HYDRO LINES ON THE BEACH - POLES AND TOWERS.
I've found a page that seems to indicate that originally the hydro wires that brought electricity from Decew Falls to Hamilton, were mounted on poles rather than towers. I'm still trying to find out when the towers were built.
Hamilton within the last five years has solved a problem which has been of great interest and assistance to manufacturers, viz., the transmission of electricity for a great distance and at a high voltage for power purposes. When the question of utilizing the waters of DeCew Falls, coming over the Niagara escarpment at a point about 35 miles southeast of Hamilton was first mooted, it was considered to a great extent commercial. However, this has now passed the experimental stage and evolved from a dream into a reality. About that time local capitalists interested themselves in the formation of a company for the generation of electrical energy to be transmitted to the City of Hamilton. Many prejudices had to be overcome and many seemingly insurmountable objects had to be brushed aside, and when it is taken into consideration that at that time neither in Europe or American had electricity been transmitted higher than 10,000 volts, this company found that it was absolutely necessary for the pressure to be at least 20,000 volts or over, so that the cost of conducting the same would be within the financial set, to allow the Cataract Power Company to undertake the development of the enterprise, some of the difficulties can be imagined. After many experiments the work has been successful, and Hamilton is illuminated, the majority of her factories and her entire electrical railway system, both street and radial, amounting to about sixty-five miles of road, are operated by this silent but potent power, which has placed Hamilton in the position of being the electrical city of Canada.
The plant consists of six principal sections :
1. The hydraulic work beginning at the Welland Canal in Allanburg and terminating in the turbines in the generating station.
2. The generating system, consisting of the electrical generators mentioned in section No. 1, with the step up transformers and their accessories in the power house at DeCew Falls.
3. The transmission system, comprising two lines of poles running from the power house to the several sub-stations in the City of Hamilton and on the way thereto.
4. The sub-stations and their equipment in the City of Hamilton.
5. The distributing system in the City of Hamilton.
6. The traction department.
http://canada.yodelout.com/hamilton-ontario-electric-power/