Caledonia, Ontario
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2010) |
Caledonia | |
|---|---|
 Argyle Street | |
| Motto: Gateway to Haldimand County | |
  Caledonia  Caledonia | |
| Coordinates: 43°53′53.1″N 79°57′18.3″W / 43.898083°N 79.955083°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| Regional Municipality | Haldimand County, Ontario |
| Government | |
| • Mayor of Haldimand | Shelley Ann Bentley[2] |
| • Governing body | The Council of the Corporation of Haldimand County |
| • Ward 3 (Caledonia) Councillor | Dan Lawrence |
| • MP | Leslyn Lewis (Conservative) |
| • MPP | Toby Barrett (PC) |
| Area | |
• Total | 5.57 km2 (2.15 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 206 m (676 ft) |
| Population (2021) | |
• Total | 12,179[1] |
| Demonym | Caledonian |
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
| Forward sortation area | |
| Area code | 905 / 289 / 365 |
Caledonia is a community located on the Grand River in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada. It had a population of 12,179[1] as of the 2021 Canadian Census. Caledonia is within Ward 3 of Haldimand County. The Councillor elected for Ward 3 is Dan Lawrence. As of 2021, there were 4,310[1] private dwellings in Caledonia.
Caledonia is located at the intersection of Highway 6 and Haldimand Highway 54 (within the town, these streets are called Argyle Street and Caithness Street respectively) on the Grand River. On Highway 6, the town is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of Hamilton and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of Hagersville. On Haldimand Highway 54, the town is 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) east of Brantford, Ontario and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of Cayuga, Ontario.
History
| Census | Population |
|---|---|
| 1841 | 300 |
| 1871 | 1,246 |
| 1901 | 801 |
| 1911 | 952 |
| 1921 | 1,223 |
| 1931 | 1,396 |
| 1941 | 1,401 |
| 1951 | 1,681 |
| 1961 | 2,198 |
| 1971 | 3,183 |
| 1981 | N/A |
| 1991 | N/A |
| 2001 | 9,228 |
| 2006 | 9,740 |
| 2011 | 9,871 |
| 2016 | 9,674 |
| 2021 | 12,179 |
Caledonia was once a small strip of land between Seneca and Oneida villages. The Oneida village was started by the Grand River Navigation Company, who laid out the village of Oneida on the south side of the Grand River. The Oneida village plot originally contained 16 acres and was named after the township where it began. In 1835, the same company began the village of Seneca about a mile down the river from Oneida on the opposite side of the Grand River. It was named "Seneca Village" after the township in which it began. The Grand River passed through Caledonia dividing it into two sides, North and South. In 1834, Ranald McKinnon was hired by the Grand River Navigation company to build a dam in Seneca and a dam in Caledonia. Completed in 1835, the dams made water power available with the accompanying lock and excavation finishing early in the following year.[3] Mills sprung up all over Seneca village, and five mills were built in Caledonia by 1850. One renamed Caledonia Mill which has been rebuilt and is now used for office space.
In 1835, William Bryant was the first to own a tavern in town. Official deeds to the lands early settlers occupied were not provided until 1850, however they did have bills of sale. There was a high concentration of Scottish immigrants and as such many of Caledonia's streets are named in honour of this. Most notably, the main street being named "Argyle" after the example of Glasgow in Scotland.
The Hamilton to Port Dover plank road was brought through Caledonia in 1838. A bridge was built across the river in Caledonia and Seneca in 1842. These wooden bridges lasted around 19 years before they were swept away by the ice on the river. The Seneca bridge was never rebuilt. As of 2011, the Grand River Bridge built in 1927 serves Caledonia's traffic. When first built, a stagecoach traveled to both Hamilton and Port Dover daily.
In 1846, David Thompson of Ruthven became the first Member of Parliament for Haldimdand County and died in office 5 years later in 1851. In the succeeding by-election, Ranald McKinnon ran for office but was ultimately defeated by William Lyon MacKenzie.[3] In 1853, Caledonia was incorporated as a village, when the villages of Oneida and Seneca were amalgamated, and later as a town. Ranald McKinnon was the village's first Reeve. By 1860, the Grand River Navigation company was bankrupt, and their land was sold to different organizations. Seneca village was failing; many people from Seneca moved to Caledonia. Navigation on the river ended by 1880. A whole new way of transportation arrived around 1883; the Grand Trunk Railway passed through Caledonia. Oneida had become part of Caledonia and the town limits were expanding. By 1960 Caledonia was a bustling town.
On April 1, 1974, the town was amalgamated into the new town of Haldimand within the Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk.[4] Although the largest community in Haldimand, the town hall was located in nearby Cayuga. In 2001, Haldimand and all other municipalities within the region were dissolved and the region was instead divided into two single tier municipalities with city-status but called counties. Caledonia is now an unincorporated community in Ward 3 of Haldimand County.
In 2006, the Grand River land dispute involving First Nation land claims brought Caledonia to national attention. The land at the centre of the dispute in Caledonia covers 40 hectares, which Henco Industries Ltd. planned to develop as a residential subdivision to be known as the Douglas Creek Estates. It is part of the 385,000-hectare plot of land originally known as the "Haldimand Tract",[5] which was granted, in 1784, by the Crown to the Six Nations of the Grand River, for their use in settlement. Henco argues that the Six Nations surrendered their rights to the land in 1841, and Henco later purchased it from the Crown. The Six Nations, however, maintain that their title to the land was never relinquished. The Grand River Land Dispute continued with 1492 Land Back Lane, protests occurring during 2020 and 2021.
Ranald McKinnon
McKinnon was born in Ardelum, Scotland on September 11, 1801. He came to Masonville, Newyork, Delaware County in the United States of America with his paternal grandparents, Malcolm McKinnon, his wife and a number of siblings. He worked in Virginia and Kentucky until 1820 when the family moved to Trafalgar, Esqueing and Vaughan. At 24 he began working on the Rideau Canal System. On March 3, 1835, he married his first cousin, Euphemia McKinnon who was 22 years old at the time. The pair would go on to have 9 children.
McKinnon was very involved in the community. He was the Treasurer of the Presbyterian Church for a time. In 1850 he petitioned that Caledonia be made its own township that would be absorbed into the township of wentworth but nothing came of this. He ran for Haldimand County's member of parliament as a conservative when the predecessor died in office in 1851 but lost the election. He became Caledonia's first Reeve shortly after in 1853.
Demographics
| 2021 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 12,179 (+23.9% from 2016) | 9,674 (-2.0% from 2011) |
| Land area | 9.18 km2 (3.54 sq mi) | 5.57 km2 (2.15 sq mi) |
| Population density | 1,326.7/km2 (3,436/sq mi) | 1,738.2/km2 (4,502/sq mi) |
| Median age | 37.2 (M: 37.4, F: 38.8) | 40.5 (M: 39.2, F: 41.5) |
| Private dwellings | 4,310 (total) | 3,485 (total) |
| Median household income | $110,000 | $96,614 |
Ethnicity
Only those populations which compose more than 1% of the population have been included.
| Ethnic Group |
2021[1] | 2016[10] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |||||||||||
| Canadian | 1,935 | 15.89% | 3,380 | 27.75% | ||||||||||
| English | 3,325 | 27.3% | 3,455 | 28.37% | ||||||||||
| Irish | 2,345 | 19.25% | 2,105 | 17.28% | ||||||||||
| Scottish | 2,830 | 23.24% | 2,785 | 28.79% | ||||||||||
| French[a] | 650 | 5.34% | 865 | 8.94% | ||||||||||
| German | 1,620 | 13.3% | 1,380 | 14.27% | ||||||||||
| Chinese | 125 | 1.03% | 70 | 0.72% | ||||||||||
| Italian | 725 | 5.95% | 565 | 5.84% | ||||||||||
| Indian | 165 | 1.35% | 45 | 0.47% | ||||||||||
| Ukrainian | 445 | 3.65% | 350 | 3.62% | ||||||||||
| Dutch | 970 | 7.96% | 980 | 10.13% | ||||||||||
| Polish | 495 | 4.06% | 370 | 3.82% | ||||||||||
| Filipino | 135 | 1.11% | 45 | 0.47% | ||||||||||
| Welsh | 205 | 1.68% | 180 | 1.86% | ||||||||||
| Portuguese | 260 | 2.13% | 120 | 1.24% | ||||||||||
| American | 145 | 1.19% | 75 | 0.78% | ||||||||||
| Hungarian | 235 | 1.93% | 255 | 2.64% | ||||||||||
| Pakistani | 175 | 1.44% | 10 | 1.81% | ||||||||||
| Jamaican | 140 | 1.15% | 25 | 0.26% | ||||||||||
| Croatian | 125 | 1.03% | 40 | 0.41% | ||||||||||
| Total responses | 12,085 | 99.23% | 9,560 | 98.82% | ||||||||||
| Total population | 12,179 | 100% | 9,674 | 100% | ||||||||||
| Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses. | ||||||||||||||
Language
As of the 2021 census, there were 11,510 citizens that spoke English only, 10 that spoke only French, 595 that spoke both official languages and 60 that spoke neither.[1]
Religion
As of the 2021 census, there were 6,725 citizens identifying as Christian, 405 people identifying as Muslim and 4,695 as non-religious and secular perspectives.[1]
Attractions
- Caledonia Mill
- Caledonia Old Town Hall (Edinburgh Square)[11]
- Grand River Bridge
- Grand River Dam
- Grand Trunk Railway Station
- Haldimand House
- Oasis Drive-In
- Caledonia Opera House
- Caledonia Fair[12]
- Seneca Park & Rotary Riverside Trail
- Kinsmen Park
- Caledonia Lions Pool
Edinburgh Square
Previous to the town hall's construction, council meetings were held at the house of John Campbell (the local inn) and in other makeshift quarters. Mention of a town hall was first made in 1854 and was discussed for a number of months until over a year later the council decided to spend a "sum of Eight hundred pounds to build a Town Hall and public Lockup house". The town hall was built in 1857 and officially opened its doors on January 18, 1858. [13]
On January 25, 1982 the Town of Haldimand designated the Caledonia Town Hall as a heritage building.
Toll House
The Caledonia Toll House is the second oldest building in Caledonia, Ontario still standing; the first being Haldimand House.[14] The toll house was there when the original iron bridge collapsed and the new concrete one (still used today) was built.
With the historic Caledonia Bridge in need of complete replacement, the beautiful historic toll house which is currently a home and business has been expropriated as part of the Ministry of Transportations plan to replace. The toll house is currently a private residence.
Sports
- Hockey team: Caledonia Corvairs
Schools
Public education in Caledonia is administered by the Grand Erie District School Board and the Catholic schools by the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board. Schools located in Caledonia include:
- Caledonia Centennial Public School
- Notre Dame Catholic School
- River Heights
- St. Patrick's Catholic School
- Oneida Central Public School
- McKinnon Park Secondary School
Notable people
- Andrew Campbell, NHL player
- Roy Edwards, (1937–1999), former NHL player
- Jack Hamilton (1886–1976), ice hockey and multi-sport executive[15]
- Isaac Kragten, actor
- Cam Talbot, NHL player
- Byron Edmund Walker, (1848–1924), banker and patron of the arts
- William Winegard, (1924-2019), educator and politician
Notes
- ^ Statistic includes all individuals that identified as having a French origin but not otherwise specified.
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Census Profile: Caledonia Ontario (Population centre)". Canada 2021 Census. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ^ "Shelley Ann Bentley". Haldimand County. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
- ^ a b Whitford-Nie, Marion (2018). Footprints Through Haldimand: The Making of a Village. Aylmer: Aylmer Express. pp. 16–17. ISBN 978-0-9865719-09.
- ^ Hamilton, William (1978). The Macmillan Book of Canadian Place Names. Toronto: Macmillan. pp. 139. ISBN 0-7715-9754-1.
- ^ Map of the 1784 Haldimand Tract Archived 2012-04-26 at the Wayback Machine, reclamation.kisikew.org (moved to reclamation.kisikew.org - site owner)
- ^ "2021 Community Profiles". 2021 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. February 4, 2022.
- ^ "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. August 12, 2021.
- ^ "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
- ^ "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021.
- ^ "Census Profile: Caledonia Ontario (Population centre)". Canada 2016 Census. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ^ "Edinburgh Square Heritage & Cultural Centre". Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "Caledonia Fair". Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ Corlis, Anne. Our Town Hall (1st ed.). p. 7.
- ^ Martindale, Barbara. "Landmarks - Built To Take Tolls". Caledonia - Along the Grand River. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
- ^ "Hall of Famer: Jack Hamilton". Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. 1972. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
