Ontario's Historical Plaques

Here's where you can learn a little Ontario history

Founding of Port Colborne

Founding of Port Colborne

Photo by Alan L Brown - August, 2004

Plaque Location

In the City of Port Colborne in the Region of Niagara
at coordinates N 42 53.186 W 079 15.077

Founding of Port Colborne

Click here for an interactive map. © 2010 Microsoft

Plaque Text

In 1831 the Welland Canal Company selected Gravelly Bay as the southern terminus of their waterway connecting Lakes Ontario and Erie, and in 1833 asked the permission of Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Colborne to name the site "Port Colborne". The Hon. William H. Merritt, president of the Canal Company, had streets laid out on both sides of the canal in 1834 and, with several partners, built a grist-mill by 1835. Initially the community's economy depended largely on the canal, but from the 1850's Port Colborne developed as a wheat-shipping point, railway junction and industrial centre. In was incorporated as a village in 1869 and council first met on January 17, 1870.

Related Ontario plaque pages
The Old Welland Canal
The First Welland Canal 1824-1833
William Hamilton Merritt 1793-1862

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