Map 28. Downtown Galt. There are intermittent trails and walkways on both sides of the Grand, most of which offer fine views of the river and good opportunities for photographers. P at municipal lots on Water Street North (free for 1 hour) or Water Street South (free for 2 hours).
Galt is the most interesting and attractive major urban settlement on the Grand River. It’s impossible to do full justice to it in a short visit. My circular tour via the downtown river banks can only suggest its appeal, which is growing greater all the time thanks to much praiseworthy investment in renovation and the creative arts.
I’ll start at the Park Hill Road Bridge, where I finished in Part 12. I’ll use it to cross the river to the east bank, then go south as far as Craig’s Crossing (CC on the map), with a brief detour to trace the course of “lost” Mill Creek. Then I’ll recross the river and work my way along the west bank to complete a loop back to the Park Hill Road Bridge.
The Grand is 216 metres wide at the CPR bridge, only 73 m wide at the Park Hill Road Bridge, then a mere 52 m at the Main Street Bridge (MSB). Only 1 km separates the three bridges. The radical compression of all that water means that the riverbanks have to be built up high enough to defend the central city from flooding. And so they have been … though not always in a timely fashion, as we shall see.
But before we get into that, a little history.
Map 29. South of the Grand’s confluence with the Speed, we’re in Block 1 of the Haldimand Grant, the area covered by the red square above. At 94,305 acres / 147 square miles it was the largest parcel of land that the Six Nations put up for sale, intending to generate from the investment of the proceeds a revenue stream for their “perpetual care and maintenance.” Accordingly, in February 1798 Joseph Brant sold the whole of Block 1 to one Philip Stedman for £8,841. But Stedman never paid a penny of his mortgage and died intestate shortly afterwards. In March 1809 First Nations, having received nothing from the sale, requested that the land be returned to them … in vain. In 1811, Stedman’s sister passed the Block 1 mortgage to Thomas Clark, who in 1816 sold it on to his wealthy cousin William Dickson for £24,000 in cash (about US $100,000, a vast sum in those days), liquidating the mortgage. None of this money ever reached the Six Nations.
370. William Dickson (1769-1846), born in Dumfries, Scotland, hired 22-year-old Absalom Shade (1793-1862), an industrious and energetic Pennsylvanian carpenter, to develop his newly purchased wilderness estate. In July 1816, the pair found a ruined mill in a cedar grove, built by a squatter who had abandoned it. It was where Mill Creek joined the east bank of the Grand River. They decided that this was the perfect site for their settlement. Shade rebuilt the ruin as a grist mill and built a sawmill next to it, and the small village that grew around them took the name “Shade’s Mills.” The surrounding township was named “Dumfries” after Dickson’s home town.
In 1825 Shade won the contract to build a road between Guelph and Shade’s Mills and to provision its workers, the turning point in his own fortunes. Dickson now renamed the settlement after his friend John Galt (1779-1839), the Scottish novelist who had founded Guelph and was then superintendent of the Canada Company, whose aim was to increase Scottish settlement in the Huron Tract.
371. The first bridge over the Grand here (left centre above) was paid for by Dickson and built in 1819 at the narrow spot where the Main Street Bridge is today. That bridge was a key to the success of the early settlement, as it opened up both banks for development.
On the fourth of July that same year, the Americans who made up much the labour force in the village hoisted the Stars and Stripes over the mills. “At this period, in fact,” wrote Young, “there were very few citizens of the United States who did not regard the speedy union of Upper Canada with the Republic, as a foregone conclusion.” Shade, an American himself, climbed up on the roof and took down the “obnoxious flag,” and so forestalled what was certain to have become a “desperate fight” between the Yankees and the loyal subjects of the Crown (35-6).
By 1827 the settlement by the bridge over the Grand was thriving and Dickson came to live there for the next nine years. Shade, meanwhile, had become very wealthy as he was involved in all aspects of trade in Galt and was full of ideas about how to increase it. In the early 1830s, for example, there was still no good road to transport saleable goods to the head of Lake Ontario at Dundas. So Shade built large barges – “arks” as they were known – and, filling them with “wheat, coarse grains, flour, highwines,* pork, and furs” (58), floated them down the Grand on spring high water as far as Dunnville. From there he had the arks towed up the Feeder and then the new Welland Canal to Port Dalhousie, where their freight could be sold for export. This worked for the first two years, but low water in the Grand on the third attempt caused so many runnings-aground that the experiment wasn’t repeated.
*highwine was distilled liquor with a high alcohol content that would be watered down then traded for furs with First Nations.
372. Let’s return upstream to where the Grand enters central Cambridge. In the foreground is the Park Hill Road Bridge. This now very busy crossing, the northernmost of the three road bridges in downtown Galt, is a four-span concrete T-Beam bridge built in 1933. It was reconstructed and widened to four lanes in 2002, though the original railing and lighting were retained. That freight train is crossing the CPR Viaduct (see #369 above) 570 m upstream.
373. Two more views upstream from the Park Hill Road Bridge.
(Top) The Riverside Park Dam (1837, reconstructed ca. 1890), between the CPR Viaduct and the bridge, was built to harness water power for the Dickson Mill and, later, for the Turnbull Woollen Mill that used to occupy the east bank south of the bridge, where Mill Race Park is today. The current dam is known to be failing, and a new dam at an estimated cost of $19 million is due to be constructed about 40 m upstream.
(Bottom) A great blue heron patrols the shallows at the foot of the dam.
374. (Top) The building now known as Cambridge Mill stands on the east bank of the Grand just north of the Park Hill Road Bridge. It wasn’t the original mill of that name; that one, which much later gave the amalgamated city its name, was on the Speed River in Preston (see #357 above). This one, formerly called the Dickson Mill, was built as a grist mill in 1843-4, and later also powered a woollen mill and a sawmill. It’s constructed of locally quarried dolostone blocks that contain many of the heart-shaped fossil clams typical of this area (see #366 above). Its sturdy stone construction enabled it to use the Grand itself as a power source, with the dam upstream and a mill race at the river’s edge helping to ensure a consistent source of water power. It was repurposed as an electricity generating station from 1889-1911 after its milling days were over. So sturdy was the building that it survived the great flood of 1974 (see #378 below).
(Bottom) Since about 1980 Cambridge Mill has been an upscale restaurant and event venue. A few lucky diners in that glass extension have a spectacular view over the still lively mill race.
375. (Top) On the east bank, here seen on the left looking south from the Park Hill Road Bridge, there are now two choices for the pedestrian: the high road along the “Living Levee Trail” through Mill Race Park as far as Dickson Street; or the low road along the water’s edge.
(Bottom) The latter, definitely not recommended during high water, will take you under and beyond the Main Street Bridge if you’re prepared to negotiate some high steps. But eventually it comes to a dead end and you’ll have to retrace your steps all the way back to where you started.
376. Cambridge first hosted an International Street Art Festival in 2016, and there were a couple of later iterations. Its legacy is still visible in some striking semi-permanent murals in the core. This one in a parking lot in Dickson Street is by Belgian hyperrealist Smates (i.e., Bart Smeets). Guided walking tours of the murals are sometimes available.
377. (Top) The Main Street Bridge (MSB) is a reinforced concrete bowstring arch bridge with two spans designed by Archibald B. Crealock of Toronto and built in four months in 1931 at a cost of about $55,000. It’s of the same design as the Freeport (7 spans), Bridgeport (5) and Caledonia (9) Bridges over the Grand, but it’s the shortest of the four, suggesting just how much the Grand narrows here at the historic centre of Galt.
(Bottom) Looking east from the bridge into the heart of Galt. Only a few years ago, like many Ontario downtowns, Galt was suffering from an all-too-visible drug and homeless problem that led to diminishing footfall and many business closures. Now Main Street is pedestrianized in the summer, and this initiative is one of several others that is gradually helping to revitalize the centre of the city. The city of Cambridge realizes that it has many assets that appeal to visitors, not the least of which is the river. There are currently moves to banish traffic on Main Street all year round.
378. In the Great Flood of 17 May 1974, the Grand River overflowed its banks and inundated downtown Galt, causing $6.9 million in damage but fortunately no fatalities. There was little warning, as the day itself was warm and sunny. The image above shows Main Street looking west to the Bridge. At its height, the Grand, swollen by spring melt and heavy rain the previous day, was flowing at an unprecedented rate of 1,490 cubic metres per second. The river’s normal depth in May through Galt was 61 cm, but at the peak of the flood it was 8 m.
The 1974 flood, which also affected downstream communities, led to tighter controls on development within the Grand’s floodplain and an early flood warning system. In 1985, the riverbed south of the Park Hill Road bridge was deepened to allow high water better passage through the centre of Galt.
379. Construction of new flood protections began in 1980, with earth berms and concrete walls along the riverbank at a cost of over $8m. In 1982 Mill Race Park and the levee on the east bank were constructed: see #375 above. That glass projection above the floodwall …
380. … is an addition to the Idea Exchange, a branch of the Public Library in the Old Post Office that also includes studios for creatives. Its patrons enjoy a fine view of the river, the Main Street Bridge, and Central Presbyterian Church.
381. Fine stone architecture at the corner of Main and Water Streets. The floors above the stores at street level have been renovated and turned into apartments.
382. The former Galt Woollen Factory (1843-51) at 36 Water Street South stands at the spot where Mill Creek used to flow into the Grand River. For many years the creek flowed under this building into the Grand. This is the oldest surviving textile mill in Galt. The building has been repurposed as apartments and commercial spaces.
Why were the earliest mills in Galt built on a tributary creek, rather than on the Grand itself?
It’s because Mill Creek was a more reliable source of water power than the Grand, whose levels fluctuated wildly over the course of a year and, when running high, could simply sweep away wooden buildings on its banks. Let’s take a brief detour to rediscover Mill Creek.
383. This is Mill Creek today, where it flows under what used to be the Great Road from Dundas, now Highway 8. That road, formerly very rough going for the wagons of the Pennsylvanian pioneers, was finally macadamized – covered with compacted crushed stone – and named “Dundas Street” in 1836. This section of Highway 8 still bears that name. The elegant stone bridge, now greatly restored, was built by Scottish stonemasons in 1837, and is the oldest surviving bridge in Waterloo Region.
384. Mill Creek disappears into a culvert just before it reaches Main Street in Galt. The poignant legend stenciled on the side of the tunnel reads CHANNELLED BURIED MOVED LOST. It’s part of a local project to rediscover and celebrate this historic stream.
385. Mill Creek used to join the Grand through that tunnel under the Galt Woollen Factory, here seen from the west bank. That’s the original site of the founding of Galt. But Mill Creek doesn’t emerge from there any more …
386. … it now empties into the Grand through that disregarded tunnel 150 m downstream from the original confluence.
That striking yellow brick building in Romanesque style on Water Street South is the former First Delta Baptist Church (1887). Now deconsecrated and taken over by the Cambridge Arts Theatre, it’s currently under major refurbishment.
387. The pedestrian bridge, Craig’s Crossing (CC, opened 2018) is the next span over the Grand downstream from the Main Street Bridge. It’s named after Doug Craig, the long-serving and visionary former mayor of Cambridge. He understood that the central presence of the Grand is what has always made Galt special and believed that the river should be returned to the forefront of citizens’ consciousness by enhancing its banks for the enjoyment of all. In 2014 Craig announced a five-year “Back to the Rivers” Project. Controversial at the time, Craig’s project has easily passed the test of time. Craig’s Crossing links riverside trails on both sides of the river, offers great views, and has become a destination in itself. As with north of downtown, here there is an upper walkway along the levee and a lower one riverside. The most southerly road bridge in central Galt, on Concession Street, is visible in the distance.
388. From Craig’s Crossing, there are fine views of the central Galt cityscape upstream. The two churches on the west bank, both with tall, elegant spires, are (left) Knox’s Galt Presbyterian Church (1869) (now Grace Bible Church) and (right) Central Presbyterian Church (1880-82).
389. So, let’s take Craig’s Crossing to get to the west bank …
390. … then make a short detour south to 89 Grand Avenue. The McDougall Cottage Historic Site is a small museum celebrating the Scottish heritage of the area. Once a simple workman’s dwelling, it’s now owned by the Region of Waterloo. It’s a granite and limestone single-storey cottage built in 1858 and a fine example of Scottish stonework. “Its street facade was trimmed with carefully matched blocks of gray granite. The grey stone blocks of the cottage were split, squared, colour-matched and then laid in regular, horizontal courses approximating ashlar work … The granite work was used only on the front facades of the main cottage and slightly later addition kitchen wing; all other elevations display rough rubble stone walls.” The interior walls are covered with a number of 100-year-old trompe l’oeil murals that have been painstakingly restored.
391. Now let’s turn north up Grand Avenue.
In the 19th century Galt was the most populous of the Tri-Cities, and its dynamism caused it to be known as the “Manchester of Canada,” after the English city that pioneered industrialism on the grand scale. The recently renovated Southworks Factory was originally founded as the Dumfries Foundry in 1844, and moved here to the Grand Avenue site on the west bank in 1847. From 1859 it was owned by two Scotsmen, Goldie McCulloch & Co. It made steam engines, boilers, industrial safes, vaults, tannery machines, water wheels, woodworking machinery, and more. Then it was bought by Babcock and Wilcox in 1923, and operated on this site till 1987. (Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, Babcock and Wilcox, now simply B&W, are still the major industrial employer in Cambridge.) It’s a 250,000 sq. ft. building …
392. … and is perhaps the most spectacular recent renovation of a former industrial complex in Galt …
393. … creating the newly branded Gaslight District of Cambridge on the west bank of the Grand. The complex includes condos, a boutique hotel, restaurants, commercial offices, and a tavern.
394. There’ s a courtyard in the centre of the complex that features an outdoor screen and stage, while these scattered colourful spools presumably allude to the once prominent textile industry hereabouts.
Much of the length of the buildings along Fraser Street are taken up with Tapestry Hall, an upscale wedding venue. In the main event space of Tapestry Hall, the most outstanding feature …
395. … is Meander, by Philip Beesley, who teaches at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture up the street (see #399 below). Suspended from the ceiling, it’s an installation of spun polymer of extraordinary complexity and seeming fragility. An information board calls it “a vision of future architecture … inspired by the Grand River … a complex ecosystem weaving its way. These dreamlike meshwork spheres, billowing cloud canopies and water-like formations are a representation of nature’s structure, strength and beauty.” Small computers are connected motion sensors in the structure, allowing it to “respond” to human touch. It’s evidence of how post-industrial Cambridge has embraced the Grand River as a source of inspiration for creative artists and designers.
396. The Hamilton Family Theatre (2013) one block north of Tapestry Hall is another cultural jewel recently added to the west bank. It’s a 500-seater theatre offering a full range of professional shows and serving as the HQ for Drayton Entertainment, who run seven theatrical venues in southwestern Ontario. Cambridge does seem to embrace the arts more closely and enthusiastically than its sister cities. The river must have something to do with it!
397. (Top) Continuing north, we find ourselves on Absalom’s Walk, a trail named for Mr. Shade along the top of the levee that runs through the Cambridge Sculpture Garden.
(Bottom) An untitled permanent installation by Toronto sculptor Peter Bowyer. A rust-coloured assemblage of indeterminate metal objects suggests, at least to me, the creepy, Gothic detritus of rampant industrialism.
398. The idyllic summer garden of the Ferguson Cottage at 37 Grand Avenue South is not what you’d expect to find in the centre of a city the size of Cambridge. It was built of local limestone ca. 1836 for the blacksmith William Ferguson and remained in his family for the next 80 years. The garden is currently maintained by volunteers of the Galt Horticultural Society.
399. Here’s another good example of the creative reuse of industrial buildings. The large red brick edifice between Melville Street and the river on the west bank just south of the Main Street Bridge was formerly the Riverside Silk Mill, built 1919. It has housed the Architecture Department of the University of Waterloo since 2004.
400. The cenotaph in Queen’s Square, commemorating the dead of the two World Wars and Korea. This side contains a moving representation of a grieving mother, representing Peace, while the other side presents a male personification of Victory. The monument’s creator was Frances Loring (1887-1968), the acclaimed US-born Toronto sculptor.
Central Presbyterian Church, at back, has recently undergone a major restoration. It included repairing the slender 56 m / 184 ft. octagonal spire, probably the most iconic structure in Galt, which was literally falling apart.
Queen’s Square also contains a Crimean War cannon and a fountain.
401. (Top) The oldest church in Galt is Trinity Anglican (1843-4). Galt founders Dickson and Shade had the land cleared and provided the money to build the church from local stone.
(Bottom) The church’s handsome rectory, Trinity House at 14 Blair Road, was built in 1873 from a bequest in Absalom Shade’s will. The striking cobblestone wall and 1909 lych gate were later additions.
That mention of the founders of Galt completes our loop, as a short way north up Grand River Avenue and we’re back where we started at the Park Hill Road Bridge.
Holmström Ruddick 
