Old Spec article from 1997
Narrow sandy bar is long on history; [Final Edition]
John Mentek. The Spectator. Hamilton, Ont.: May 8, 1997. pg. A.8
1997 The Hamilton Spectator. All rights reserved.
Etienne Brule was probably the first French explorer to view the narrow, shining bar of sand that separated the harbour from the lake nearly 400 years ago.
It's known he came through this area in 1615 with a dozen Huron warriors, although his exact route is uncertain.
In 1669, three white men are known to have crossed the 11- kilometre (six-and-a-half-mile) sand bar and to have camped for several days on the bayshore.
They were the great French explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier de LaSalle, accompanied by two Sulpician priests, Francois Dollier de Casson and Rene de Brehant de Galinee.
The visit is recorded in Galinee's notes: "We passed the river, at the end of five days travel arrived at the extremity of the lake (Ontario), where there is a large sandy bar at the end of which is an outlet of another small lake (the bay)."
The bay was called Macassa by Indians -- meaning beautiful waters.
It was a place of pristine beauty. Just under half a kilometre wide, the sand strip shoreline on the bay side was overhung with willow trees and dotted with marshy inlets that were home to herons, loons, kingfishers, swans, speckled plovers and ducks.
Oaks, poplars and immense basswood grew further back from the shore in a tangle of wild grasses and grape vines. The waters on both sides of the sand spit teemed with perch, whitefish, trout, sturgeon, bass and salmon.
A gap in the sand bar shallow enough to wade across allowed access from the lake to the bay. As Hamilton was settled, this gap became a portage and loading zone for the tiny settlements that sprang up around the bay.
The sand strip became the main trail between the settlements of York (Toronto) and Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake).
John Graves Simcoe, governor of Upper Canada, ordered the construction of the King's Head Inn in 1794. It was a way station on the pioneer road, a depot for military stores and a rendezvous point for troops.
During the War of 1812, a pair of American schooners landed about 200 men on the Beach Strip. They ransacked the King's Head Inn and burned it to the ground.
After the war, the strip was opened up to settlement and became a major trans-shipment point for the villages of Dundas, Ancaster and Hamilton. Ships unloaded their cargo on the beach, where it was loaded onto flat-bottomed barges and poled through the gap to the settlements.
A newer, wider canal opened in 1830, crossed by a 21-metre (69- foot) swing bridge. When the bridge was later destroyed, a ferry took passengers across the water. With the canal, ships had access to one of the finest inland harbours in North America, turning the bay area and hinterland into a major social and commercial centre.
Over the years, taverns and inns were built to accommodate holiday visitors. Regular steamboat service from Toronto and Hamilton brought visitors to the strip.
Dynes Tavern -- still on the beach today and the oldest operating tavern in Ontario -- was built in 1846.
Population on the Beach Strip remained sparse, however, until people began turning it to recreational uses after the 1850s. Duck hunting and fishing were popular.
A limestone lighthouse built in 1857-58 is still standing by the ship canal.
The province gave Hamilton the right to sell land along the Beach Strip in 1874 and extensive recreational and summer residences sprang up. A railway built in 1876 made the beach accessible and use increased.
Luxury hotels sprang up. The beach became a mecca for summer holiday fun, offering activities like rowing, sunbathing, swimming, sailing, strolling along the piers and boardwalks, riding the steamers, dining, bowling, playing pool and billiards.
An amusement park was started in 1903 and a promenade built on the bay side.
In 1907, recognizing the area's uniqueness, the province drafted the Burlington Beach Act and established a Beach Commission government that existed until the strip was split in two and annexed by Hamilton and Burlington in 1958.
By 1910, there were many summer residents and land was becoming scarce. Many of the cottages were late- Victorian architectural gems built in the 1890s by wealthy families in Hamilton and Burlington.
Between 1920 and 1950, the area was transformed from a vacation centre to a residential community. The permanent population reached 1,116 in 1936 and peaked at 3,327 in 1956. Today, it's around 1,200.
A school was built in 1916. When it was destroyed by fire in 1950, Bell Cairn School was built and used until it closed in 1981.
By mid-century, industry ringed the bay. In 1933, the Queen Elizabeth Way was built. The Burlington Bay Skyway went up in 1956- 57.
By the 1950s and 1960s, the area boasted stores and restaurants, an amusement park, a dance hall and tourist accommodations.
Credit: The Spectator
Narrow sandy bar is long on history; [Final Edition]
John Mentek. The Spectator. Hamilton, Ont.: May 8, 1997. pg. A.8
1997 The Hamilton Spectator. All rights reserved.
Etienne Brule was probably the first French explorer to view the narrow, shining bar of sand that separated the harbour from the lake nearly 400 years ago.
It's known he came through this area in 1615 with a dozen Huron warriors, although his exact route is uncertain.
In 1669, three white men are known to have crossed the 11- kilometre (six-and-a-half-mile) sand bar and to have camped for several days on the bayshore.
They were the great French explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier de LaSalle, accompanied by two Sulpician priests, Francois Dollier de Casson and Rene de Brehant de Galinee.
The visit is recorded in Galinee's notes: "We passed the river, at the end of five days travel arrived at the extremity of the lake (Ontario), where there is a large sandy bar at the end of which is an outlet of another small lake (the bay)."
The bay was called Macassa by Indians -- meaning beautiful waters.
It was a place of pristine beauty. Just under half a kilometre wide, the sand strip shoreline on the bay side was overhung with willow trees and dotted with marshy inlets that were home to herons, loons, kingfishers, swans, speckled plovers and ducks.
Oaks, poplars and immense basswood grew further back from the shore in a tangle of wild grasses and grape vines. The waters on both sides of the sand spit teemed with perch, whitefish, trout, sturgeon, bass and salmon.
A gap in the sand bar shallow enough to wade across allowed access from the lake to the bay. As Hamilton was settled, this gap became a portage and loading zone for the tiny settlements that sprang up around the bay.
The sand strip became the main trail between the settlements of York (Toronto) and Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake).
John Graves Simcoe, governor of Upper Canada, ordered the construction of the King's Head Inn in 1794. It was a way station on the pioneer road, a depot for military stores and a rendezvous point for troops.
During the War of 1812, a pair of American schooners landed about 200 men on the Beach Strip. They ransacked the King's Head Inn and burned it to the ground.
After the war, the strip was opened up to settlement and became a major trans-shipment point for the villages of Dundas, Ancaster and Hamilton. Ships unloaded their cargo on the beach, where it was loaded onto flat-bottomed barges and poled through the gap to the settlements.
A newer, wider canal opened in 1830, crossed by a 21-metre (69- foot) swing bridge. When the bridge was later destroyed, a ferry took passengers across the water. With the canal, ships had access to one of the finest inland harbours in North America, turning the bay area and hinterland into a major social and commercial centre.
Over the years, taverns and inns were built to accommodate holiday visitors. Regular steamboat service from Toronto and Hamilton brought visitors to the strip.
Dynes Tavern -- still on the beach today and the oldest operating tavern in Ontario -- was built in 1846.
Population on the Beach Strip remained sparse, however, until people began turning it to recreational uses after the 1850s. Duck hunting and fishing were popular.
A limestone lighthouse built in 1857-58 is still standing by the ship canal.
The province gave Hamilton the right to sell land along the Beach Strip in 1874 and extensive recreational and summer residences sprang up. A railway built in 1876 made the beach accessible and use increased.
Luxury hotels sprang up. The beach became a mecca for summer holiday fun, offering activities like rowing, sunbathing, swimming, sailing, strolling along the piers and boardwalks, riding the steamers, dining, bowling, playing pool and billiards.
An amusement park was started in 1903 and a promenade built on the bay side.
In 1907, recognizing the area's uniqueness, the province drafted the Burlington Beach Act and established a Beach Commission government that existed until the strip was split in two and annexed by Hamilton and Burlington in 1958.
By 1910, there were many summer residents and land was becoming scarce. Many of the cottages were late- Victorian architectural gems built in the 1890s by wealthy families in Hamilton and Burlington.
Between 1920 and 1950, the area was transformed from a vacation centre to a residential community. The permanent population reached 1,116 in 1936 and peaked at 3,327 in 1956. Today, it's around 1,200.
A school was built in 1916. When it was destroyed by fire in 1950, Bell Cairn School was built and used until it closed in 1981.
By mid-century, industry ringed the bay. In 1933, the Queen Elizabeth Way was built. The Burlington Bay Skyway went up in 1956- 57.
By the 1950s and 1960s, the area boasted stores and restaurants, an amusement park, a dance hall and tourist accommodations.
Credit: The Spectator