Port Hope, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, about 109 kilometres (67.7 mi) east of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and about 159 kilometres (98.8 mi) west of Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River
Ganaraska River
The Ganaraska River is a river that bisects the Town of Port Hope, Ontario, Canada. From its headwaters in the Oak Ridges Moraine, it flows into the north shore of Lake Ontario. It is located in the western end of Northumberland County, Ontario....
on the north shore of Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
, in the west end of Northumberland County
Northumberland County, Ontario
Northumberland County is situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in central Ontario, Canada. It is located east of Durham County , west of Hastings, southeast of Kawartha Lakes and south of Peterborough County. The county seat is Cobourg...
. Port Hope's nearest urban neighbour (7 km to the east) is the Town of Cobourg
Cobourg, Ontario
Cobourg is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario 95 km east of Toronto. It is the largest town in Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is located along Highway 401 and the former Highway 2...
, while between them and surrounding Cobourg is the Township of Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario (township)
Hamilton Township is a rural township located in Northumberland County in central Ontario. It surrounds the Town of Cobourg.The township was named after Henry Hamilton, Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec from 1782-1785.-Communities:*Baltimore*Bewdley*Camborne...
. Since 1868, the town has been home to Trinity College School
Trinity College School
Trinity College School is a coeducational, independent boarding/day school located in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada. TCS was founded on May 1, 1865, more than 2 years prior to Canadian Confederation. It includes a Senior School for grades 9 to 12 and a Junior School for grades 5 to 8.Among its...
(previously located in Weston, Ontario).
History
Ganaraska was attributed to the area by the First Nations natives of the region and is what they called the river that flows through the town. The name originates from Ganaraske, the Cayuga village first located at the current townsite. The Cayuga, part of the Iroquois Confederacy, had migrated there from New York in 1779, after suffering extensive damage as British allies at their homeland in New York state during the American RevolutionAmerican Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
In 1793, United Empire Loyalists
United Empire Loyalists
The name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...
became the first permanent settlers of European heritage in Port Hope, which they called Smith's Creek after a former fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
r. Mills and a town plot were developing by the turn of the century. After the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, more British settlers were wanted, and a better name was required. After a brief fling with the name Toronto, the village was renamed in 1817 as Port Hope, after the Township of Hope of which it was a part, which in turn had been named for Colonel Henry Hope, lieutenant governor of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. In 1834 Port Hope was incorporated as a town.
Relatively slow growth from 1881 to 1951 resulted in much of the town's original architecture not being demolished in the name of progress. Port Hope's downtown is celebrated now as the best-preserved 19th-century streetscape in Ontario. The town's local chapter of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario and the Heritage Port Hope Advisory Committee are very active and advise on the restoration and preservation of architecturally or historically significant buildings. With over 270 heritage-designated buildings throughout the municipality, Port Hope has a higher per capita rate of preservation than any other town or city in Canada. Downtown businesses are regulated by the municipality to maintain the town's unique character.
In 2001, the original town amalgamated with Hope Township to form the Municipality of Port Hope; prior to that the town's census population was listed as 11,718 while the township's was 3,877.
Economy
Downtown Port Hope is well-known as a shopping destination for antiques and other specialty items and is widely regarded as one of the best-preserved main streets in Ontario. Port Hope is served by a Via Rail station. It has a medical centre, a walk-in clinic, and a community health centre. It has had its own daily newspaper since 1878, the Port Hope Evening Guide, which was, until 2007, a part of the Osprey MediaOsprey Media
Osprey Media was a Canadian newspaper regional chain that published 20 daily newspapers, 34 non-daily newspapers, and a number of shopping guides and magazines in the Canadian province of Ontario...
chain and subsequently a part of the Sun Media
Sun Media
Sun Media Corporation is the owner of several widely read tabloid and broadsheet newspapers in Canada and the 49 percent owner of Sun News Network...
organization; in 2009 the newspaper was amalgamated with the Cobourg Daily Star and renamed Northumberland Today.com. Port Hope's Economic Development Strategic Plan aims to increase job growth at least as fast as population growth.
Port Hope has a variety of industries. It is known for having the largest volume of historic low-level radioactive wastes in Canada. These wastes were created by Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited
Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited
The Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited company was originally organized in 1927 as Eldorado Gold Mines Limited to develop a gold mine in Manitoba. Its president Gilbert LaBine later found radioactive deposits at Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories in 1930, which led to the development of the...
and its private sector predecessors, as a result of the refining process used to extract radium
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...
from uranium ore. Radium was used in "glow-in-the-dark" paint (such as aircraft dial paint during the Second World War), and in the early treatment of cancer. The Eldorado plant also produced uranium, which may have been used in the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
that created the first nuclear weapon. It continues to produce uranium fuel for nuclear power plants, now under the ownership of Cameco
Cameco
Cameco Corporation is the world's largest publicly traded uranium company, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In 2009, it was the world's second largest uranium producer, accounting for 16% of world production.-History:...
.
The Ganaraska River
Ganaraska River
The Ganaraska River is a river that bisects the Town of Port Hope, Ontario, Canada. From its headwaters in the Oak Ridges Moraine, it flows into the north shore of Lake Ontario. It is located in the western end of Northumberland County, Ontario....
(affectionately known as "The Ganny"), is well-known to area anglers for annual salmon and trout runs. It has caused many historic floods, the most recent having been in 1980.
Port Hope Transit
Port Hope Transit
Port Hope Transit is the local bus service provider in the Municipality of Port Hope, Ontario, which is located on the north shore of Lake Ontario about east of Toronto...
is the local public transit service operated within the urban area by the municipality.
Major employers
- CamecoCamecoCameco Corporation is the world's largest publicly traded uranium company, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In 2009, it was the world's second largest uranium producer, accounting for 16% of world production.-History:...
Corporation, which recently (2006) bought out another local industry Zircatec Precision Industries Inc. - ESCO Limited
- Viceroy Homes Ltd.
- Chemcraft International Inc.
- Curtis Chicks
- St Elizabeth Health Care
- Gilmer's Home Hardware Building Centre
- Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit
- Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority
- Northumberland Package Handling
- Sterling Truss Company
- Quantrill Chevrolet Cadillac
- Bromely Fabricators
- Gorsline, F. Manufacturing Co. Ltd./Unitrak
- Wakely Cartage Ltd.
- B&H Tedford Machining
Demographics
| Census | Population |
|---|---|
| 1841 | 1,200 |
| 1851 | 2,476 |
| 1871 | 5,114 |
| 1881 | 5,581 |
| 1891 | 5,042 |
| 1901 | 4,188 |
| 1911 | 5,092 |
| 1921 | 4,456 |
| 1931 | 4,723 |
| 1941 | 5,006 |
| 1951 | 6,548 |
| 1961 | 8,091 |
| 1971 | 8,872 |
| 1981 | 9,992 |
| 1991 | 11,505 |
| 2001 | 15,605 |
| 2006 | 16,390 |
Port Hope had a 2006 census population of 16,390, of which 12,356 are in the urban area and 4,034 in the rural area. Private dwellings occupied by usual residents were 6287, out of a total of 6560 dwellings. Mother tongue spoken:
- English as first language: 94.7 %
- French as first language: 1.0 %
- English and French as first language: 0 %
- Other as first language: 4.3 %
Communities
Besides Port Hope other communities within the municipality include: Campbellcroft, Canton, Dale, Davidson's Corners, Decker Hollow (ghost town), Elizabethville, Garden Hill, Knoxville, Morrish, Osaca, Perrytown, Port Britain, Rossmount, Thomstown, Welcome, Wesleyville (ghost town) and Zion.Attractions
The Capitol TheatreCapitol Theatre (Port Hope)
The Capitol Theatre is located in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada, and is the last fully restored atmospheric movie theatre still in operation in Canada. Constructed in 1930, the interior of the auditorium was designed to resemble a walled medieval courtyard surrounded by a forest. It was also one of...
is Canada's last functioning atmospheric theatre
Atmospheric theatre
An atmospheric theatre is a type of movie palace which has an auditorium ceiling that is intended to give the illusion of an open sky as its defining feature...
. The theatre's main auditorium is styled after an outdoor medieval courtyard where rolling clouds are projected onto the ceiling. The town spent in excess of three million dollars renovating and upgrading the theatre in 2004/2005.
Port Hope hosts many attractions and events throughout the year, including:
- Float Your Fanny Down the Ganny (a "race" commemorating the flood of 1980)
- Ganaraska Forest Centre
- Ganaraska Trail
- Port Hope Public Library
- Canadian Firefighters Museum
- Port Hope Yacht Club
- Vintage Film Festival
- Port Hope Festival Theatre
- Port Hope & District Agricultural Fall Fair
- The All Canadian Jazz Festival
- Port Hope Farmers' Market (May to October)
- Port Hope Olde Tyme Christmas (includes Festival of Trees, Candlelight Walk and Carol Singing, Candlelight Christmas in Memorial Park and the Santa Claus Parade)
- The Port Hope Drive-In (Built in 1952, it is among the oldest Canadian drive-ins still in business)
- ACO annual house and garden tours
Education
- St. Anthony's Elementary School, Catholic JK-8
- Ganaraska Trail Public School, Public JK-6
- George Hamilton Public School, Public JK-6
- North Hope Central School, Public JK-6
- Beatrice Strong Public School, Public JK-6
- Dr M. S. Hawkins Senior Public School, Public Gr 7-8 (same building as Port Hope High School)
- Port Hope High School, Public Gr 9-12
- Port Hope High School Student to Work Transition Program (SWOT Campus), Public Grade 9-12
- Trinity College SchoolTrinity College SchoolTrinity College School is a coeducational, independent boarding/day school located in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada. TCS was founded on May 1, 1865, more than 2 years prior to Canadian Confederation. It includes a Senior School for grades 9 to 12 and a Junior School for grades 5 to 8.Among its...
, Private Gr 5-12
Notable residents
- Charles Vincent MasseyVincent MasseyCharles Vincent Massey was a Canadian lawyer and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 18th since Canadian Confederation....
, first Canadian-born Governor General of CanadaGovernor General of CanadaThe Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II... - Joseph M. ScrivenJoseph M. ScrivenJoseph Medlicott Scriven, was an Irish poet, best known as the writer of the poem which became the hymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus".-Life:...
, Author of the hymn “What a Friend We Have in JesusWhat a Friend We Have in Jesus"What a Friend We Have in Jesus" is a Christian hymn originally written by Joseph M. Scriven as a poem in 1855 to comfort his mother who was living in Ireland while he was in Canada. Scriven originally published the poem anonymously, and only received full credit for it in the 1880s. The tune to...
.” He wrote the poem in 1857 in Port Hope (where he was a tutor) after losing his second fiancée to disease. Scriven's actual burial plot is located southeast of Bailieboro, OntarioOtonabee-South Monaghan, OntarioOtonabee-South Monaghan is a township in central-eastern Ontario, Canada, in Peterborough County. It is located along the Trent-Severn Waterway.-Communities:...
. - Wade RowlandWade Rowland-Biography:Rowland was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1944. He was married in 1978 to Christine Collie, with whom he has two children, Hilary and Simon....
, Writer and Journalist - Farley MowatFarley MowatFarley McGill Mowat, , born May 12, 1921 is a conservationist and one of Canada's most widely-read authors.His works have been translated into 52 languages and he has sold more than 14 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Canadian North, such as People of the...
, Writer, OC - Claire MowatClaire Mowat-Personal life:Mowat was born and educated in Toronto, Ontario. She graduated from Havergal College and the Ontario College of Art & Design as a Graphic designer and is married to author Farley Mowat...
, Writer - Greg KeelorGreg KeelorGreg Keelor is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as a member of the band Blue Rodeo, where he shares song writing and vocal duties with Jim Cuddy. Keelor has also released three solo albums and appeared as a guest musician on albums by Crash Vegas and Melissa McClelland...
, Singer-Songwriter for Blue RodeoBlue RodeoBlue Rodeo is a Canadian pop and country rock band, which was formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have been signed with Warner Music Group since their debut album Outskirts in March 1987... - William Leonard HuntWilliam Leonard HuntWilliam Leonard Hunt , also known by the stage name The Great Farini, was a well known nineteenth and early twentieth century Canadian funambulist, entertainment promoter and inventor, as well as the first known white man to cross the Kalahari Desert on foot and survive.-Early life:Hunt, the second...
("The Great Farini"), Entertainer - David BlackwoodDavid BlackwoodDavid Lloyd Blackwood, CM, O.Ont is a Canadian artist.Blackwood is known chiefly for his intaglio prints, often depicting dramatic historical scenes of Newfoundland outport life and industry, such as shipwrecks, seal hunting, iceberg encounters, and resettlement...
, Artist - David Chestnutt, Artist
- David ClarkeDavid Clarke-Entertainment:* David Clarke , motion picture and Broadway actor* Dave Clarke * Dave Clarke , techno DJ from England-Sport:* David Clarke , English footballer...
, Children's author, motivational speaker/musician - Muriel WoodMuriel Wood- Biography :After graduating from the Canterbury College of Art, she began illustrating children's books. She taught illustration at the Ontario College of Art for ten years. Among the books she has illustrated are The Olden Days Coat by Margaret Laurence, Anne of Green Gables by L.M...
, Artist - Beatrice Strong, First woman to chair a school board in Ontario.
- Mary Josephine Trotter Benson, Poet, for whom the Port Hope main Library Building was renamed in 2002.
- Brenda Clark, Illustrator of the Franklin the Turtle seriesFranklin the Turtle (books)-Books:*Franklin in the Dark, illustrated by Brenda Clark, Kids Can Press , 1986.*Hurry Up, Franklin, illustrated by Brenda Clark, Kids Can Press , 1989, Scholastic , 1990....
- NHLers Jimmy Roberts, Paul TerbenchePaul TerbenchePaul Frederick Terbenche is a former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Black Hawks and Buffalo Sabres, as well as in the World Hockey Association with the Vancouver Blazers, Calgary Cowboys, Birmingham Bulls, Houston Aeros, and Winnipeg...
, Ron Smith, Dennis O'BrienDennis O'Brien (ice hockey)Dennis Francis O'Brien was a professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League.-Playing career:...
and Shane O'Brien - Ted Staunton
- Chris Jones, Writer for Esquire (magazine)Esquire (magazine)Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
and Grantland.com