Professor Mark Csele's Home Page
E-Mail the Author"What is there to do in Niagara?". I'd like to share a few of my favourite places in the Niagara region and surrounding area - places within a day's drive. Of course being a history buff most of the places I like are historical in nature and some are lesser-known gems.
I was born at an interesting time and in an interesting place in terms of contrast. The year man landed on the moon we were still receiving milk via a horse-drawn wagon rolling down Grove Street where we lived (Sunnyside dairy, with their yellow and blue milk wagons, delivered in this manner up until the early 1970s). In the morning, fresh milk would be waiting in glass bottles in our milk box (betcha haven't seen those in a while).
Many of the photos are many years old and so changes many have occurred over the years.
Places to See in the Niagara Region ...
Welland, where Niagara College's main campus is located, is right in the center of the Niagara region and so is about a half-hour from just about everything ... half hour to lake Erie, half-hour to lake Ontario. As such, there are a number of interesting places to visit within a hour or so of the city. I've outlined a few of my favourites here ...
Marshville
Located in the small village of Wainfleet (about 30 minutes from Welland like everything else in the region) is this historic village featuring various buildings from the 1700's and 1800's including several dwellings, a barn, a one-room schoolhouse, a general store, a printing shop, and a woodworking shop. Marshville opens it's doors once a year during the Marshville festival.
The old stone house dating back to 1790 was one of the original in the area. The fireplace was the sole source of heat for warmth as well as cooking in this 18 by 20 foot building.
This sawmill, dating back to 1833, is steam-powered and still operates (for example, during the Marshville heritage festival). The boiler is new but authentic-looking enough (modern safety regulations require better than the old single-lap boiler) - the rest of the mill is original.
Dundurn Castle
Originally built on farm land, Dundurn castle was built in 1835 by Sir Allan MacNab. This beautifully-furnished seventy-two room mansion features guided tours covering the entire building including the living areas, servants areas, and service areas such as the brewery and kitchen. On the day of our tour, they were serving cookies made from an original recipe in the wood stove. The kitchen is still lit with gas lights today! The basement is perhaps the most interesting place in the mansion since it gives a true picture of what mid-1800's life was like.
The grand foyer features a curved staircase made from black walnut. The entire castle is similarly attired. My favourite room is the den with bold wood bookcases and oak wood panelling.
For more information go to the Dundurn castle page at My Hamilton. While in Hamilton, you also might like the Museum of Steam and Technology featuring working 70-ton walking beam engines which once pumped water for the city.
Buffalo Naval and Military Park
The Naval Park in Buffalo (less than a 1 hour drive from Welland) houses three world-war two era warships.
The USS Sullivans is a destroyer which saw action in WWII and Korea. The 376 foot long vessel was commissioned in 1943 and had a full complement of 310 men. A well laid-out walking tour route takes visitors just about everywhere in the ship (tours like this, allowing visitors essentially everywhere, are rare).
The USS Croaker is a Gato-class submarine originally commissioned in 1944 and converted to a hunter-killer sub in 1953. The claustrophobic diesel-electric sub is 306 feet long and had a full complement of 81 men (for which I only saw three heads ... hmmmm). Finally, the USS Little Rock, at 610 feet in length, is a guided missile light cruiser with a full complement of 1400 men. Originally launched as a light cruiser in 1945 the ship was converted to carry and launch Talos missiles in 1960.
For more information go to www.buffalonavalpark.org. The entire park has undergone a massive rejuvenation recently (along with the revitalization of the Buffalo waterfront) and the new museum promises to be quite a sight! This place is a real gem
Wineries
The north side of the region contains numerous wineries with most offering free tours as well as tastings - there are so many new wineries popping-up in the area its hard to keep track of which you've seen! Some of the tours I have taken have been extremely informative and as an amateur winemaker I have taken an interest in production techniques and processes.
As a huge fan of Niagara wines I love trying new selections. Aside from a few German Rieslings, Niagara's are probably the best anywhere with my favorite being Cave Springs. Other noteworthy varieties of Niagara wines include vidals, merlots, and cabarnet-sauvignons. It's wonderful to see the Niagara region taking a rightful place in the world of quality wines ... a far cry from pop-wines like 'Baby Duck' when I was a kid :).
Other Gems ...
The Niagara region is full of other little gems here-and-there like Burgoyne woods in St. Catharines (a place my parents took us as kids), strolling through historic Niagara-on-the-lake, the carousel at Lakeside Park in old Port Dalhousie (which you can still ride for five cents), hiking at St. John's conservation area or Balls Falls in Pelham, Picking your own strawberries or pumpkins at one of many farms, Queen Victoria Park in Niagara Falls (also site of the Rankine Generating station - covered in a separate page on this site) and watching ships travel through the Welland canal.
Ontario Science Center, Toronto (an hour and a half drive from Niagara)
While not exactly in Niagara, the proximity of Niagara to Toronto allows one to take an easy day trip to many attractions there like the Ontario Science Center. As a kid I loved science and begged my parents to take us here at least once a year. The science center is interactive and features hands-on experiences and while displays have changed a great deal since the center opened about 30 years ago -unfortunately some of the 'classic' exhibits like the laser demonstration are now gone- it is still a fun place to visit (I call it 'Brain Candy' :). More on the Science Center and my recollections of other things scientific here.
For more information go to the Ontario Science Center web site. The center takes an entire day to cover.
Longer Trips ...
If you don't mind driving six hours, there are an amazing number of sights to see in the area. We camp a lot and as such we often tour sights like these using our RV as a hotel room. Most of these places are outlined on my family page detailing many of our favourite trips.
A few of my favourite places we've visited include:
The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan
A day's drive from Niagara, this is one of the largest, and best, museums of its kind covering not only the industrial period at the turn of the century but older (1700s) and newer (up to the 1970s) technologies as well. Another page on this site outlines the Newcomen engine housed there. The museum is indoors and takes a day to cover, the adjoining Greenfield village features many buildings and labs of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and contemporaries and takes another day to see. In the village, you can buy a pass to ride vintage vehicles like a Model-T and a steam train (well worth it - ever seen how a model-T is shifted ?). For more information go to the Henry Ford Museum / Greenfield Village web site.
Upper Canada Village, Morrisburg, Ontario
A village showing life in Upper Canada in 1860. Featuring three mills (one steam powered), a blacksmith shop, a general store, and a host of buildings giving visitors an excellent idea of what life was like long ago. If you're headed towards Ottawa, this is a great place to stop-over for a day.
The Diefenbunker, Carp (near Ottawa), Ontario
Canada's cold war museum, this four story underground bunker was built to house the government in the event of a nuclear war. A fascinating facility, a guided tour explains all of the finest points including the blast tunnel, gold vault, emergency escape tunnels, generators and air cleaning equipment, and an emergency broadcast studio. If you're taking a trip to Ottawa (where there are a host of attractions including the new War Museum), this is a must-see on the way. See The Official website for the Diefenbunker.
Scranton, PA
Scranton is an old industrial boom town (in its heyday from 1850 to 1900), and today as a tourist destination is a surprising place with much to do. Aside from being home to Steamtown (a National Park devoted entirely to the preservation of Steam-powered locomotives) there is also the Electric City Trolley Museum (on the same grounds as Steamtown) and the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour (where guests are carted 300 feet below the earth's surface to a once operating mine). We visited twice while camping nearby and stayed a few days - well worth the trip!
Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC
The holy grail collection of museums in the US capital city. My favourite museum is the American History museum in the basement of which is the Physics display detailing famous experiments by Cockroft & Walton as well as many particle accelerators and the Computing display detailing many early computers including ENIAC and, seen here, UNIVAC regarded as the first commercially-viable machine (it, like ENIAC, employed vacuum tubes). Other highlights include the Air & Space museum and the Smithsonian Castle containing original exhibits from a world fair over a century-old. For more information go to the Smithsonian Institution web site.
Niagara History ...
While there are a host of interesting places in Niagara to visit today, Niagara has an even more interesting history. My daughter covered the historic Niagara, St. Catharines, and Toronto railway a few years back as part of a history project and I thought it might be neat to share it here, so I present the essentials of the project as researched by Christina ...
|
Introduction The Niagara, St. Catharines, and Toronto (NS&T) was an inter-urban railway (between cities) which ran through the entire Niagara Peninsula carrying both freight and passengers. It was one of the first electric railways in Canada and was also one of the last inter-urban lines running from 1902 until 1959. The NS&T company ran everything from local street railway lines and inter-urban lines to an amusement park which they owned called Lakeside park in Port Dalhousie. Aside from trains, the NS&T also ran busses as well as steamships from Toronto to Port Dalhousie across Lake Ontario. Popular from 1902 through the 1920's, the number of passengers riding the line decreased in the 1930's and it looked like the line would close permanently like many other inter-urban lines at the time did but restrictions on travel during World War 2 made the NS&T offer passenger rail service again in the 1940's. After the war, the number of riders decreased as people used their cars and busses again and eventually the NS&T was forced to stop all passenger rail service. Freight service continued for a few more years and in 1959 all electric service was cancelled. The Early Days The NS&T was composed of three smaller railways which were joined together. These were the St. Catharines and Niagara Central Railway, the Niagara Falls, Wesley Park, and Clifton Tramway, and the St. Catharines Street Railway. St. Catharines & Niagara Central Railway The St. Catharines & Niagara Central Railway, known as the N.C.R, started out as a steam railway in 1881. Part of the NCR's early line (still being built) was temporarily used to help build the third Welland ship canal to carry construction material as early as 1884. By 1887 it was running service from Niagara Falls to Thorold and by 1888 St. Catharines was added. It was mostly a freight railway but also carried passengers. After being sold several times, in 1899 the NCR was incorporated as the N.S.&.T Railroad and there was 19.9 miles of track. It was run as a steam railway at this time. In 1900 the construction of a line from Port Dalhousie to St. Catharines started. Lines were also electrified and by 1900 power was turned on to the over head wires. It became popular immediately and lines were added to Niagara Falls and within St. Catharines. In early 1901, the Port Dalhousie line was in operation. Another small electric tramway was absorbed into the NS&T in 1901. The Niagara Falls, Wesley Park, and Clifton Tramway, was running local streetcar service around Niagara Falls. It had 4.3 miles of track. In 1902, the NS&T purchased the St. Catharines Street Railway becoming the NS&T inter-urban system. St. Catharines Street Railway The oldest portions of the NS&T system came from the St. Catharines Street Railway, a local passenger service, was developed in 1874 to serve Port Dalhousie, St. Catharines, Merriton, Thorold, and Grantham Townships, with horse-drawn railway carts. 1 horse pulled the short 10-foot body cars. The service started in 1879 and an extension of the line was made to the to the Welland Railway Station on Ontario Street, St. Catharines around 1880. The Street Railway was then sold to George Dawson and H.C. Symmes in 1892. The company thought the usage of animals to pull the cars was inefficient so they added a thin flexible wire overhead to electrify the cars beginning in 1887. By 1896 the electrical system was greatly improved. On the 10km line there were 12 motor cars running on the track. And in 1902 the Street Railway was sold to the N.S.&.T Company for $90,000! 
The NS&T Is Born … The N.S&T. grew rapidly and made plans to extend to Hamilton in 1902 but these plans were dropped. In the same year the N.S.&.T bought the Lakeside Navigation Co. and developed Lakeside Park in Port Dalhousie which had 200,000 visitors from the boats and the electric cars running there. The Railway was then sold to a Toronto group in 1903. N.S.&.T income was split from both freight & passenger service. In 1905, 50% of the money that was made came from the freight service. In 1907 the NS&T expanded into Fonthill and by 1911 made it to Port Colborne. In 1908 the Canadian Northern Railway controlled the N.S.&.T. The usage of steam powered locomotives for freight on the line came to a stop with an all-electric line in 1912. In 1913 the N.S.&.T serviced 60 industries on the lines so they could deliver the freight they carried on special cars. Bad times took their toll and by 1918 the Government of Canada controlled the railway. The government-owned C.N.R. (Canadian National Railway) planned a major expansion around 1921 and in 1922 Lakeside Park doubled in size to 12 acres. Plans were then made to connect to the North Toronto station and to run around Hamilton Bay but these plans were not carried through. In 1923 a new terminal was built between Welland Ave. and Geneva St. in St. Catharines. The N.S.&.T built the 2 biggest interurban lines and spent $2.5 million dollars on modernisation in 1923. In 1925 a new station was built in the centre of King St., St. Catharines and in 1926 the Welland Division had plans to extend to Crystal Beach and Fort Erie, but these plans were never put into action. In Port Colborne, the old train station at Elm and Kent streets was closed and a new station at King Street built in 1926. The NS&T tracks were then moved to stop at the new station. Electrification was not totally complete until 1925 when the Merriton to Port Dalhousie east line was electrified. Originally built in 1859 by the Welland Railway, it was the oldest line on the system and was used to transport freight from ships. In those days, the shallowness of the Welland canal meant that a heavy ship had to unload part of its cargo to a train at Port Dalhousie, go through the canal and locks, and be reloaded later down the canal. Cars bound for Port Colborne were scheduled to meet at Electric Park, stop 19, in Welland where they could pass one another. Around 1926-1929 the N.S.&.T's tracks were temporarily used to help build the Welland Canal carrying cement. In 1927 the N.S.&.T carried mail, passengers, and express freight on their tracks. In 1937 the Merriton Station was closed and busses took over the local lines because the busses were more efficient. More people started to ride busses and the N.S.&.T was not ridden as much for passenger service. In 1940 the Tower Inn terminal in Niagara Falls was closed and passenger service on the Niagara Falls main line was closed. During World War 2, restrictions were made on motor transport in order to conserve gas and rubber needed for the war effort, so people rode the N.S.&.T more and the N.S.&.T's express business car trip was doubled. In 1942 the Niagara Falls main line was re-opened. By the end of the war, cars were getting old and equipment needed repair badly. While passenger traffic was falling, freight was still doing well and in 1946, 400 cars of freight were handled each day! Finally in 1947 the main line to Niagara Falls was again closed, permanently. Busses now ran to Niagara Falls instead of trains. N.S.&.T lines were removed due to lack of traffic in 1951. In 1956 the mail shipment stopped from Merriton to Port Colborne. Sadly in 1959 all passenger service ended. In 1960 the regular freight operations were handled by the C.N.R. using diesel locomotives and the N.S.&.T ceased to exist.
Lakeside Park Long before the N.S&T. existed, there were steamships bringing passengers from Toronto to the beaches at Port Dalhousie. In 1884 steam ships owned by the Lakeside Navigation company ran across the lake carrying passengers. Lakeside Park was located in Port Dalhousie. By 1901, the N.S.&.T had tracks running to a pier which had steam ships running from Toronto to Port Dalhousie. This allowed passengers from Toronto to travel outside Port Dalhousie and allowed local people from the Niagara area to go to the beach. This was good for the NS&T, the park, and the ferry service to Toronto. It was developed from a simple beach into an amusement park in 1902 when the Lakeside Navigation Co. was bought by the N.S.&.T and then was called The N.S.&.T Navigation Co. Because of an increased number of passengers, two ships called the Dalhousie City and the Northumberland were run at the time from Toronto to Port Dalhousie to go to the beach. The NS&T, the park owners, added a baseball diamond, a carousel, a bandstand, a dance pavilion, miniature golf, a water slide, and more to attract more people. As it did so, people had cottages looking over the beach. As you can see Lakeside Park was a great stop for the N.S.&.T=s business. Passengers from Toronto could stop at Lakeside Park, have a picnic, and continue to Niagara Falls or other areas served by the NS&T More people came to enjoy the rides, swim and tan on the beach and stop for a family picnic. For food stands they had french-fries, hamburger stands, the Lakeside Inn Restaurant, hot-dogs, sandwiches, popcorn, taffy apples, candy, Vernor's Ginger Ale stand, ice cream and more! During World War 2 restrictions were made on motor transport in order to conserve gas and rubber needed for the war effort, so more people rode the N.S.&.T to go to Lakeside Park. It was more popular than ever. After the war, restrictions on motor transport were lifted and people had a greater choice of where to go, but that was only part of what made the wonderful park go downhill. The amusement rides, except for the carousel, were sold. In 1949 the Northumberland burned and the Dalhousie City ship was sold so there was no more ferry service carrying passengers from Toronto.
Lakeside Park was sold in the 1950's to Sid Brookson, the manager, but never regained its popularity - without passengers from Toronto, without amusement rides, and with the beaches becoming dirtier from sewage dumped into Port Dalhousie harbour. Soon the crowds stopped coming to Lakeside Park and the food stands were all torn down. In 1961 it was purchased by the city of St. Catharines. It was a wonderful park but sadly all that remains today of Lakeside Park is the carousel that still costs 5 cents to ride and 1 picnic pavilion. History in my backyard … The longest run of the NS&T's tracks was the Welland division running from Port Colborne to Thorold. The line would have run longer however government regulations would have then required washrooms and water on trolley cars. The line ran from substation junction in Thorold (where the tracks split to run northbound towards St. Catharines or eastwards to Niagara Falls) along Beaverdams road and into Fonthill by 1907. From there it travelled south to Welland along Line avenue and Clare avenue. At places where the tracks crossed major streets there was a stop where passengers could be picked-up or dropped-off. It then followed Prince Charles drive crossing the Welland river at a wooden trestle bridge, built in 1908. The line continued to Port Colborne meeting the train station there by 1911. This line was the last inter-urban line ran by the N..S.&T. - while other lines to Niagara Falls and St. Catharines were now serviced by busses only, it was not profitable to run busses to Port Colborne so this line continued to run into 1959. Bus service replaced the trains to Port Colborne but that, too, was ended in 1961. The electric wires were removed, but the rail line stayed for many years after, used only for freight with CN diesel locomotives pulling trains. Eventually, the tracks were removed and the right-of-way was given to the city as a recreational trail in many areas. There are still signs of this line visible today. Just west of Niagara College a walking path exists parallel to Clare avenue where the rails used to lie. Where Quaker road meets Clare Avenue was stop 17 or Scanlans - the line featured a siding where trains could pass one another on the segment between Quaker and Woodlawn roads. 
Further Reading on the NS&T ... The old photographs above, as well as information on the NS&T, were taken from these references, available in the Welland Public Library: History of the Niagara, St. Catharines, & Toronto Railway by John M. Mills,
Upper Canada Railway Society, 1967 As well, you'll find a host of great sites on the web describing the NS&T |
A map of a portion of the NS&T system in Welland in the 1910s (from Lewis's book) shows the line passing over the Welland river (on a wood trestle which was removed in the later 1980's or early 1990's), passing beside the old fairgrounds, and crossing two of the major rail lines passing through the city, the Toronto Hamilton & Buffalo (TH&B) and the Michigan Central Railway (MCR) at a level crossing. The line then continued over the feeder canal (now gone) and on to Elm St. in Port Colborne.
An early photo showing an NS&T car crossing the lines at a level crossing. The other two lines were relatively high speed so special interlocking signals were required for the safe crossing of the NS&T car. Welland was, after all, the city where "Rails and Water Meet" and testament to that was the large number of rail lines criss-crossing the city.The Birth of Electrical Technologies ...
Niagara has a special place in the development of large-scale hydroelectric projects. While not the first place to have a hydroelectric generating station (Wisconsin holds that honour), Niagara Falls was, and is still today, site of several major hydroelectric projects and features some of the oldest stations dating back to the early 1900's.
Being an engineer, I have had unique opportunities to tour several plants in Niagara which I've outlined on these pages below:
I have had a rare opportunity to tour the Canadian Niagara Power Company's Rankine generating station at the top of Niagara Falls. This recently retired plant supplied 25Hz power to industries 100 years after the plant was built! The quarried-limestone building is important, architecturally-speaking, and the plant was indeed the first large-scale power generator on the Canadian side of the falls. Besides, how many plants can claim to have run for 100 years!
Continuing from where the Rankine story leaves off, a tour of a second older generating station, the Sir Adam Beck 1 Generating Station in Queenston, Ontario. This plant has been updated gradually and by all rights is becoming a 'modern' plant - several of the photos on this page were taken during a rare opportunity to witness an upgrade to new generators.
The oldest operating generating station in Ontario, 110 years old and still operating! Awarded an IEEE Milestone award, this plant originally employed 66 2/3 Hz and was one of the first to use high voltages for long distance transmission.