Tag Archives: West Galt

Join me for a Jane’s Walk around Dickson Hill in West Galt on May 3, 2024

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Postcard from 1910 showing houses at the intersection of Aberdeen Road and Wentworth Avenue in the Town of Galt.
Postcard from 1910 showing houses at the intersection of Aberdeen Road and Wentworth Avenue in the Town of Galt. Image from the City of Cambridge Archives

What’s your favourite part of Dickson Hill?

Please join me on May 3, 2024, for a neighbourhood walk starting and ending at Victoria Park, in the heart of Cambridge’s West Galt ward.

Friday, I’ll share some of my thoughts about what makes Dickson Hill something special.  I ask you to join me and share your thoughts, observations and quesitons as we walk and talk.  

Meet me at 7 p.m. at the Salisbury Avenue entrance to Victoria Park, near the intersection with Forest Road.  

It’s one of many Jane’s Walks promoted across Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo on May 3, 4, and 5.

Dickson Hill, history, trees and alleys

I’ve lived near Dickson Hill for a decade and often wrote about the area in the 30 years before when I worked as a journalist at the Cambridge Reporter and Waterloo Region Record newspapers. 

I’ve walked the streets and alleys of Dickson Hill for years, helping me connect what I learned covering city council meetings with a neighbourhood with few peers across Cambridge, Waterloo, and Kitchener. I vividly remember how Dickson Hill residents resisted city interference when a blanket Heritage District designation was proposed.  Instead, the city protected only public property1 like parks, trees, and street lights with a heritage designation.

In many ways, walking the tree-lined streets is walking back into Victorian Times.  A time when the area was the west side of the Town of Galt, and factories flanked the Grand River.

New Dickson Hill History Books

Former Cambridge resident John Hagopian researched and wrote two books about how the wild “Dickson’s Bush” transformed from the 1880s into an enclave of grand homes for leading members of the former town of Galt – and for some of its middle-class workers. 

Map of Village of Galt in 1851
Dickson Hill is shown as open and wooded areas on this section of an 1851 map of the Village of Galt. Map from the City of Cambridge Archives

John now lives in Whitby.  His recently reprinted book Dickson Hill: Galt’s Victoria Masterpiece reports what life was like in Galt in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when the local economy was healthy thanks to nationalist economic policy, and the most expensive neighbourhood in town started taking shape.

By the 1880s, Galt east of the river had been growing strong for 60 years2, but most of the west side was undeveloped. At the top of the ridge west of the Grand River was a rural plateau known to locals as “Dickson’s Bush,” after the original owner, William Dickson, who founded Dumfries Township and the Galt settlement. And of his son William Dickson, Jr., who died in 1877, leaving the lands to be opened for residential development by his niece, Florence Augusta Dickson.

Florence Dickson Subdivided the Family Property

John’s Book most recent book, The Life and Times of Florence Dickson is a biography. It tells the story of the Dickson family back to 13th century Scotland, Florence’s early life in Niagara-on-the-Lake, her later life in Galt and her 1924 death, deeply in debt.

Photograph of Florence Dickson in 1865. Photo from the City of Cambridge Archives.
Photograph of Florence Dickson in 1865. Photo from the City of Cambridge Archives.

Florence was the granddaughter of William Dickson Sr., founder of Dumfries Township and Galt. She circulated in Toronto’s high society3 in the 1890s.

John tells the story of how her Galt land investments faltered because of financial transactions made by family members. 

She lived her last years at Kirkmichael, on Byng Avenue, built circa 1832 by her father4, William Dickson, Jr.

History Books at Rookery and Library 

Dickson’s Hill, Galt’s Victorian Masterpiece, is a reworked edition of a 1997 research report by John. That volume was called West Side Story: A Housing Study of Galt’s Dickson Hill Neighbourhood. 

John updated his research into the individual histories of building lots and neighbourhoods in Dickson Hill. 

John’s new Dickson Hill history book is also filled with new images, artwork, and community history. It has less of an academic flavour than the original dog-eared volume on the reference shelves of the IdeaExchange library at Queen’s Square. The new book contains artwork by Debbie Ellis, Dave Menary and Greg Pautler.

Both the Dickson Hill and Florence Dickson books are available for purchase at Rookery Books on Main Street. They cost $65 each.

They’re also on the shelves of the reference library collection of IdeaExchange at 1 Queen’s Square.

Jane’s Walks are Planned for May 4, 5, and 6

I’ve long been impressed with how Dickson Hill maintains a strong identity and celebrates with community events throughout the year. That’s what I’m planning to highlight on my hour-long Jane’s Walk starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 24.

Jane Jacobs was a community activist who promoted neighbourhoods over highways in the 1960s. She stoked community opposition to proposed expressways in New York City and Toronto.  She rejected suburban development and promoted compact urban living to foster a strong community.

Dickson Hill may be more suburban than Jacobs preferred, but I see how residents have a deep sense of community and reverence for history.

Victoria Park contains a large wooded preserve of the original Dickson Family lands in Galt. Photo by Kevin Swayze

Here’s some of the history I plan to highlight on the Dickson Hill walk:

  • Victoria Park, which contains 28 acres of forested parkland donated to the Town of Galt in 1901
  • Kirkmichael, the historic Dickson family home at 16 Byng Ave.
  • Dickson Public School, built on two lots purchased from William Dickson, Jr., along St. Andrew’s Street.
  • The Pergola collection of grave markers at the site of the former St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, St., across St. Andrew’s Street from the school

And on Saturday, May 4, Janes Walks are planned around the Grand River to mark the 50th anniversary of the last flood in Cambridge on May 17, 1974. 

One walk will focus on the historic Oak that survived the flood in the Cambridge Sculpture Garden on Grand Avenue South.

  1. City of Cambridge (2005). Dickson Hill Heritage Conservation District Plan for City-Owned Lands. https://www.cambridge.ca/en/learn-about/resources/Dickson-Hill-HCD-Plan.pdf ↩︎
  2. Haigopan, J., (2023). Dickson Hill: Galt’s Victorian Masterpiece. p. 1 ↩︎
  3. Haigopan, J., (2024). The Life and Times of Florence Dickson. p. 4 ↩︎
  4. Heritage Cambridge (1988). Old Galt Walking Tour. p. 12. https://www.cambridge.ca/en/learn-about/resources/Old-Galt-Historical-Walking-Tour-brochure.pdf ↩︎

Remembering the 1974 Grand River Flood in Cambridge, Ontario

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A front-end loader carries people over Grand River flood waters in downtown Cambridge, Ontario.
A front-end loader carries people over Grand River flood waters in downtown Cambridge, Ontario, on May 17, 1974. Image from Cambridge Reporter Collection at City of Cambridge Archives

The last big flood of the Grand River through Cambridge happened May 17, 1974, leaving behind $6.7 million in damages.

That’s $42.5 million in 2024 dollar value, according to the Bank of Canada inflation calculator.

Nobody died, but several people were rescued from the surging waters by firefighters, police and bystanders. One man was pulled from a tree in mid-river by helicopter, according to news clippings at the City of Cambridge Archives.

The Grand River Conservation Authority produced this film about the 1974 flood.

The river peaked at 4.8 metres – 16 feet – above normal level and inundated much of downtown Cambridge.

Remembering the Flood of 1974

Fifty years after the 1974 flood, an event remembers the flood and talks about emergency preparations for future disasters.  The free event runs May 4, 2024, at the Cambridge Fire Hall Museum and Education Centre, 56 Dickson Street, beside Cambridge City Hall.  

Displays are open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., says Ingrid Talpak, one of the organizers.

Grand River flood waters creep up Dickson Street at Ainslie Street in a photo taken from the Cambridge City Hall tower.
Grand River flood waters creep up Dickson Street at Ainslie Street on May 17, 1974, in downtown Cambridge, Ontario. Photograph taken from the Cambridge City Hall tower. Image from Cambridge Reporter Collection at City of Cambridge Archives.

The event is a partnership between the Cambridge Fire Department, IdeaExchange library, City of Cambridge Archives, Cycling and Trails Advisory Committee, and McDougall Cottage Historic Site.

Displays will include rescue craft used today on local waterways. For example, a fire department airboat can manoeuvre through shallow water or crunch over winter ice.

The Fire Hall Museum partnered with Jane’s Walks Waterloo Region to offer several guided walking tours from the Museum to the Idea Exchange Old Post Office. They will highlight points of interest and high-water marks from the flood of 1974.

A Beautiful, Sunny Day in May

May 1974 had been unusually wet.  On Thursday, May 16, an overnight thunderstorm dumped 50 mm of rain across the saturated Grand River Watershed.  

Upstream reservoirs behind dams couldn’t contain all the rainfall. The Grand River Conservation Authority would later say it warned officials in Cambridge at 11 p.m. Thursday that high water levels were expected.

City officials said the conservation authority didn’t hint at how bad things would get, according to news stories in the Cambridge Daily Reporter newspaper on file at the city archives.

People wade across flooded Water Street at Main Street in Downtown Cambridge on May 17, 1974.
People wade across flooded Water Street at Main Street in Downtown Cambridge on May 17, 1974. Image from Cambridge Reporter Collection at the City of Cambridge Archives.

The last big flood in the Grand River came during Hurricane Hazel in cold October weather in 1954, twenty years earlier.

Friday, May 17 dawned sunny and warm. By 11 a.m., the river was rising.  By noon, water was over the banks downtown – and still rising.

Man carries bicycles over shoulder through flood on Water Street in Cambridge
A man carries a bicycle over his shoulder through a 1974 flood over Water Street in Cambridge. Image from Cambridge Reporter Collection at the City of Cambridge Archives.

Businesses, churches and residents tried to move valuable items above the rising water.  Citizens helped firefighters rescue people from the filthy water rushing through town.  

Some downtown workers were trapped in the offices when they left for work. They didn’t learn about the rising water until too late. Some were rescued in the bucket of a front-end loader, which carried them over the flood waters.

A man drinks from a water fountain as Grand River flood waters rush past his knees on Water Street in downtown Cambridge, Ontario, on May 17, 1974. Image from Cambridge Reporter Collection at the City of Cambridge Archives.

A boil-water advisory later was issued, as government officials feared contamination of the drinking water system.

And on Water Street near Parkhill Road, a fire started in the former Hahn Motors car dealership near the river.  Flames gutted the building as firefighters struggled to reach the building by boat.

Firefighters shown working at a burned-out car repair shop as flood waters recede in Cambridge, Ontario on May 18, 1974.
Firefighters work at a burned-out car repair shop on Water Street near Parkhill Road on May 18, 1974. The building caught fire the day before, during a flood of the Grand River in downtown Cambridge, Ontario. Image from Cambridge Reporter Collection at the City of Cambridge Archives.

It took more than two months for downtown businesses to clean up and recover from the damage, according to Cambridge Reporter news clippings.

Workers use mops to clean in a store after the Grand River flood on May 17, 1974, in downtown Cambridge, Ontario.
Cleaning up in a store after the Grand River flood on May 17, 1974, in downtown Cambridge, Ontario. Image from Cambridge Reporter Collection at City of Cambridge Archives.

21 Recommendations from Flood Inquiry

There were 21 recommendations from an Ontario government inquiry into the disaster. It heard 43 days of testimony.

Key recommendations included an expanded flood prevention plan throughout downtown.   More than $20 million was spent on flood control and property purchases in the following 15 years.

A sign on the Capitol Theatre marquee makes fun of the severe Grand River flood with a modified movie title: The Three Musketeers Under Water
A sign on the Capitol Theatre marquee makes fun of the severe Grand River flood on May 17, 1974 in downtown Cambridge, Ontario. Image from Cambridge Reporter Collection at City of Cambridge Archives.

For several years in the mid 1980s, construction crews blasted into bedrock to lower the river channel.  At the same time, taller flood walls and berms rose along the river, with the goal of containing another flood of the scale of 1974.

The conservation authority and city blamed each another for delayed flood warnings at the inquiry.  Judge Wilfred Leach absolved the conservation authority of blame at the inquiry.  He also insisted on a better flood warning system.

That recommendation led to a network of water-level monitors across the watershed.  Every year, flood coordinators in cities, towns, and townships across the Grand River watershed test the alerting system. 

Flood Warnings Now on Social Media

The public part of the warning system began with regular releases to local newspapers, radio and television stations. Today, public outreach includes social media, email alerts and live river-level data displayed on the conservation authority’s website. 

Every year, city public works crews also practice installing portable flood walls at ends of the three bridges along the Grand in Galt.  The bridges are lower than the raised flood walls, leaving a gap in flood protection.  

If high water is expected, city crews collect kits of pre-cut aluminum posts and logs.  The posts are dropped into pre-made sockets in the road at each end of the bridge.  In between, more sections are dropped into place horizontally.  To waterproof and buttress the temporary walls in a real flood, thousands of sandbags would be filled and stacked behind them.

A map showing the extent of Grand River flooding on May 17, 1974 in Downtown Cambridge.
A map showing the extent of Grand River flooding on May 17, 1974 in Downtown Cambridge. Image from Grand River Conservation Authority and presented at a public information session about the flood on April 25, 2024, at the IdeaExchange Old Post Office library.

Detour: Blenheim Rd. closed Oct. 30 to Nov. 3, 2023, west of Parkwood Dr. in Cambridge

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Blenheim Road closes from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3, 2023, between Parkwood Drive and Queensbrook Crescent in Cambridge.

That’s where the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway line crosses the two-lane road in West Galt.

It appears the road will be closed to allow Capital Paving crews to work, according to a City of Cambridge road works map.

The work is tied to the Cambridge West subdivision project, where hundreds of homes are under construction west of the CPKCR tracks.

Cambridge plans a $3.4 million rebuilding of Blenheim Road in 2024, between the Devil’s Creek crossing near the railway and Mount View Cemetery. 

That project includes a new sanitary sewer and water main. It also proposes a pedestrian path along the south side of Blenheim, connecting the Devil’s Creek trail to trails in Victoria Park and Mount View Cemetery roadways.