November 2022 |archive-date=April 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404174922/https://www.lltjournal.ca/index.php/llt/article/view/2384 |url-status=live }}</ref> Population and economic growth continued until the 1960s. In 1929 the city's first high-rise building, the Pigott Building, was constructed; in 1930 [[McMaster University]] moved from Toronto to Hamilton, in 1934 the second [[Canadian Tire]] store in Canada opened here; in 1940 the airport was completed; and in 1948, the [[Studebaker Canada Ltd.|Studebaker]] assembly line was constructed.<ref name=memproj45>{{cite press release |title=The Hamilton Memory Project; STUDEBAKER |publisher=The Hamilton Spectator–Souvenir Edition |page=MP45 |date=June 10, 2006}}</ref> Infrastructure and retail development continued, with the [[Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway]] opening in 1958,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thespec.com/life/local-history/2019/10/30/oct-30-1958-burlington-bay-skyway-completed.html |newspaper=The Hamilton Spectator |title=Oct. 30, 1958: Burlington Bay Skyway completed |date=March 3, 2020 |access-date=March 6, 2021 |archive-date=February 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227041411/https://www.thespec.com/life/local-history/2019/10/30/oct-30-1958-burlington-bay-skyway-completed.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and the first [[Tim Hortons]] store in 1964.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2016/09/23/may-17-1964-tim-hortons-store-no-1-opens-on-hamilton-s-ottawa-street.html |newspaper=The Hamilton Spectator |title=May 17, 1964: Tim Hortons store No. 1 opens on Hamilton's Ottawa Street |date=March 1, 2020 |access-date=March 6, 2021 |archive-date=May 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516162033/https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2016/09/23/may-17-1964-tim-hortons-store-no-1-opens-on-hamilton-s-ottawa-street.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Since then, many of the large industries have moved or shut down operations in a restructuring that also affected the United States.<ref name=HISINDI/> In 1997, there was a devastating fire at the Plastimet plastics plant.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/plastimetincfire00sochuoft/plastimetincfire00sochuoft_djvu.txt |title=Plastimet Inc. fire Hamilton, Ontario: July 9-12, 1997 |year=1997 |publisher=Ontario Ministry of the Environment |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924160547/http://www.archive.org/stream/plastimetincfire00sochuoft/plastimetincfire00sochuoft_djvu.txt |archive-date=September 24, 2015}}</ref> Approximately 300 firefighters battled the blaze, and many sustained severe chemical burns and inhaled [[volatile organic compound]]s when at least 400 tonnes of [[Polyvinyl chloride|PVC]] plastic were consumed in the fire.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thespec.com/news-story/2147497-deadly-legacy-is-plastimet-killing-firefighters-/ |title=Deadly legacy: Is Plastimet killing firefighters? |website=The Hamilton Spectator |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024023618/http://www.thespec.com/news-story/2147497-deadly-legacy-is-plastimet-killing-firefighters-/ |archive-date=October 24, 2013}}</ref>

On January 1, 2001, the new city of Hamilton was formed from the amalgamation of Hamilton and its five neighbouring municipalities: [[Ancaster, Ontario|Ancaster]], [[Dundas, Ontario|Dundas]], [[Flamborough, Ontario|Flamborough]], [[Glanbrook, Ontario|Glanbrook]], and [[Stoney Creek, Ontario|Stoney Creek]].<ref name=amalgprovles/><!-- <ref name=headlake/> --> Before amalgamation, the "old" City of Hamilton had 331,121 residents and was divided into 100 neighbourhoods. The former region of Hamilton-Wentworth had a population of 490,268. The amalgamation created a single-tier municipal government ending subsidization of its suburbs. The new amalgamated city had 519,949 people in more than 100 neighbourhoods, and surrounding communities.<ref name=FOOTSTEPS>{{cite book |title=Footsteps in Time: Exploring Hamilton's heritage neighbourhoods |first=Bill |last=Manson |publisher=North Shore Publishing Inc |year=2003 |isbn=1-896899-22-6}}</ref>

The city was impacted by [[Northeast blackout of 2003|a widespread blackout]] in 2003<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/headlines/10-years-after-blackout-grid-is-more-reliable-but-still-vulnerable-1.1348790 |publisher=CBC |title=10 years after blackout, grid is more reliable but still vulnerable |agency=Canadian Press |date=August 13, 2013 |access-date=February 28, 2021 |archive-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512130308/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/headlines/10-years-after-blackout-grid-is-more-reliable-but-still-vulnerable-1.1348790 |url-status=live }}</ref> and a tornado in 2005.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/meteorologists-confirm-tornado-hit-hamilton-1.565514 |publisher=CBC |title=Meteorologists confirm tornado hit Hamilton |date=November 10, 2005 |access-date=February 28, 2021 |archive-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512145026/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/meteorologists-confirm-tornado-hit-hamilton-1.565514 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2007, the [[Red Hill Valley Parkway]] opened after extensive delays.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2016/09/23/nov-17-2007-red-hill-valley-parkway-opens.html |work=The Hamilton Spectator |title=Nov. 17, 2007: Red Hill Valley Parkway opens |date=September 23, 2016 |access-date=February 28, 2021 |archive-date=May 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516155534/https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2016/09/23/nov-17-2007-red-hill-valley-parkway-opens.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Stelco]] mills were idled in 2010 and permanently closed in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/business/economy/2013/10/29/us_steel_to_close_hamilton_operations.html |work=The Toronto Star |title=U.S. Steel closing steelmaking operations at Hamilton plant |date=October 29, 2013 |access-date=February 28, 2021 |archive-date=October 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030211047/http://www.thestar.com/business/economy/2013/10/29/us_steel_to_close_hamilton_operations.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This closure capped a significant shift in the city's economy: the percentage of the population employed in manufacturing declined from 22 to 12 percent between 2003 and 2013.<ref name=canenc>{{cite web |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/hamilton |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |title=Hamilton |author=John C Weaver |date=March 11, 2019 |access-date=March 4, 2020 |archive-date=March 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316180424/https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/hamilton |url-status=live }}</ref>