Founding of Port Colborne
Text from the plaque
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.
Transcribed from the marker, not summarised.
Find the place
The Region of Niagara
The City of Port Colborne
On the northeast corner of
King Street and Clarence Street West
Also recorded for this place: The Region of Niagara
N 42 53.186 W 79 15.077
Recorded August 2004. Check current access before visiting.