The Caledonia Dam , also known as the Grand River Dam , is a dam on the Grand River constructed upstream from the Caledonia Bridge in Caledonia, Ontario , Canada.
48-764: The first Caledonia Dam was constructed between 1836 and 1842 by the Grand River Navigation Company. The contractor, Ranald McKinnon , is known as Caledonia's founder because of his role in the building of this dam. Known as Dam #4, Caledonia also housed Lock #4 also built by the Navigation Company. The dams located along the Grand River provided boat access from the mouth of the Grand all the way to Brantford , providing an easy route for travelers and scows for shipping. Navigation on
96-706: A Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Caledonia, Ontario. They played in the Golden Horseshoe Conference of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League in 2023 but ultimately lost the final game against Hamilton 4 to 0. They became a Junior B team when the Brantford Eagles were transplanted, renamed and replaced the original Caledonia Corvairs (1961–2012) . All hockey activities take place in
144-532: A conservative when the predecessor died in office in 1851 but lost the election. He became Caledonia's first Reeve shortly after in 1853. After several financial setbacks due to numerous of his business ventures burning down, McKinnon found himself in hard times. One of the last acts of his life was about 1875, when he attempted to have a steel bridge replace the pre-existing wooden one. Ranald McKinnon ("Town Father" of Caledonia) died October 18th, 1879, at age 79. Only those populations which compose more than 1% of
192-456: A dam in Seneca and a dam in Caledonia. Completed in 1835, the dams made water power available with the accompanying lock, and excavation finished early in the following year. Mills sprung up all over Seneca village, and five mills were built in Caledonia by 1850. One was renamed Caledonia Mill , which has been rebuilt and is now used for office space. In 1835, William Bryant was the first to own
240-448: A demolition derby, many magic shows and small concerts, rides for people of all ages, an event where local high schools compete for school spirit called 'High School Challenge', Touch-a-Truck, a display of classic cars, and more. The night, typically in the later half of November, is when the town's Christmas lights are turned on and celebrated in the Caledonia fair grounds where the children meet Santa Claus. The Caledonia Corvairs are
288-701: A residential subdivision to be known as the Douglas Creek Estates. It is part of the 385,000-hectare plot of land originally known as the "Haldimand Tract" , which was granted, in 1784, by the Crown to the Six Nations of the Grand River , for their use in settlement. Henco argues that the Six Nations surrendered their rights to the land in 1841, and Henco later purchased it from the Crown. The Six Nations, however, maintain that their title to
336-539: A road of 23 feet in width and a 6 foot sidewalk on each side. Upon completion of the construction, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held along with a parade and political speeches in the Caledonia Opera House . On May 20, 1980, four years before the town would open a by-pass around the town, they began work on bridge repairs simultaneously with repairs to the Caledonia Dam . Travel across the bridge
384-504: A series of ferries were arranged to transport people from the North to the South and vice versa. On March 6 of 1834, the proposal of a plank wood road stretching from Hamilton to Port Dover succeeded. The Hager brothers were brought into the area for construction of the original bridge, construction a wooden bridge with a swing section in 1842 and completing the project in 1843. This resulted in
432-531: A series of fires leveled many buildings in the area. McQuarry, Thorburn and Monroe went bankrupt by 1880, and the Caledonia Mill was taken over by Robert Shirra, which remained active until 1960. A high school was built in 1924, remaining in use until 1991, when McKinnon Park Secondary School was constructed. It currently houses River Heights Public School. In 1927, the Grand River Bridge
480-498: A tavern in town. Official deeds to the lands early settlers occupied were not provided until 1850; however, they did have bills of sale. There was a high concentration of Scottish immigrants, and as such, many of Caledonia's streets are named in honour of this. Most notably, the main street is named "Argyle" after the example of Glasgow in Scotland. The Hamilton to Port Dover plank road was brought through Caledonia in 1838. A bridge
528-451: A town hall was made in 1854 and was discussed for several months until over a year later the council decided to spend a "sum of Eight hundred pounds to build a Town Hall and public Lockup house." The town hall was built in 1857 and officially opened on January 18, 1858. At the time of its completion, John Scott was the Reeve of Caledonia, James Aldridge was the town clerk, and Thomas Belford was
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#1732787719502576-737: Is located within kinsmen park, next to the Caledonia Lions Pool. The second is located next to the local hockey arena, the Haldimand County Caledonia Centre. There is also a park featuring six baseball diamonds at 161 Greens Road, Caledonia, ON called Henning Park. There is a public basketball court located in McKinnon Park next to the Caledonia Skate Park. Additionally, a youth basketball league, Haldimand Huskies, operates using
624-869: Is now an unincorporated community in Ward 3 of Haldimand County. The current mayor of Haldimand County is Shelly Ann Bentley, and the elected councillor for Ward 3 (Caledonia) is Dan Lawrence. Public education in Caledonia is administered by the Grand Erie District School Board and the Catholic schools by the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board . Schools located in Caledonia include: Students eligible to attend secondary school in Caledonia have two significant options. They can attend McKinnon Park Secondary School within
672-463: Is still maintained by the GRCA today. When constructed a provision for a boat lock was made so that, if in the future the GRCA wished to make the Grand River navigable once again only a small amount of construction would need to be undertaken on the dam structure. The dam was built with fish ladders to allow fish migration up the river as far as Brantford and a clay blanket to control the water seepage under
720-554: Is the only facility operating in Caledonia that offers a suitable environment for gymnastics. It can be found behind the Haldimand County Caledonia Centre at 10 Kinross Street, Caledonia, ON. Cemeteries in Caledonia include: Grand River Bridge (Ontario) The Caledonia Bridge , also known as the Grand River Bridge (built 1927) is a road bridge located in Caledonia, Ontario , Canada on Argyle Street. The bridge
768-855: Is the only nine-span bridge of its kind in Canada and is considered the first reinforced concrete bridge of its type ever built. The bridge is on the Ontario Heritage Bridge List and is designated by the Haldimand County LACAC (Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee). The bridge is scheduled to be replaced by a new bridge due to structural damage and age. A number of bridge deficiencies were found requiring action. The condition included structural deficiencies, structural deterioration, insufficient roadside safety, foundation problems and inadequate hydraulics. The engineering consulting firm Morrison Hershfield
816-400: Is the second oldest building in Caledonia, Ontario, still standing; the first being Haldimand House. The toll house was there when the original iron bridge collapsed and the new concrete one (still used today) was built. With the historic Caledonia Bridge in need of complete replacement, the beautiful historic toll house, which is currently a home and business, has been appropriated as part of
864-811: The McKinnon Park Secondary School gym. A public skate park is located within McKinnon Park across the street from McKinnon Park Secondary School . Public tennis courts are located within the Caledonia Kinsmen Park. The only place for golf in Caledonia is the MontHill Golf & Country Club, which replaced the previous Hagan farm. It currently features 3, 9-hole courses for a total of 27 holes of varying difficulties and can be found at 4925 Highway 6, Caledonia, ON. Caledonia & Grand River Gymmise Gymnastics & Trampoline Club, locally referred to as 'Gymmies,'
912-675: The Rideau Canal System. On March 3, 1835, he married his first cousin, Euphemia McKinnon, who was 22 years old at the time. The pair would go on to have nine children. McKinnon was very involved in the community. He was the Treasurer of the Presbyterian Church for a time. In 1850 he petitioned that Caledonia be made its own township that would be absorbed into the county of Wentworth but nothing came of this. He ran for Haldimand County 's member of parliament as
960-571: The Caledonia Bridge was designated as a Canadian Heritage Bridge as the oldest bridge of its type. More major repairs were conducted on the bridge through the Summer and Fall a year later, this time the bridge only remained open for south-bound traffic. The bridge has, in recent years, had a set of traffic lights installed at either end to ensure that no traffic is on the bridge at the same time as any fire engines due to growing concerns over
1008-477: The Grand slowed around 1879 and many of the Navigation Company dams fell into disrepair in the years following. The first Caledonia Dam also provided enough run of mill to allow water-powered mills to be constructed along the banks of the Grand in Caledonia. Ranald McKinnon built a gristmill , saw mill, and woollen (textile) Mill on the North side of the river, and James Little built the Caledonia Mill on
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#17327877195021056-642: The Haldimand County Caledonia Centre. It is primarily used for the local minor hockey league, Caledonia Thunder, public skates and for the Caledonia Corvairs . Located opposite the Avalon development at 62 McClung Rd is the Caledonia Soccer Complex where the local Haldimand Soccer Club operates its youth soccer programs. There are two public baseball diamonds located in Caledonia, Ontario, that are not on school property. The first
1104-587: The Ministry of Transportation's plan to replace it. The toll house is presently a private residence. The Caledonia Fair takes place on the fourth weekend after Labour Day at the Caledonia Fair Grounds at 151 Caithness St. E., Caledonia, ON. At the Fair, one can find a collection of farm animals, local art pieces and cooking all on display. There are also several events during the duration, including
1152-486: The Seneca Bridge. Two temporary bridges were constructed between 1861 and 1874. Many people returned to the ferrying system or even resorted to rowboats to cross the river during the 4 years it took to complete construction on the temporary bridge. The last temporary bridge was replaced by a new, state of the art, 5 span iron bridge in 1875 designed by Mr. A.J. Brown. The iron being formed at Scott's Foundry located on
1200-637: The Town of Haldimand designated the Caledonia Town Hall as a heritage building. The building currently houses the Edinburgh Square Heritage and Culture Centre, a museum preserving the local area's history. The museum holds events throughout the year in partnership with the other county museums, Wilson MacDonald Memorial School Museum and Haldimand County Heritage Centre , in addition to summer camps. The Caledonia Toll House
1248-468: The bridge. This bridge lasted until 1925 when a truck carrying a load of stone collapsed an entire span. A group of children were swimming underneath the bridge when the incident took place and the truck driver personally saved the lives of five or more children. In 1926 Construction started on a new bridge. The bridge was to be nine-spans, the first of its type in Canada. built with iron-reinforced concrete
1296-402: The building of two Caledonia landmarks; Haldimand House : A Stagecoach-Inn, and the first Caledonia Bridge. This first bridge was wooden, with no pedestrian sidewalk, with wooden walls on either side for protection. Caledonia's Grand River Sachem reported the collapse of this bridge in 1861, stating that the "Spring Freshet" took out the bridge, damaged the Caledonia Dam and wiped away most of
1344-402: The constable and keeper. Edinburgh Square was designed as a town hall with jail cells in the basement. The town hall was also intended to house a meat market in the basement. In addition, the second-floor hall was used for various purposes, from public events to Boy Scout meetings. In 1914 the library books had all been stored in the basement and the library was only reestablished in 1935 through
1392-533: The dam. Caledonia, Ontario#Ranald McKinnon Caledonia is a community located on the Grand River in Haldimand County , Ontario , Canada. It had a population of 12,179 as of the 2021 Canadian Census . Caledonia is within Ward 3 of Haldimand County. The Councillor elected for Ward 3 is Dan Lawrence. As of 2021, there were 4,310 private dwellings in Caledonia. Caledonia is located at
1440-414: The eastern corner of Edinburgh Square and Caithness Street. The iron bridge had a wooden floor, a wooden wall on one side and one sidewalk, the wood being cut at Ranald McKinnon 's sawmill. A toll house was also constructed on the north side of the bridge, to pay off the more than $ 22,000.00 debt the town had incurred building the bridge. During the 1900's, the town also ran power, gas and phone lines under
1488-544: The hard work of Laura and Harold Senn. When the library was reestablished, it remained within the town hall until the new Caledonia Public Library was opened in 1967. The town hall was built by Mr. John Turner, a British immigrant who was residing in Brantford at the time. Mr. Turner also designed the courthouses in St. Thomas and Simcoe, St. Basil's Roman Catholic Church and Park Baptist Church in Brantford. On January 25, 1982,
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1536-452: The intersection of Highway 6 and Haldimand Highway 54 (within the town, these streets are called Argyle Street and Caithness Street respectively) on the Grand River . Caledonia was once a small strip of land between Seneca and Oneida villages. The Oneida village was started by the Grand River Navigation Company, which laid out the village of Oneida on the south side of the Grand River. The Oneida village plot originally contained 16 acres and
1584-579: The land was never relinquished. The Grand River land dispute continued with 1492 Land Back Lane , protests occurring during 2020 and 2021. McKinnon was born in Ardelum, Scotland, on September 11, 1801. He came to Masonville, New York with his paternal grandparents, Malcolm McKinnon, his wife and a number of siblings. He worked in Virginia and Kentucky until 1820, when the family moved to Trafalgar , Esquesing and Vaughan . At 24, he began working on
1632-558: The new bridge carried two lanes of traffic and had a pedestrian sidewalk on either side. The entire construction, including the destruction of the previous bridge, was completed in a total of 140 days and was completed by the department of public Highways of Ontario. Work began in June 1927 and completed in November of 1927. The bridge was completed with each span measuring 72 feet and 7 inches long, hand rails measuring 700 feet from end to end,
1680-665: The original Caledonia dam was gradually replaced with a new concrete dam, built by the Caledonia Milling Co. Ltd. This dam broke in 1979, and was replaced with the current dam in 1980. The new dam was built farther downstream, since it was no longer needed to run mills on the river. Both the remaining Mills had closed in 1964, and the North Mill had burned in 1969. The 1980 dam was built by the Grand River Conservation Authority , and
1728-421: The population have been included. As of the 2021 census, 11,510 citizens spoke English only, 10 spoke only French, 595 spoke both official languages, and 60 spoke neither. As of the 2021 census, 6,725 citizens were identified as Christian, 405 people identified as Muslim and 4,695 as non-religious and secular perspectives. Religious buildings in Caledonia include: The first Reeve of the village of Caledonia
1776-429: The south side. At the start of the 20th century, the ownership of Caledonia's dam was split between the two milling companies at the time: The Caledonia Milling Co. Ltd. who owned the South mill, and The Shirra Milling Co. who owned the north mill. When the dam broke in 1928, The Shirra Milling Co. could not afford their share of repairs and so a deal was worked out with the Caledonia Milling Co. Ltd. Between 1928 and 1930
1824-419: The succeeding by-election, Ranald McKinnon ran for office but was ultimately defeated by William Lyon MacKenzie . In 1853, Caledonia was incorporated as a village, when the villages of Oneida and Seneca were amalgamated, and later as a town. Ranald McKinnon was the village's first Reeve. By 1860, the Grand River Navigation Company was bankrupt, and their land was sold to different organizations. Seneca village
1872-404: The town into bankrupting itself to ensure it happened. He became director of the line in 1873. The wooden railway bridge, a local landmark, spanned the Grand River and opened on September 22, 1873, allowing railway travel from Hamilton to Jarvis and later to Port Dover. A 'Railway Hotel' was built where the current train station sits, and after a series of detrimental fires, the current train station
1920-539: The town or take a bus to the neighbouring Cayuga Secondary School . Students eligible to attend secondary school in Caledonia have only one option if they are seeking a Catholic education: Assumption College School in Brantford, Ontario . Students who choose this option are bussed to Brantford each day. Previous to the town hall's construction, council meetings were held at the house of John Campbell (the local inn) and in other makeshift quarters. The first mention of
1968-631: Was Ranald McKinnon in 1853, and the town hall finished construction in 1858. On April 1, 1974, the town was amalgamated into the new town of Haldimand within the Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk. Although the largest community in Haldimand, the town hall was located in nearby Cayuga. In 2001, Haldimand and all other municipalities within the region were dissolved, and the region was instead divided into two single-tier municipalities with city status but called counties. Caledonia
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2016-411: Was approached to conduct a Context Sensitive Design Workshop for the bridge. They involved stakeholders and representatives from the public to participate in the bridge design to address various environmental aspects of the project. Completion of the bridge was tentatively scheduled for 2012, but as of 2024, minimal work has been done towards its replacement. Before the construction of the first bridge,
2064-494: Was built across the river in Caledonia and Seneca in 1842. When first constructed, a stagecoach travelled to both Hamilton and Port Dover daily. These wooden bridges lasted around 19 years before the ice on the river swept them away. The Seneca Bridge was never rebuilt. As of 2011, the Grand River Bridge built in 1927 serves Caledonia's traffic. In 1846, David Thompson of Ruthven became the first Member of Parliament for Haldimand County and died in office five years later in 1851. In
2112-425: Was built, unique as the only nine-span bridge of its kind in Canada and the first reinforced concrete bridge of its type ever constructed. During these years, the town also saw the opening of an Opera House and the construction of St. Paul's Anglican Church. James Little, the founder of Haldimand House , ensured that the ongoing railroad project was routed through Caledonia instead of Cayuga and heavily influenced
2160-648: Was failing; many people from Seneca moved to Caledonia, and navigation on the river ended by 1880. A new way of transportation arrived around 1883; the Grand Trunk Railway passed through Caledonia. Oneida had become part of Caledonia, and the town limits were expanding. In 1875 the Caledonia Dam was sold to milling companies in the area from the Haldimand Navigation company however several of those companies fell into hard times after
2208-418: Was named after the township where it began. In 1835, the same company started the village of Seneca about a mile down the river from Oneida on the opposite side of the Grand River. It was named "Seneca Village" after the township in which it began. The Grand River passed through Caledonia, dividing it into two sides, North and South. In 1834, Ranald McKinnon was hired by the Grand River Navigation Company to build
2256-467: Was opened on September 30, 1908. As new technology made the train station rather obsolete, it fell into a sad state of disrepair. It was only restored in November 1997 after a businessman, Ron Clark, saved the property. In 2006, the Grand River land dispute involving First Nation land claims brought Caledonia to national attention. The land at the centre of the dispute in Caledonia covers 40 hectares , which Henco Industries Ltd. planned to develop as
2304-401: Was restricted to one lane from 8 a.m. until late in the afternoon during construction, causing excessive pile-ups on both highways 6 and 54 and sidewalks were restricted similarly. More extensive repairs were conducted in 1984 when construction of the by-pass was finished. Talk of a new bridge largely began by 2003 while others began brainstorming plans to preserve the historic bridge. In 2007,
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