Map 41. Caledonia (pop. about 15,000) is a town on the Grand River in Haldimand County just east of the Six Nations Reserve. A small place ten years ago, its recent growth has been explosive. Huge new tracts of housing have been built or are being developed, especially on the north side of the Grand. Its population is expected to triple within a generation. All this is because Caledonia is only about a fifteen-minute commute by car to the southern edge of Hamilton and its airport. Caledonia’s new housing is a relative bargain for those working in the nearby big city.
P by the river’s south bank on Forfar Street East for central Caledonia. P by the river’s north bank in Seneca Park at the south end of McClung Road for the Rotary Riverside Trail. B = Argyle Street Bridge; CN = CN Rail Bridge; DCE = Douglas Creek Estates; F = Flatbush; H = Haldimand House; M = Caledonia (Grand River) Mill.
559. Caledonia’s most notable structure inevitably looms large on the welcome sign. But even here, they couldn’t quite get the whole thing into the picture! (see #573 below).
560. The early history of Caledonia is complicated, and authorities don’t always agree about dates. Briefly, there were two small villages, both named for one of the Six Nations, founded on the north bank of the Grand at the new locks built by the Grand River Navigation Company (GRNC, see #529-531 above). Upstream there was Oneida (laid out 1835) at Lock 5, where the CN rail line now crosses the river about 650 m west of the current Argyle Street bridge. Downstream there was Seneca (1836), at Lock 4 about 2 km east of that same bridge.
Ranald McKinnon, a contractor with the GRNC, was hired to build dams across the Grand by the locks. These dams encouraged the building of mills to exploit the new source of water power. The first mill was a sawmill on the north bank built by McKinnon himself.
Then in 1839 a plank road* began to be constructed from the Hamilton Mountain to Port Dover on Lake Erie. The first incarnation of what would become Ontario Highway 6, it met the Grand between Oneida and Seneca. In 1841 came the notorious surrender by Six Nations of the remainder of the Haldimand Tract land (see #537 above). The first road bridge on its present site was completed in 1843, with six spans including a swing section. This bridge, where the plank road crossed the Grand, became the focus for the settlement of the area, and Caledonia was born, soon absorbing and superseding Oneida and Seneca.
McKinnon, of Scottish ancestry, laid out the village, gave it the romantic name of Caledonia – the Latin word for Scotland – and named its streets after Scottish places: Argyle Street (the main north-south drag), Caithness Street (along the north bank of the Grand), Forfar Street (along the south bank), Edinburgh Square (the civic centre), and so on. The road bridge enabled the south bank of the river to be developed, and until recently Caledonia south of the river was the more populous.
*Plank roads were roads constructed of wooden boards that enabled travel over marshy ground. This one, of “3-inch hardwood planks laid on wooden stringers” (MacDonald 61) was built by “mainly newly arrived Irishmen and escaped slaves” (Farquharson 156). Plank roads were common in the early development of southern Ontario.
561. The Grand River Princess is one of three boats owned by Grand River Cruises that offer lunch and dinner cruises on the Grand. The cruises take place on the 20 km stretch of river between Caledonia and Onondaga. Each boat holds a maximum of 49 passengers each, all seated at tables with river views. The Grand is often so shallow in summer that boats of this size must be flat-bottomed, as were the “arks” of Absalom Shade all those years ago (see #371 above). This company is the only one that currently offers such cruises on the Grand.
562. Two winter views upriver from the south shore. Starting with what’s closest: the Caledonia Dam, the Caledonia Railway Bridge, and (in the distance) the Highway 6 road bridge (1983) bypassing the centre of Caledonia.
The original Caledonia Dam was built 1836-42 by the Grand River Navigation Company. The present one was built in 1980. There is provision for a lock if the Grand should ever again be turned into a canal.
563. Closer to the centre of Caledonia, the view in summer is bucolic, with that iconic mill on the south bank and a fisherman standing midstream.
564. On the north bank, the Ron Clark Memorial River Walk runs about 1 km along the riverbank, affording good views of the mill opposite.
565. (Top) The Grand River Mill in February 2018, looking rather the worse for wear.
(Bottom) The same mill six years later, looking very much smarter. But is it the same mill?
The Balmoral Flouring Mill here on Forfar Street was constructed by James Little from 1853-57. Later it was bought by Caledonia Mills, who joined operations on both sides of the river to form the Grand River Mills. It was the last remaining water-powered mill on the Grand, grinding flour and feed until 1966, then serving as a feed store until 1976. The Grand River Conservation Authority acquired the site in 1979 and planned to demolish the building. It was saved by the intervention of the Golden Horseshoe Antique Society. However, it would have cost up to $9 million to restore the mill, and there wasn’t nearly enough money to do this. Yet if it had been allowed to deteriorate further, it would simply have fallen down.
So, in 2018 the mill was demolished by new owners Riverside Properties, with the water turbine and gears, bucket elevator, and weigh scale preserved for future reuse. It was then rebuilt from scratch in the same shape as the old mill, but now accommodating 10 modern office suites and amenity areas.
So, no, it isn’t the same mill, it’s a facsimile. That may be about as good as heritage conservation gets in cases like these.
566. White eyebrow, yellowish breast, downcurved bill, a loud, repetitive tea-kettle song … a Carolina Wren on a riverside branch just by the mill.
567. The view from the southern bank over the Railway Bridge (1911) across the Grand. Formerly part of the Grand Trunk Railway, it’s now owned by CN. There are no guard rails, but if you’re feeling daredevil-ish you might be tempted to walk across the river over this bridge …
568. … but don’t even think about it. The bridge is still an active train crossing …
569. … and you’d better not stand there between the rails or you’ll spook the driver. I have to say, in this shot those rails don’t look very straight.
570. The Railway Bridge is supported by eleven alternate concrete and masonry/steel piers. The line runs south from here to Nanticoke on Lake Erie.
571. Meanwhile, something involving men in colourful outfits is happening on the opposite bank.
572. Caledonia firefighters are practising river rescues. They have to prepare for emergencies on the Grand, such as when people fall through ice, when watercraft capsize, or when vehicles end up in the river.
573. The Argyle Street bowstring bridge at Caledonia. This is a nine-span concrete bridge, 210 metres long and 12.7 m wide. After the covered bridge in West Montrose, it’s the most notable bridge over the Grand. It’s the only bowstring arch bridge in Haldimand County and the longest one in Canada. Compare the 2-arch bowstring bridge at Galt with this one (see #377 above), and you’ll see that here in Caledonia the Grand has become a wide river. It’s quite difficult to get all nine spans of the bridge into a shot. The wintry one (top) manages eight and a half, the summery one (bottom) almost nine.
This is the fourth bridge at this spot. The first and second were washed away by floods. In 1875, a five-span iron Whipple Arch truss bridge was constructed at a cost of $22,500. On 24 August 1925 this third bridge collapsed with “a bang that woke the town” from the weight of a truck loaded with stone. Miraculously, neither the truck driver nor children playing under the bridge were hurt.
The current bowstring bridge was designed by A.B. Crealock, built in 5 months, and opened in November 1927. The bridge, now almost 100 years old, is not in good condition and was supposed to have been replaced long ago. But it’s a heritage structure and the main symbol of the town. So I suspect it’ll be retained in some way or other.
574. The Toll House is on the north east end of the bridge. It was built for the toll keeper in about 1875; the tolls were abolished about 1890. The building is believed to be haunted by the ghost of a 4-year-old boy who died after drinking whiskey he found there.
Tolls were levied at this crossing long before this toll house was built. Here’s a warning from 1856: “the travelling public may as well observe that nothing is to be gained by taking to the ice and avoiding the toll for the Bridge … On Monday last a span of horses crossing the ice, broke through and were rescued with much difficulty. On arriving on the east side of the stream, the gatekeeper demanded the toll and we believe got it.”
575. The roadway across the bridge, from which heavy goods vehicles are now banned, at 7 metres wide is uncomfortably narrow for current traffic. There are 1.8 m wide pedestrian walkways on both sides that give excellent river views.
576. The view downstream from the middle of the bridge. The Grand here is about 160 m wide.
577. The elegant Old Town Hall in Edinburgh Square, opened 1858. Like many municipal buildings of the era, it served many purposes. On the main floor there was a constable’s residence; upstairs, a council chamber and meeting hall; and, in the basement, a meat market and jail cells. The cells typically accommodated people apprehended for public drunkenness, and the constable’s wife would serve meals to the prisoners. Now the building’s been repurposed as Edinburgh Square Heritage and Cultural Centre, a museum and archive devoted to local history. Although Caledonia is the largest community in Haldimand County, the current town hall is located downstream in Cayuga.
578. Haldimand House at the junction of Argyle and Wigton Streets near the south end of the Bridge is the oldest commercial building in Caledonia. It was completed in 1839 as an inn on the stagecoach route between Hamilton and Port Dover. During WWI it served as a boarding house for soldiers. These days it houses an antique store, a ladies’ fashion outlet, and a Biker’s Haven, selling motorcycle leathers, bandannas, Harley Davidson merch, etc.
579. On the forecourt of the Haldimand House is the Oasis Drive-In, which has been around in some form since 1927 when the current bridge opened. Now you’d describe it as a retro burger and hotdog outlet.
580. In the milder seasons (top) there’s a pleasant riverside path of about 1.5 km along the south bank of the Grand east of the Bridge through Patterson Park. In winter (bottom) it’s likely to be either flooded or blocked by chunks of ice.
581. Flatbush (population plus or minus 10) is an unofficial community on Haddington Street on the south bank of the Grand.
582. There’s a plant nursery, very colourful in August, in a field by the east end of the riverside path.
583. The Avalon development on the north bank of the Grand exemplifies the unrestrained and probably unsustainable nature of the current housing development in Caledonia. Already built or planned are 3,000 new homes over 530 acres. This housing development is marketed as a commuter suburb for Hamilton. As such it is almost entirely car dependent. There is very limited public transit between Hamilton and Caledonia: three buses per day, none on weekends or holidays.
584. Little trace remains of the village of Seneca east of central Caledonia on the north bank. Only the name of Seneca Park along the Grand recalls the early settlement. There’s a P here from which you can wander downstream on the Rotary Riverside Trail for about 6 km along or near the riverbank as far as the village of York (see next episode).
“Imagine your new neighbour comes into your backyard and fences off half of it. Then he sells it to someone down the street. This new neighbour tells you he got a good deal but he won’t say how much he got. Then, he says that he’ll take care of the cash – on your behalf, of course.
Maybe he even spends a little on himself. You complain. He denies he did anything wrong.
What would you do? Go to the proper authorities? It turns out that the authorities and their agencies work for him.
Sue him? He tells you that none of the lawyers can work for you – he’s got everyone in town working for him.
When he finally lets a lawyer work for you – it turns out that he can afford five of them for every one you can afford.
Finally he says: Okay, I’m willing to discuss it. But first you have to prove I did something wrong. Oh, and I get to be the judge of whether you’ve proved it. And, if you do prove it, I get to set the rules about how we’ll negotiate.
I’ll decide when we’ve reached a deal and I’ll even get to determine how I’ll pay the settlement out to you. Oh, and I hope you’re in no rush because this is going to take about twenty or thirty years to settle.
Sounds crazy?
Welcome to the world of First Nations Specific Claims.” (Land Rights 25)
Before leaving Caledonia, let’s stop at this spot on Argyle Street South, about 1.7 km south of the river. This was the site of one of the longest and bitterest Native occupations in Canadian history. It’s the gate to Douglas Creek Estates (DCE), which in 2003 a developer planned to turn into a vast new housing subdivision. In 2006 DCE was occupied by Six Nations as a way of drawing attention to unresolved land disputes relating to the Haldimand Tract. DCE was renamed Kanonhstaton, Mohawk for “The Protected Place.” Six Nations claimed that this land had never been surrendered to the Crown. They installed the gate, on which the ancient symbol of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy – the Ayenwatha (Hiawatha) Belt – is visible at left. The occasionally violent occupation, including blockades of roads and rail lines, continued for years. More recently, another focal point of resistance at a potential development site on nearby McKenzie Road, dubbed “1492 Land Back Lane” by Native protesters, developed in 2020.
As we have seen, Six Nations have suffered more than two centuries of settler interference and misappropriation of land on the banks of the Grand River originally granted to them in perpetuity. Money from land sales intended for the support of Six Nations and held in trust by the Canadian government disappeared as a result of failed investments made without the knowledge of Six Nations. A forced surrender of remaining land under pressure from white squatters did nothing to ease Native resentment, nor did the policy of forcible assimilation, nor did the federal government’s reluctance to allow Natives access to the justice system. And the Canadian government has used the supposed “factionalism” of Six Nations as an excuse for inaction, while stoking that very divisiveness by imposing an elected council on the Haudeosaunee and attempting to delegitimize the authority of the traditional Grand Council.
The town of Caledonia, which abuts Six Nations Reserve and where new housing development has been explosive, to put it mildly, has become a locus for Native protest. The issue of historic Native land claims, sales, and surrenders has still not been adequately resolved and probably can never be to the satisfaction of all parties. The land claims issue has still to come before the courts. For the moment violent protests have been suspended. One hopes that in the future sincere and respectful negotiations between the parties will render them unnecessary.
Holmström Ruddick 