I had this bit of Beach history sent to me by a hunter friend of mine.
It comes from a book titled "Waterfowl Decoys of Southwestern Ontario"
Many thanks to the author, Paul Brisco :tbu:for allowing his work to be posted on the site.
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Burlington Beach
In 1823 the first narrow canal was punched through Burlington Beach to the bay to allow schooner access, a substantial canal being completed by 1832, the year before Hamilton became incorporated as a town and the year Burlington Beach founders claimed as their inaugural. The Fletchers, Coreys, Hazells and Dynes were some of the original resident families, with the Dynes having a mill before establishing their famous hotel. Burlington Beach was originally a seasonal resort establishment for the city folk, with the locals referred to as "marsh dwellers" by the Hamilton aristocracy. The Radial was not operative until 1896, when it brought the city folk out on a more regular basis, both for recreation and to purchase fish and fowl. The Dynes Tavern, established in 1846 by John Dynes on Crown-granted land, was famous for whole duck dinners right up until the legal clamp down. In the 1890s a duck dinner was 25 cents and in 1902 whiskey was 3 cents a glass. As late as the thirties Dynes had orders for 300 ducks at a crack for their famous dinners, often asking Harry Kretschman or Red Weir to send'em over. The picture in bwl 32 shows two of the Dynes along with other locals outside the old Gun Club (?) boathouse which was on the beach, circa 1890. This picture is probably on the bay across from the Dynes Hotel, near Dynes Wharf, looking northwest towards Crooks Island.
Interestingly enough, there did not develop the significant hunt clubs in Hamilton that there did in Kent. The "well to do" took advantage of the rails west and many of them were early members of the Long Point Company (1866), the Canada Club (1874), the Big Point Club (1875) and other Kent County clubs. For example, Sam Barker, K.C., was a lawyer and MP for Hamilton from 1900 to 1908 and an early member of the Big Point Club in Kent from 1885 to 1917. One of Sam's decoys, the hen redhead in cp44, is a beautiful bird. It looks like a JRW, and with heavy underbill carving, eyetooth and mandibles, and with old crackled paint and Sam's brand on the bottom, it is a majestic bird There were organized pigeon shoots on the Dundas Marsh at least as early as 1874, according to a Toronto Globe report. The only club I am aware of in the Hamilton area is the Wild Mallard Gun Club or Wildfowlers' Gun Club. Founded in 1882 and operating originally on the Dundas Marsh west of the Desjardin Canal, they shot live pigeons at first, soon switching to the more economical glass traps. As in most of the early trap clubs, most of the members were avid and effective waterfowl hunters. I have heard rumours of an ancient decoy with a brass ring inscribed "Wild Mallard Club" and I dream of the prospect of finding one. Early members included the Crooks, Tom and Jim, H. (Dusty) Granham, Morley Fletcher, W. Langhorn, John Morris and H. Dynes, and over the next few years Jim Barr, George Beattie, Harry Kretschman, Clarey Shaw and Harlowe Truman. A breakaway club in 1892, which included Sam Meiler, maintained the name "Mallards" and the new club became the Hamilton Gun Club. The shooting prowess of Hamilton Gun Club members such as George Beattie, Harry Kretschman, John Milne, Cy McKim, Reg Stone and many others is legendary, being widely respected throughout Ontario and internationally.
In any event, both the Dundas Marsh and the beach developed as small community pockets about the same time, the mid-to-late nineteenth century. The city proper shooters generally gravitated in one direction or the other; the east-enders like the Weirs and Morrises, with their boat works at the end of Wentworth Street, frequenting the beach strip and screen shooting; and the west-enders more inclined to the marsh and hide shooting. Although there was some co-mingling, it is surprising how isolated the pockets seemed to be, with certain names being known only in their "end."
The origin of the "screen shooting" associated with Hamilton and practiced primarily off the beach strip is uncertain. One story has it that it was introduced by a "dark man" who came down from Toronto on the train in the late 1800s. It could be that English-bred "punt gunners," finding the prevailing southwesterly winds unfavourable to the Toronto Harbour and Ashbridges Bay, sought out the appropriate attributes of the windward beach strip and customized their methodology from there. In any event, for 50 to 60 years the beach strip was lined with screen shooters. On good days they would be spaced a scant 100 feet apart, all vying for the multitude of wildfowl that frequented the "head of the lake."
In 1896 the Hamilton Electric Radial Company constructed lines over the beach, through Burlington and on to Oakville.20 For the next 25 to 30 years this served not only to transport non-local shooters and the city crowds that attended the famous Dynes Hotel dinners of fish, wildfowl and game, but its "stations" became the reference points for screen shooters, with stations 12 and 14 near the canal generally the most sought after (although opinions on this seem to vary, and of course weather and other environmental conditions would affect the choice). The map herein shows the beach strip and bay and the particular points of interest, including the general location of the stations.
For those not familiar with "screen shooting," it went like this: when the wind was favourable, offshore plus or minus 20 degrees, the rig of decoys, 50 per shooter, therefore usually a 100, were put out "not more than 200 yards" from shore. The game warden, and likewise most screeners, had a marker spool, the warden coming along regularly to check all the rigs for distance and count the blocks. Experienced shooters offset the tether leathers on their decoys so that the block would drag downwind, offering a greater profile to oncoming birds. The skiff or screening boat was pulled up on the beach and had a thatched "screen" attached to the bow to prevent the birds from seeing approaching shooters and spooking. The shooters would "relax" on shore, watch the rig, and when a bunch dropped in, they would quickly shove off and, with the benefit of the wind and sculling, as well as pushing off the bottom until too deep, get down on the birds as quickly as possible. As the boat "quietly" approached, the birds sensing danger would often swim to the rear of the set and bunch up before jumping into the wind in flight. Proficient screeners would be down on the birds quickly and line up their shots, often pulling the boat across the wind to offer a better shot for both shooters and also screening hard upwind on the approach to improve the downwind angle and eventual shot. The challenge and excitement of screen shooting, coupled with the significant bags of those proficient at it, made it the most popular form of waterfowling where it was appropriate. As the auto became more common, trailers to hold a rig of decoys with a screening boat flipped over the top became a familiar Hamilton sight, and Red Weir and Gordon (Mucker) Green can be seen in bwl 52 with theirs.
Thus Burlington Bay's surrounding communities naturally focused primarily on the water, the focal point for all its developing industries and transportation, its food and recreation. In 1875 there were 17 "Fish, Game and Oyster Dealers" listed in the city directory, an indication of the extent of the local water-based market. And the three boatbuilders shown in the 1875 directory had grown to seven by the 1890s. There were also a multitude of carpenters, masons and other skilled tradesmen, many loyalists and others newly arrived from the British Isles, a number of whom applied their talents to decoy making. Hamilton was a virtual waterfowler's mecca, with a multitude of ducks and ready access to markets.
All too soon, however, development and progress took their toll, with growth and industrialization overpowering the bay, landfill reclamation and pollution, the Dundas Marsh and Coote's Paradise becoming a Crown game preserve in 1927 and the anti-shooting laws relative to the bay being enforced fully after the war in 1946.21 22 Thus, we are really looking at about 70 to 80 "glory years" of waterfowling in Hamilton, on and around the lake, bay and marshes, from about 1860 to 1940 - those were the days!
Photo #1- bw132 In front of the boathouse? Gun Club, 1890 (L to R) John Hazell Sr., Harry Dynes, Dusty Grayham, Perc Dynes Sr, Jim Crooks, William Langhorn.
Photo #2- bw130 The beach strip from a biplane, 1919, looking northeast. Note Crookes Island in foreground. (Ontario Archives S5826)
It comes from a book titled "Waterfowl Decoys of Southwestern Ontario"
Many thanks to the author, Paul Brisco :tbu:for allowing his work to be posted on the site.
_______________________________________________________________
Burlington Beach
In 1823 the first narrow canal was punched through Burlington Beach to the bay to allow schooner access, a substantial canal being completed by 1832, the year before Hamilton became incorporated as a town and the year Burlington Beach founders claimed as their inaugural. The Fletchers, Coreys, Hazells and Dynes were some of the original resident families, with the Dynes having a mill before establishing their famous hotel. Burlington Beach was originally a seasonal resort establishment for the city folk, with the locals referred to as "marsh dwellers" by the Hamilton aristocracy. The Radial was not operative until 1896, when it brought the city folk out on a more regular basis, both for recreation and to purchase fish and fowl. The Dynes Tavern, established in 1846 by John Dynes on Crown-granted land, was famous for whole duck dinners right up until the legal clamp down. In the 1890s a duck dinner was 25 cents and in 1902 whiskey was 3 cents a glass. As late as the thirties Dynes had orders for 300 ducks at a crack for their famous dinners, often asking Harry Kretschman or Red Weir to send'em over. The picture in bwl 32 shows two of the Dynes along with other locals outside the old Gun Club (?) boathouse which was on the beach, circa 1890. This picture is probably on the bay across from the Dynes Hotel, near Dynes Wharf, looking northwest towards Crooks Island.
Interestingly enough, there did not develop the significant hunt clubs in Hamilton that there did in Kent. The "well to do" took advantage of the rails west and many of them were early members of the Long Point Company (1866), the Canada Club (1874), the Big Point Club (1875) and other Kent County clubs. For example, Sam Barker, K.C., was a lawyer and MP for Hamilton from 1900 to 1908 and an early member of the Big Point Club in Kent from 1885 to 1917. One of Sam's decoys, the hen redhead in cp44, is a beautiful bird. It looks like a JRW, and with heavy underbill carving, eyetooth and mandibles, and with old crackled paint and Sam's brand on the bottom, it is a majestic bird There were organized pigeon shoots on the Dundas Marsh at least as early as 1874, according to a Toronto Globe report. The only club I am aware of in the Hamilton area is the Wild Mallard Gun Club or Wildfowlers' Gun Club. Founded in 1882 and operating originally on the Dundas Marsh west of the Desjardin Canal, they shot live pigeons at first, soon switching to the more economical glass traps. As in most of the early trap clubs, most of the members were avid and effective waterfowl hunters. I have heard rumours of an ancient decoy with a brass ring inscribed "Wild Mallard Club" and I dream of the prospect of finding one. Early members included the Crooks, Tom and Jim, H. (Dusty) Granham, Morley Fletcher, W. Langhorn, John Morris and H. Dynes, and over the next few years Jim Barr, George Beattie, Harry Kretschman, Clarey Shaw and Harlowe Truman. A breakaway club in 1892, which included Sam Meiler, maintained the name "Mallards" and the new club became the Hamilton Gun Club. The shooting prowess of Hamilton Gun Club members such as George Beattie, Harry Kretschman, John Milne, Cy McKim, Reg Stone and many others is legendary, being widely respected throughout Ontario and internationally.
In any event, both the Dundas Marsh and the beach developed as small community pockets about the same time, the mid-to-late nineteenth century. The city proper shooters generally gravitated in one direction or the other; the east-enders like the Weirs and Morrises, with their boat works at the end of Wentworth Street, frequenting the beach strip and screen shooting; and the west-enders more inclined to the marsh and hide shooting. Although there was some co-mingling, it is surprising how isolated the pockets seemed to be, with certain names being known only in their "end."
The origin of the "screen shooting" associated with Hamilton and practiced primarily off the beach strip is uncertain. One story has it that it was introduced by a "dark man" who came down from Toronto on the train in the late 1800s. It could be that English-bred "punt gunners," finding the prevailing southwesterly winds unfavourable to the Toronto Harbour and Ashbridges Bay, sought out the appropriate attributes of the windward beach strip and customized their methodology from there. In any event, for 50 to 60 years the beach strip was lined with screen shooters. On good days they would be spaced a scant 100 feet apart, all vying for the multitude of wildfowl that frequented the "head of the lake."
In 1896 the Hamilton Electric Radial Company constructed lines over the beach, through Burlington and on to Oakville.20 For the next 25 to 30 years this served not only to transport non-local shooters and the city crowds that attended the famous Dynes Hotel dinners of fish, wildfowl and game, but its "stations" became the reference points for screen shooters, with stations 12 and 14 near the canal generally the most sought after (although opinions on this seem to vary, and of course weather and other environmental conditions would affect the choice). The map herein shows the beach strip and bay and the particular points of interest, including the general location of the stations.
For those not familiar with "screen shooting," it went like this: when the wind was favourable, offshore plus or minus 20 degrees, the rig of decoys, 50 per shooter, therefore usually a 100, were put out "not more than 200 yards" from shore. The game warden, and likewise most screeners, had a marker spool, the warden coming along regularly to check all the rigs for distance and count the blocks. Experienced shooters offset the tether leathers on their decoys so that the block would drag downwind, offering a greater profile to oncoming birds. The skiff or screening boat was pulled up on the beach and had a thatched "screen" attached to the bow to prevent the birds from seeing approaching shooters and spooking. The shooters would "relax" on shore, watch the rig, and when a bunch dropped in, they would quickly shove off and, with the benefit of the wind and sculling, as well as pushing off the bottom until too deep, get down on the birds as quickly as possible. As the boat "quietly" approached, the birds sensing danger would often swim to the rear of the set and bunch up before jumping into the wind in flight. Proficient screeners would be down on the birds quickly and line up their shots, often pulling the boat across the wind to offer a better shot for both shooters and also screening hard upwind on the approach to improve the downwind angle and eventual shot. The challenge and excitement of screen shooting, coupled with the significant bags of those proficient at it, made it the most popular form of waterfowling where it was appropriate. As the auto became more common, trailers to hold a rig of decoys with a screening boat flipped over the top became a familiar Hamilton sight, and Red Weir and Gordon (Mucker) Green can be seen in bwl 52 with theirs.
Thus Burlington Bay's surrounding communities naturally focused primarily on the water, the focal point for all its developing industries and transportation, its food and recreation. In 1875 there were 17 "Fish, Game and Oyster Dealers" listed in the city directory, an indication of the extent of the local water-based market. And the three boatbuilders shown in the 1875 directory had grown to seven by the 1890s. There were also a multitude of carpenters, masons and other skilled tradesmen, many loyalists and others newly arrived from the British Isles, a number of whom applied their talents to decoy making. Hamilton was a virtual waterfowler's mecca, with a multitude of ducks and ready access to markets.
All too soon, however, development and progress took their toll, with growth and industrialization overpowering the bay, landfill reclamation and pollution, the Dundas Marsh and Coote's Paradise becoming a Crown game preserve in 1927 and the anti-shooting laws relative to the bay being enforced fully after the war in 1946.21 22 Thus, we are really looking at about 70 to 80 "glory years" of waterfowling in Hamilton, on and around the lake, bay and marshes, from about 1860 to 1940 - those were the days!
Photo #1- bw132 In front of the boathouse? Gun Club, 1890 (L to R) John Hazell Sr., Harry Dynes, Dusty Grayham, Perc Dynes Sr, Jim Crooks, William Langhorn.
Photo #2- bw130 The beach strip from a biplane, 1919, looking northeast. Note Crookes Island in foreground. (Ontario Archives S5826)