Streets appearing on map include James Street, Hughson Street, John Street, Catharine Street, Mary Street, Burlington Street, Wood Street, Warren Street [now Macaulay Street], Hannah Street [now Picton Street], Wilcox Street [now Ferrie Street], and Union Street [now Simcoe Street], Strachan Street, Stinson Street [now Murray Street], and Barton Street. Hughson Street was named after Nathaniel Hughson, who named several streets on his property after family members, including James Street, after his son James Hughson, who was a road builder (Bailey, Dictionary of Hamilton Biography, p. 106).
Manuscript map. Cartographer unknown. Lacking north arrow; north is oriented to the left. Map is bounded by Wentworth Street in the west, Richie Street [non-existent today] in the east, Ship Street in the north, and the Great Western Railway along branches of the Sherman Inlet in the south. Also appearing on the map from east to west are McKinstrey Street, Dickson Street [both shorter streets today], Hillyard Street, and [illegible street name which is now Niagara Street]. From north to south are Land Street, Gilkison Street [now Burlington Street], Blyth Street [now Brant Street] and Munro Street [now spelled Munroe Street]. Lightly penciled and barely legible on the right side of the map are the properties of J.M. Williams, the Land family and others. A detailed orchard is shown around Land Street. The Sherman Inlet frames much of the map in blue and a couple of its branches have coordinates noted within it. A circled "F" appears in the upper left corner. McMaster has another map which covers the same area entitled, "Plan of survey of lots adjoining the City of Hamilton, the property of J.T. Gilkison Esq" (see RMC_7718).
Manuscript map. Cartographer unknown. "Top of Mountain" is written at the top of the sheet. Map is oriented with the north arrow pointing down. Streets appearing on the map include Main Street, Emerald Street, and Clarke Street [now Stinson Street]. There is a surveyed line delineated east of Emerald Street.
This map does not include a title, scale, or directional arrow. The map is a survey of Michael Aikman's property in central Hamilton. It faces east and shows the Niagara Escarpment on the right side of the map. The streets listed on the map area: Main Street, Wentworth Street, Ida Street [now Delaware Avenue], Burlington Street [now approximately Myrtle Avenue] and the Fourth Concession Road [now Concession Street]. 13 lots are shown including a large open tract of land in the centre. At the base of the map there are signatures of reception and certification by the Registry Office in Hamilton: "Registry Office Hamilton, 29th February 1872." It features two dates: April 8, 1852 [certified] and February 29, 1872 [registered]. It is signed by the "Dep. Reg." [Deputy Registrar] and listed as a "copy".
Landowner Michael Aikman (1797-1881) was a well known politician and businessman in the area. He served as the Justice of the Peace in the Gore Disctrict, a member of the board of directors at the Gore Bank, an officer in the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837, and a representative of Wentworth County in the Legislative Assemby of Upper Canada.
This is a map of east Hamilton which features the escarpment spanning its width. There is no title, author, date, publisher, or directional arrow. The map's orientation is such that it faces east. This map includes 14 separate landowners on 4 concessions and 5 lot lines within the former jurisdiction of Barton Township. At the top-right extent of the map (the furthest east) is a hatched line indicating the boundary between Saltfleet Township. The map features a number of unlabelled roads. The following streets run north-south: Upper Kenilworth Avenue, Kenilworth Avenue, Upper Ottawa Street, and Ottawa Street. The following streets run east-west: Limeridge Road East, Mohawk Road East, Fennell Avenue East, Concession Street, King Street East, and Main Street East. Today, the area's arterial road network follows largely the same configuration, with the addition of access roads. Along the mountain brow there are a number of landowners shown with small parcels. Many of these names are unreadable. Those that are legible include" Adam Condy, Thomas Best, H.C. Baker, David Crosthwaith [later written "Crosthwaite"], and Jacob Burkholder. The largest landowners listed on the map (some owning entire lots), include: John Gage, William Mills, Thomas Waddell, and Abigail Gage. John Gage (1819-1900) is listed as a farmer in the 1851 Census, owning Lot 1, Concession 3 in Barton Township. Gage married Hannah Cline in 1839. The 1851 Canada West Census also shows a William Mills as a 36-year old English-born merchant by trade and Wesleyan Methodist by religion. The 1871 Canada West Census lists a William Mills as a 60-year old "gate keeper" by trade and Wesleyan Methodist by religion. Another one of the landowners on the map is Thomas Waddell (1797-1859). Waddell was one of the earlier settlers in Wentworth County, marrying Mary Gage in 1825 and owning property in both Saltfleet and Barton Townships ("Waddell, Thomas", Upper and Lower Canada Marriage Bonds, Library and Archives Canada, 2005). Lastly, landowner Abigail Gage (1823-1882) was married to Daniel Gage and was an inmate at the Hamilton Insane Asylum. She died at the age of 59 from tuberculosis. The inclusion of Gage's name on this map may give more strength to the idea that the map was drawn post-1859, the year Upper Canada passed legislation to grant married women certain property rights (the "Act to Secure to Married Women Certain Rights of Property").
This plan is a proposal for lots along Lake Ontario, the location is in present-day Winona in the former Township of Saltfleet. The outline of lots corresponds to the same location of other maps in our collection: RMC 7572 and RMC 7573. The map does not include a title, scale, author, or directional arrow.
The map is oriented so that lot numbers are written north-to-south and writing and labeling is written south-to-north. The Great Western Railway tracks are shown at the top of the map (the southern boundary) and the waterfront is shown at the bottom of the map (the northern boundary). There are no street names listed on the plan but the north-south running streets correspond approximately with East Street, Winona Road, and Lido Drive. The east-west running streets correspond approximately with North Service Road (“Baseline of first Concession”) and Winona Park Road (“This Street…about 850 to 900 feet from the Lake…”).
Atop the map is written “The village lots marked thus X…” and there are numerous X’s penciled on various lots on the plan. There are other marking on the map including “Hon. J. Willson” in lot 46 and “J.W. Willson” in lot 49. These locations, including the barn drawn in lot 25, are consistent with the locations of the property of the Willson family as found in the “Plan of Ontario” (RMC 7572) and the 1875 Wentworth County Atlas (the family name is sometimes written as “Willson” and other times as “Wilson”). For more information on John Wesley Willson (1819-1889) and Hon. John Willson (1776-1860), see “Plan of Ontario” (RMC 7572).
Adjacent to these lots is lot 69 atop of which is written the following: “This lot is to be reserved for Capt [Mafren?]”. Along the north shore is an object which appears to be a pier jutting out into the lake. Next to the drawing it reads “Pier to be about [?] rods wide”. Another possibility based on the appearance of the calligraphy is that the word is actually “weir” which is a dam across a waterway which alters its flow.
The map also features descriptive writing along the right side and at the base of the map. Along the right side is written “J.W. Willson to have 5 acres with house [,] barn”. At the base of the map is a paragraph of writing which is largely illegible, though some words can be deciphered: “Mr Blyth will please us…in buying out the property…Lake or water lots to be about 90 to 100 feet…250 deep as they may angle…the other village lots…not over 1¾ acres each. Here John Willson to have… ” The “Mr. Blyth” mentioned in the paragraph was likely Thomas Allen Blyth, P.L.S., a well recognized local land surveyor who also laid out the corresponding “Plan of Ontario” (RMC 7572).
"Scale 100 F. to one Inch". The bottom left includes surveyor's signature and date, " Ths. Allen Blyth P.L.S., Hamilton, June 8th 1853". The left edge of the sheet has handwritten note, "No 2 Drawer 6".
Streets appearing on the map include: Cannon Street, Gore Street [now Wilson Street], Rebecca Street, Mary Street, Elgin Street, Ferguson Avenue, Nelson Street [now continuation of Ferguson Avenue], Cathcart Street, and Wellington Street.
This map depicts part of Lot 12 in the 3rd Concession of the former Township of Barton. There is no title on the map but there is a directional arrow along the left side. In the bottom left hand corner the map is numbered: "No. 92 Drawer No. 1". Just below the lots is this description: "The above Diagram represents the figure of part of lot no.12 in the 3rd Con. of the Township of Barton as divided by David R. Springer and Oliver Springer as Arbitrators between Hutchison Clarke, Tristram Bickle, and William Fieley. The 22nd day of December 1836. Surveyed 27th March 1837 by Alexander McKenzie P.L.S." Just below the description are the words "Copy [illegible signature] August 17 1872." Not a great deal of information is available on McKenzie. He was a local surveyor during the 19th century and was responsible for the "Plan of part of the tract of land belonging to the Six Nation Indians on the Hamilton and Port Dover Road" (date unknown) as well as "A Plan of the Town of Hamilton, Upper Canada" (1836). He may have also been a member of Robert Bell's (1841-1917) geological survey group (Henri Pillon, "Bell, Robert" in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 10, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 1976). There are numerous landowners listed on the map including the following names: "William Fieley", "Tristram Bickle", "William Blaikie", "Hutchison Clarke", and "Aaron [illegible surname]". Tristram Bickle (1801-1875) was a druggist born in Devonshire, England who immigrated to Canada in 1835 (Egerton Ryerson, ed., "Biographical Sketches", The Journal of Education for Ontario, vols. 27-28, 1875). Hutchison Clarke (1806-1877) (whose name spelling fluctuates) was an English-born architect and politician who moved to Hamilton in 1834. Clarke was responsible for designing the Mechanics' Institute on James Street North [now non-existent] as well as numerous other local buildings. He was involved in local government, representing St. Andrew's ward and serving as mayor in 1868. Interestingly, the Dictionary of Hamilton Biography notes that Clarke owned land matching the land outlined on the map and intended to use it for a "pleasure-ground east of Wellington Street at the mountain." (Melville Bailey ed., "Clark, Hutchinson" in Dictionary of Hamilton Biography, vol. 1. Hamilton: W.L. Griffin Limited, 1981) For more information on William Blaikie, see RMC 7610 ("Plan of survey of park lots in the Township of Saltfleet".) No information was found on William Fieley or Aaron [illegible surname]. The streets drawn on the map are "road allowance between lot 12 & 13" [now Upper Wellington & Wellington Street], unnamed road between Concessions 3 & 4 [now Concession Street], and "road 40 ft wide" [now Charlton Avenue]. Featuring prominently on this sketch is the escarpment ("Mountain Rocky Wood Land"). Today, the area is dominated by highways; notably the Sherman Access and the Jolley Cut.
Full title statement lacking. Title portion taken from Winearls' Mapping Upper Canada 1780-1867, entry 1441, p. 318. "By Thos. A. Blyth P.L.S." Inset map in bottom right corner showing the location of "the property to be sold" within Hamilton. "This Extensive Sale will take place on the ground on Wednesday 1st October 1856 at 12 o'clock, Noon. Best & Green Auctioneers." Written in ink in right corner, "Book 2, Plan 12". Shows west limits of the City of Hamilton around Paradise Road.
This is a small sketch map of the Corktown, Centremount & Stinson neighbourhoods, with the Niagara Escarpment featured prominently in the centre. The map does not have a title, date, author, publisher, or directional arrow listed. Its' orientation is such that it faces south. On the verso of the map it reads "Part of the Blakie Estate". It is unclear whether the author is referring to the lot owner being a "Blaikie" or "Blakie", presumably having misspelled the surname. It is possible that the author is referring to local landowner William Blaikie (see RMC 7610 "Plan of survey of park lots in the Township of Saltfleet) or Scottish-born Toronto businessman John Lang Blaikie (1823-1912). The map itself is highly detailed, showcasing 19 lots as well as a number of some featured buildings. The streets listed are Wellington Street, John Street, "proposed road" [approximately Arkeldun Avenue], "Concession Road & south limit of City of Hamilton" [now Concession Street], and Charlton Avenue (street not labelled). The intersection of streets in this vicinity has been changed with the addition of multi-lane access collector roads: Jolley Cut, Claremont Access, and Sherman Access. Spanning the middle of the map is the escarpment with a quarry shown on its north side (or the "Quarry Face of Mountain"). There is an "Orphan Hospital" drawn on Wellington Street at Charlton Avenue which is the original Hamilton Orphan Asylum (1848-1958). The orphanage was "the first children's home to be established in the province...opened by the Ladies Benevolent Society of Hamilton in 1848," (Charlotte Neff, "The Use of Apprenticeship and Adoption by the Toronto Protestant Orphans' Home, 1853-1869," Journal of Social History, Vol. 30, No 60, 1997). The orphanage was then expanded to offer care for elderly women in 1877 and closed down in 1914. It was eventually demolished in 1958 (Mark McNeil, "The bygone era of Hamilton's orphanages", The Hamilton Spectator, Nov. 14, 2014). Also north of the escarpment is land owned by "Hiram Clarke's heirs" and "Dr. Roseburgh". Dr. Roseburgh is listed on the 1875 Wentworth County Atlas as owning part of lots 13-14 in concession 3, Barton Township. Along the mountainside is shown "McInne's house". This is the famous Gothic Revival home known as "Rock Castle", located at 95 Arkledun Avenue. It was built by Alexander Carpenter (1806-1866) and was owned circa 1871-1882 by Hugh MacInnes and his wife Margaret Ann Carpenter. MacInnes was the brother of Donald MacInnes (1824-1900), the well-known Hamilton businessman and Conservative politician (Anne Marie Rajic, "Rock Castle," L.A.C.A.C. Report, August 1980). South of the escarpment is found "Belmont Terrace" (likely a park and viewing platform), a series of lots, and the property of "Colbeck" including a house and a barn. South of the terrace it reads "these lots belong to different...[indecipherable word]." There is also a 1 acre lot owned by "Dr. Craigie". William Craigie (1799-1863) was a Scottish physician who emigrated to Ancaster in 1834 and moved to Hamilton in 1845 (Katherine Greenfield, Thomas Melville Bailey ed., Dictionary of Hamilton Biography, Vol. I 1791-1875. Hamilton: W.L. Griffin Ltd., 1981). Finally, in the south-east corner of the map is the "Jolley house", home of James Jolley (1813-1892). Jolley was a Scottish-born saddler and harnessmaker whose shop was on John Street South. In 1864 he moved to the Mountain and built a home he called "Bellemont" at the corner of Concession and East Fifteenth streets [now an apartment complex]. He was influential in the creation of a toll-free road from his home on the mountain to Rock Castle on John Street, known as the Jolley Cut, in 1873 (Thomas Melville Bailey ed., Dictionary of Hamilton Biography, Vol. I 1791-1875. Hamilton: W.L. Griffin Ltd., 1981).
Sheet 2 of 2, north sheet. This plan does not include a scale, title, date, author or directional arrow. It is a copy (with less detail) of the "Plan of the Village of Inverness" by Thomas Allen Blyth, P.L.S. as prepared for Andrew Mackenzie Chisholm. The map depicts an area near the former community of Aldershot; the south east corner of the former Township of East Flamborough [present day Burlington, Ontario]. Subsequent historical maps of the area show a different configuration of streets and lots, indicating that Chisholm's plan was never built and the "Village of Inverness" never materialized. At the westernmost edge of the map is written "Hamilton", indicating the directional location of the city. The map includes the following streets: "Argyle St", "Queen St", "Ontario St", "Wellington St", "Flamboro St", and "Wentworth St". Only "Argyle St" and "Ontario St" have become modern roads (as King Road and Francis Road, respectively). The rest of the streets laid out in this plan are non-existent. Most of the land shown in the map is now used for commercial or industrial purposes. The Ontario Highway 403 is now found in this area. For additional geographical and historical information see sheet 1 (south sheet).
Sheet 1 of 2, south sheet. This plan does not include a scale, title, date, author or directional arrow. It is a copy (with less detail) of the "Plan of the Village of Inverness" by Thomas Allen Blyth, P.L.S. as prepared for Andrew Mackenzie Chisholm. The map depicts an area near the former community of Aldershot; the south east corner of the former Township of East Flamborough [present day Burlington, Ontario]. Subsequent historical maps of the area show a different configuration of streets and lots, indicating that Chisholm's plan was never built and the "Village of Inverness" never materialized. The map includes the following roads: "Hamilton and Nelson Gravel Road" [now Plains Road]; "Argyle St" [now King Road]; "Ontario St" [now approximately Francis Road]; and "Albert", "Nelson", and "Mary" streets [now all non-existent]. Most of the land shown in the map is now used for commercial or industrial purposes. The "Burial Ground" drawn in the southeastern corner of the plan is a loyalist cemetery still in place today and known as the Job's Lane Cemetery or the Union Burying Grounds. It was established in 1848 by a number of loyalist families who were members of the Methodist Union. The railway spanning the southern portion of the map is another feature that is still located in place today. Remnants of the land owner, A.M. Chisholm, remained in the creation of Inverness Avenue (approximately following the outline of "Mary Street") and the survival of the historic "Inverness" House (found at King and Plains Roads). The house was built by Andrew's father George Chisholm in 1832 and was eventually demolished in 1987. The archives of the Burlington Historical Society indicate that Andrew had the family property surveyed and auctioned off as the "Plan of the Village of Inverness" in 1856. By 1875, Lot 1 and Lot 2 of Concession 1 were owned by the Easterbrooks, who held the land until it was sold in the 1980’s. Chisholm himself moved to Elizabeth Street in Wellington Square and had a new home built in that same year.
The map features no title, scale, directional arrow, or author/publisher. The location of the map is in the north end, just south of Bayfront Park. It fits within Lot 15, Concession 1 of the former Township of Barton. The area is still industrial today. In the top left hand corner of the map it is numbered: "No 125 Drawer 6". The streets listed on the map include "Stuart Street", "Caroline", and "Hess" Streets. Each of these streets are in existence today. The map is oriented in an upside down format so that north is at the bottom of the map. Just off the left side of the map (east) is Tiffany Street and just off the top edge of the map (south) is Barton Street. The location of Stuart Street's diagonal path (as found today) can be seen on the right side of the map. Maps of the middle part of the 19th century indicate the additional street within the boundaries of this map is "Eliza Street" (between Hess and Caroline). Just north of Stuart Street is the CN/Southern Ontario Railway yard (formerly the Great Western Railway). Within the survey are 23 narrow lots (each 23-24 feet wide) and two larger industrial lots. One is listed as "Tool Company property" and the other "Gartshore". John Gartshore (1810-1873) was one of the leading manufacturers in the country during the 19th century. He moved to Canada from Scotland in 1829 and after a fire destroyed his flour mill in Fergus, Ontario he moved on to Dundas. There he built a foundry in 1838 with James Bell Ewart and manufactured steam engines, mill machinery, and parts for the Great Western Railway. Between 1857 and 1859, Gartshore cast the boilers and beam engines for the Hamilton waterworks found in the Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology today. In 1870, the foundry was sold to a local apprentice Thomas Wilson (Houghton, Margaret. Hamilton Street Names. Toronto: James Lorimer & Co., Ltd., Publishers, 2002). John's son Alexander Gartshore (1839-1904) moved his industrial efforts to Hamilton and formed a partnership under the name Gartshore & Cowie, acting as the first iron pipe manufacturer in Ontario. Alexander Gartshore soon acquired full control of the foundry (Cochrane, William. The Canadian Album: Men of Canada. Vol. 1. Brantford: Bradley, Garretson, 1891.) This was likely the earliest period in which the survey may have been drawn. The company was eventually named the Canada Pipe Foundry and subsequently the Gartshore-Thompson Pipe & Foundry Company. These cast iron pipes connected Hamiltonians with water, sewer and gas lines and helped to build the infrastructure of the city. The company was purchased by Canada Iron Foundries in 1939 (Gartshore Ian and Sandra (Gartshore) Jernigan. An Engineering Entrepreneur in Early Canada: John Gartshore in the 1800s. Kingston, The Engineering Institute of Canada, 2003). In nearby Pier 4 Park on Macassa Bay is found the Gartshore-Thompson Building (ca. 1900), a relocated historic building that once acted as the offices for the Gartshore-Thompson Pipe & Foundry Company. The "Tool Company property" shown on the map was the Hamilton Tool Works Company founded by William Hendrie in 1872. The Hamilton City Directory from 1874 shows the company as being located on Caroline and Stuart Streets. In 1881, the company was reorganized as the Hamilton Bridge and Tool Company (Burely, David. William Hendrie: The Dictionary of Canadian Biography, online edition, 2015). Due to its proximity to the rail line, the company started making railway bridges and was renamed the Hamilton Bridge and Tool Works and then again the Hamilton Bridge Works Company Limited (H.B.W.) in 1894. (Hamilton Special Collections. Industrial Hamilton: The Trail to the Future, Hamilton Public Library, 2001). Among the many bridges built by the company, two include the railway swing bridge over the Burlington Canal and the Prince Edward Viaduct truss bridge in Toronto. The company was prolific in bridge manufacturing not only in Hamilton but also across Ontario. According a study of bridges in the Region of Waterloo "Almost every steel bridge that exists or existed in Waterloo Region was built by this company or its predecessors" (Fontaine, Mike. Spanning the Generation: A Study of Old Bridges in Waterloo Region. Waterloo: Waterloo Planning and Community Services, 2004). The company remained in existence, under various names, at Stuart and Caroline Streets until 1962. Regarding the smaller, adjacent lots on the survey, the Hamilton City Directories of the 1800s indicate that the area was filled with industrial workers. The directory of 1869, for example, lists blacksmiths, machinists, labourers, carpenters, and engine drivers as property owners and tenants. There are, as well, a number of vacant lots in the vicinity during this time period.
This survey contains very little identifying information. Lacking is the title, author, surveyor, date, directional arrow, and any road names. On the verso some helpful information is given. Along with the word "Plan" and the number "141", it reads: "Survey of J. Hopkins property in Flamborough East & West". This indicates that the property depicted was likely that of Joseph Hopkins (1748-1811) or one of his sons: John Kelsey Hopkins, Joseph Hopkins Jr., or James Hopkins. The former village of Hopkins Corners, located at the intersection of York Road and Valley Road, was named after the family. The family moved to Upper Canada in 1797 as Loyalists following the American Revolutionary War (Lee, Kevin. "The Hopkins" in Stoney Creek Historical Society Newsletter, ed.61, June 2014). According to the Wentworth County Atlas, by 1875, much of the land owned by the Hopkins' family had been sold to other property owners. There is a small piece of land owned by a "J.Hopkins" (either John Kelsey, James, or Joseph Jr.) at lot 28, concession 2 in West Flamborough. In East Flamborough there is a "C.Hopkins" (likely Caleb Hopkins) depicted as a property owner in lots 11 & 13, concession 2.
Also listed on the survey is the name Ezra Hopkins (1813-1851). In the 1852 Canada West Census Ezra Hopkins is listed as being a farmer, Wesleyan Methodist, and a resident of Flamboro West. On lot 28, concession 2 is found the Hopkins Family Cemetery today (also known as the Valley Cemetery). Many of the individuals mentioned above are buried there. For more information on this cemetery, see RMC 7494 ("Plan of survey of part of lot no 24 in the 2nd conn Flamboro' West containing 18 1/2 acres").
"Scale 100 ft = 1 inch." "Ths. Allen Blyth P.L.S., Hamilton - Nov. 22nd 1852." "J.H. Cameron". The pink line running down the centre of the map indicates the location of the Great Western Railway. North arrow lacking; north is oriented to the left. Along upper edge, "110 13, Drawer No 1".
Cartographer uncertain, likely Thomas Allen Blyth. Today, the area is approximately between King Street and Norwood Road, and Longwood Road and Macklin Street. Shows toll gate located along King Street.