Indigenous peoples called the Mississaugas and Haudenosanee travelled to and fro over the forested area to hunt and to fish in the waters of Ontario which means "sparkling water".
Next the area was transformed by piecemeal settlement in the late 1700s when United Empire Loyalists moved in after being granted land rights by the British Crown. Deforestation began and agricultural activity ramped up along with it.
An early industrial town called Dundas was established at the mouth of Spencer's Creek based around a mill at Crook's Hollow, but the town's growth and long term success was hindered by the expense of building and maintaining a canal to reach the lake.
Eventually the city of Hamilton overtook Dundas due to its more favourable location on the shore of the beautiful natural harbour now called Hamilton Harbour. The industrialization of Hamilton Harbour during the pre-War and post-War period is a sad tale of pollution and short term consumption. The entire shoreline of Hamilton Harbour which included miles of wetlands has been lost to coal piles and slag from steelmaking.
The area is beginning to recover so I'm trying to do my little tiny part starting where I live, and starting with the soil under my feet.
With that said, welcome to Hamilton. This is my dwelling place. My home is a small post-war house constructed on a former farmer's field. The land may have had orchards or other crops on it for a hundred years or so before they plunked my house down here. Let's see how much goodness I can coax out of this little bit of Earth!
