Plan of Wellington Street South and Strongman Road

Description

This is a plan of Wellington Street South and Strongman Road, with the escarpment intersecting across both. There are numerous buildings outlined on the map, most along Wellington Street. To the left of the title is a directional arrow, pointing to the right side of the map as north. Just below the title is the scale: "scale, 2 chains per inch." In the top left-hand corner the map is numbered: "No. 102 Drawer 3." In the bottom right-hand corner is found a date and signature by the surveyor: "Stoughton Dennis, Prov. L. Surveyor, Toronto, July 29th 1856." The main roads drawn on the plan include the following: Strongman Road [now approximately Claremont Access], "4th Con. Road & south limits of city" [now Concession Road], Wellington Street, and "Main Street & 5th Con. Road" [both have retained their names]. Unlisted on the map is Akledun Avenue. There are also a number of small urban streets intersecting with Wellington Street, north of the escarpment. These include: Tyburn Street, Peel Street, Mills Street, Jane Street and George Street [now respectively Jackson, Hunter, Young, and Forest Streets, as well as Charlton Avenue]. The 1851 Map of the City of Hamilton by Marcus Smith showcases all of these streets in place. Strongman Road [sometimes referred to as "Strongman's Road"] was built by William Strongman in 1841. There are a number of maps which showcase this early access road (Ryckman, 1842; Whitefield, 1854; Blyth, 1858; among others). Central on this map is the escarpment brow with "quarries" depicted along the rock face. To the west of Wellington Street, between Jane Street and George Street, is the "Orphan Asylum". This was the original Hamilton Orphan Asylum (1848-1958). For more information on this institution, see RMC 7630 "[Part of the Blaikie Estate]". There are numerous landowners depicted on the map. These include the following: "A. Carpenter, Esq."; "J. Cummings, Esq."; "H.C. Baker, Esq."; "J. Bradley, Esq."; "H. Clarke, Esq."; "A. O'Neill"; "R. Patterson"; "Sunley, Esq."; and "Mrs. Evans". Alexander Carpenter (1806-1866) was a local artisan, carpenter, and pattern-maker from Saltfleet Township. He entered into industrial manufacturing in the 1840's and by 1844 he co-founded the Gurney & Carpenter Iron Foundry (1844-1863). Carpenter was very involved in civic life in Hamilton, serving in police, fire, and political roles. Carpenter is famous for building 'Rock Castle' in 1848, his famous stone residence on the mountainside. The building outlined on this plan, perched along Akledun Avenue, is in fact 'Rock Castle' which still exists today (Thomas Melville Bailey ed., "Carpenter, Alexander" in Dictionary of Hamilton Biography, Vol. I 1791-1875. Hamilton: W.L. Griffin Ltd., 1981, 42). James Cummings (1815-1894) was a businessman and politician who came to Canada from Ireland, via Montreal, in the late 1830's. Cummings sold household wares and wholesale products out of his store on King Street. In the 1851 City of Hamilton Directory, his company "James Cummings & Co." is listed as being "importers of china, glass, crockery, paints, oils, turpentine, varnish, brushes, window glass, &c., wholesale and retail." He was also the co-president of the Canada Oil Company. Cummings served as an alderman in 1854 and was later elected as mayor but then lost the position due to an invalid election. Subsequently, he served as the city tax collector until his death (Thomas Melville Bailey ed., "Cummings, James" in Dictionary of Hamilton Biography, 57). Hugh Cossart Baker Sr. (1818-1859) was an English-born banker and businessman. He was the first manager of King Street's Bank of Montreal from 1842 to 1850. He co-founded the Canada Life Assurance Company and served as its president, manager, and actuary. He also founded the Ontario Marine and Fire Insurance Company and served as director of of the Hamilton Gas Light Company as well as the Gore Bank. He was very involved in business issues throughout the region, acting as an important stakeholder in the Great Western Railway, the Hamilton and Port Dover Railway, the Hamilton Board of Trade, and the Board of Arts and Manufacturers (Thomas Melville Bailey ed., "Baker, Hugh Cossart, Sr," in Dictionary of Hamilton Biography, 12-13). John Bradley (1805-1864) was a Hamilton politician and hotel owner. Born in Ireland, Bradley moved to U.S. and then to Canada in 1830. He quickly became a leader in the Irish Catholic community in Hamilton, hosting meetings at his inn (the Court House Hotel). Bradley also owned land in the central city and ran the British Hotel on John Street. Between 1837-1839 Bradley sat on the Police Board, representing Corktown (Michael Doucet and John Weaver, "Town Fathers and Urban Continuity: The Roots of Community Power and Physical Form in Hamilton, Upper Canada in the 1830s," Urban History Review, 13:2, 1984). Most notably, Bradley is remembered for his handsome estate home, 'Bellevue', which he built on the mountain brow in 1849. Bellevue (also known as the Belvidere Mansion) was one of the earliest stone structures on the escarpment, in Barton Township. Bellevue was demolished in 2000. It was originally located on the western corner of Sam Lawrence Park, on what is now Belvidere Avenue. Hutchinson Clarke (1806-1877), sometimes spelled "Clark", was an English-born architect and contractor. Clarke came to Hamilton in 1834 and opened an office on Hughson Street. Clarke was active in politics, representing St. Andrew's Ward during the 1850's and 1860's. He also served as mayor of Hamilton in 1868 (Thomas Melville Bailey ed., "Clark, Hutchinson," in Dictionary of Hamilton Biography, 51). No definite information could be located on the other landowners listed ("A. O'Neill", "R. Patterson", "Sunley, Esq.", and "Mrs. Evans"). The map's surveyor was John Stoughton Dennis (1820-1885). Dennis was an important surveying and military personality in Upper Canada during the 19th century. He was responsible for surveying lands across the country, including 25 subdivisions in Toronto. He became a Provincial Land Surveyor in 1842 and was appointed as Surveyor General of Canada in 1871. For more information on Dennis, see RMC 7608 ("Plan of lots I to IX both inclusive in the Vth and VIth Concessions of Saltfleet").