The Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario: address. (1923)

The Public Ownership League of America Conference, September 10th to 13th, 1923, at Toronto, Ontario.

Niagara-Welland Power Company Limited fonds, 1833, 1852, 1904-1906, 1909, n.d.

The Welland Power and Supply Canal Company Limited, established in 1893 and incorporated in 1894 with a capital stock of $500,000. The aim of the company was to harness the natural water supply of the Niagara and Welland Rivers. In 1898 the Canadian Electrical News published a report by Henry Symons, QC outlining the main project of the company. This project involves the construction of a canal from the Welland River to the brow of the mountain at Thorold, a distance of 8 miles; the construction at Thorold of a power house, and from Thorold to Lake Ontario, a raceway by which to carry water into the lake. The estimate for the machinery to generate 100,000 horse power is £125,000; for transmission line to Toronto at a voltage of 10,000….The total estimate therefore amounts to £2,452,162, or roughly speaking, $12,000,000. Source: Canadian Electrical News, August 1898, p. 172. In 1899 the company officers petitioned the federal government desiring a name change to the Niagara-Welland Power Company Limited. Officers of the company were Harry Symons, President; Charles A. Hesson, Vice-President; and M.R. O’Loughlin, James B. Sheehan, James S. Haydon, Frederick K. Foster, directors; John S. Campbell, secretary-treasurer. The company’s head offices were located in St. Catharines, with a New York (City) office on Broad Street. In 1905 and 1909 the company petitioned the federal government for additional time to construct its works, which was granted. The company had until May 16, 1915 to complete construction. John S. Campbell (1860-1950) was a graduate of the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall. During his university years John began his military career first in "K" Company, Queens Own rifles and then later as Commanding Officer of the 19th Lincoln Regiment, from 1906 to 1910. Upon his return to St. Catharines John Campbell served as secretary in the St. Catharines Garrison Club, a social club for military men begun in 1899. After being called to the Bar, he became a partner in the firm of Campbell and McCarron and was appointed to the bench in 1916, serving until retirement in 1934. Judge Campbell served as an alderman for several terms and was the mayor of St. Catharines in 1908 and 1909. He also served as the first chairman of the St. Catharines Public Utilities in 1914. John S. Campbell was married to Elizabeth Oille, daughter of Jerome B. and Charlotte (St. John) Oille. The family home "Cruachan" was located at 32 Church St.

Canadian Niagara Power Company fonds

Power at the Falls: The first recorded harnessing of Niagara Falls power was in 1759 by Daniel Joncairs. On the American side of the Falls he dug a small ditch and drew water to turn a wheel which powered a sawmill. In 1805 brothers Augustus and Peter Porter expanded on Joncairs idea. They bought the American Falls from New York State at public auction. Using Joncairs old site they built a gristmill and tannery which stayed in business for twenty years. The next attempt at using the Falls came in 1860 when construction of the hydraulic canal began by the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing Co. The canal was complete in 1861 and brought water from the Niagara river, above the falls, to the mills below. By 1881 the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing Co. had a small generating station which provided some electricity to the village of Niagara Falls and the Mills. This lasted only four years and then the company sold its assets at public auction due to bankruptcy. Jacob Schoellkopf arrived at the Falls in 1877 with the purchase of the hydraulic canal land and water and power rights. In 1879 Schoellkopf teamed up with Charles Brush (of Euclid Ohio) and powered Brush’s generator and carbon arc lights with the power from his water turbines, to illuminate the Falls electrically for the first time. The year 1895 marked the opening of the Adam No. 1 generating station on the American side. The station was the beginnings of modern electrical utility operations. The design and operations of the generating station came from worldwide competitions held by panels of experts. Some who were involved in the project include; George Westinghouse, J. Pierpont Morgan, Lord Kelvin and Nikoli Tesla. The plants were operated by the Niagara Falls Power Company until 1961, when the Robert Moses Plant began operation in Lewiston, NY. The Adams plants were demolished that same year and the site used as a sewage treatment plant. The Canadian side of the Falls began generating their own power on January 1, 1905. This power came from the William Birch Rankine Power Station located 500 yards above the Horseshoe Falls. This power station provided the village of Fort Erie with its first electricity in 1907, using its two 10,000 electrical horsepower generators. Today 11 generators produce 100,000 horsepower (75 megawatts) and operate as part of the Niagara Mohawk and Fortis Incorporated Power Group.

Hydro Electric Commission of Niagara Falls Ontario Scrapbook, 1936-1939, 1943-1951

Sir Adam Beck ( a London, Ontario manufacturer, Mayor and Conservative member of the provincial legislature) was a champion of municipal and provincial power ownership. Beck become the “Power Minister” and chairman of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario which was the world’s first publicly owned utility. In 1925 the first unit of the Hydro Electric Power Commission’s Queenston Chippawa hydro-electric development on the Niagara River went into service. The station was renamed in 1950 as “Sir Adam Beck #1”. This marked the 25th anniversary of Beck’s death. This is one of 2 generating stations in Niagara Falls. There is also Adam Beck Plant #2. The Niagara generating stations supply one quarter of all power used in New York State and Ontario.Ontario Hydro has two water tunnels which traverse the entire City of Niagara Falls from the Village of Chippawa in the South to the Sir Adam Beck Hydro Electric Generating Stations in the North. Also they are in the process of building the third tunnel. In addition, Ontario Hydro has a 13.6 km open canal which traverses the entire City of Niagara Falls. Source: http://www.hydroone.com/OurCompany/Pages/OurHistory.aspx

Information for visitors /

Caption title.

Niagara in London : a brief study from many standpoints /

Issued with the Business Men's Association, Niagara Falls, N. Y. The water-power of the Falls of Niagara applied to manufacturing purposes. Buffalo, 1890.

Office of the City Clerk, St. Catharines Records, 1928-1974, n.d.

The site of present-day St. Catharines was settled by 3000 United Empire Loyalists at the end of the 18th century. From 1790, the settlement (then known as "The Twelve") grew as an agricultural community. St. Catharines was once referred to Shipman's Corners after Paul Shipman, owner of a tavern that was an important stagecoach transfer point. In 1815, leading businessman William Hamilton Merritt abandoned his wharf at Queenston and set up another at Shipman's Corners. He became involved in the construction and operation of several lumber and gristmills along Twelve Mile Creek. Shipman's Corners soon became the principal milling site of the eastern Niagara Peninsula. At about the same time, Merritt began to develop the salt springs that were discovered along the river which subsequently gave the village a reputation as a health resort. By this time St. Catharines was the official name of the village; the origin of the name remains obscure, but is thought to be named after Catharine Askin Robertson Hamilton, wife of the Hon. Robert Hamilton, a prominent businessman. Merritt devised a canal scheme from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario that would provide a more reliable water supply for the mills while at the same time function as a canal. He formed the Welland Canal Company, and construction took place from 1824 to 1829. The canal and the mills made St. Catharines the most important industrial centre in Niagara. By 1845, St. Catharines was incorporated as a town, with the town limits extending in 1854. Administrative and political functions were added to St. Catharines in 1862 when it became the county seat of Lincoln. In 1871, construction began on the third Welland Canal, which attracted additional population to the town. As a consequence of continual growth, the town limits were again extended. St. Catharines attained city status in 1876 with its larger population and area. Manufacturing became increasingly important in St. Catharines in the early 1900s with the abundance of hydro-electric power, and its location on important land and water routes. The large increase in population after the 1900s was mainly due to the continued industrialization and urbanization of the northern part of the city and the related expansion of business activity. The fourth Welland Canal was opened in 1932 as the third canal could no longer accommodate the larger ships. The post war years and the automobile brought great change to the urban form of St. Catharines. St. Catharines began to spread its boundaries in all directions with land being added five times during the 1950s. The Town of Merritton, Village of Port Dalhousie and Grantham Township were all incorporated as part of St. Catharines in 1961. In 1970 the Province of Ontario implemented a regional approach to deal with such issues as planning, pollution, transportation and services. As a result, Louth Township on the west side of the city was amalgamated, extending the city's boundary to Fifteen Mile Creek. With its current population of 131,989, St. Catharines has become the dominant centre of the Niagara region. Source: City of St. Catharines website http://www.stcatharines.ca/en/governin/HistoryOfTheCity.asp (January 27, 2011)

Electrical Development Company of Ontario certificate of stock ownership, ca. 1910.

The Electrical Development Company of Ontario was created in 1903. It was one of three private power companies that had water power leases with the Niagara Parks Commission, but was the only one that was financed with Canadian capital. The company built the Toronto Power Generating Station at Niagara Falls beginning in 1906, and the power house was completed in 1913. During the construction, there was much debate about whether the utility should remain privately operated or become a public utility. In 1920, the company became part of the public utility.

Image of Niagara Falls n.d.

In 1818 Parkhurst Whitney built stairs leading to the river’s edge at Prospect Point. In 1825 Porter Brother replaced that staircase with a spiral one. In 1844 Whitney started a water powered incline railway there although the staircase was also used until 1890. In 1906 the water wheel was replaced by an electric power plant. There were lower buildings which included Shadow of the Rock which was a concession stand and also rented raincoats to the tourists. This was destroyed by fire and ice in 1892 and replaced by a chalet-style building in 1894-95. On July 6th, 1907 a cable on the incline railway broke. One person was killed and several sustained injuries. An elevator was constructed and it opened in January of 1910. It was condemned in 1954 when water entered the shaft, this was at the time of the collapse of Prospect Point which occurred at 4:50 pm. on July 28, 1954. This photograph was taken prior to 1954. Today the New York State Observation Tower stands at Prospect Point and The Maid of the Mist boat ride is available from the base of the tower. with information from: Niagara Falls Canada: a History by the Kiwanis Club of Stamford, Ontario

Brochure - Hydro Golden Jubilee - (1906-1956) 50 Years of Progress

A brochure for Ontario Hydro marking the 50 year Jubilee. The brochure also describes the change over from 25 cycle to 60 cycle service. A map details the areas that have made the change to 60 cycle power and those still waiting to transition. There is also a section of eight questions and answers concerning the change to 60 cycle power.