Glanbrook is the south-western district of the city of
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...
, Canada. It was first created as an independent township in 1974 through the
amalgamation
Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form.
Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to:
Mathematics and science
* Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal
**Pan am ...
of
Mount Hope,
Binbrook
Binbrook is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the B1203 road, and north-east from Market Rasen.
Previously a larger market town,Cox, J. Charles (1916) ''Lincolnshire'' pp. 64 ...
, Glanford, and other nearby communities. In 2001, Glanbrook became a dissolved municipality after it was amalgamated with
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
,
Stoney Creek,
Dundas,
Ancaster and
Flamborough
Flamborough is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north-east of Bridlington town centre on the prominent coastal feature of Flamborough Head.
The most prominent man-made feature o ...
to become the present city of Hamilton.
The population of Glanbrook as of the 2006 census was 15,293, a 25% increase from the 2001 census figure of 12,145, and making it the fastest growing part of Hamilton. It contains the
John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport.
History
Before 1938
Glanford and
Binbrook
Binbrook is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the B1203 road, and north-east from Market Rasen.
Previously a larger market town,Cox, J. Charles (1916) ''Lincolnshire'' pp. 64 ...
Townships were surveyed as part of
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...
in the 1790s, and originally formed part of
Lincoln County. They became part of
Wentworth County when the latter was created in 1816. After being deforested by pioneer settlers, Glanbrook was suitable for grain cultivation and mixed
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
. However, its harsher climate did not make it nearly as suitable for growing fruit as its counterparts on the
Niagara Peninsula.
A local married couple gained fame in a popular song in the 19th century. Margaret "Maggie" Clark was born in Glanford Township in 1841. She was taught at public school by George W. Johnson, who was born in Binbrook Township in 1839. They married in 1864, but she died shortly after of typhus. In 1866, Johnson had his friend J.C. Butterfield and a poem about his now deceased wife he published around the time of his marriage to music. "
When You and I Were Young, Maggie
"When You and I Were Young, Maggie" is a folk song, popular song, and standard written by George W. Johnson and James Austin Butterfield.
Origin
Although Springtown, Tennessee, has a small monument outside an old mill claiming the song was wri ...
" was debuted by his sister-in-law, and became popular worldwide.
"When You and I Were Young, Maggie"
/ref> Johnson remarried twice and died in 1917.
Due to the barrier presented by the Niagara Escarpment, settlement was slower and sparser than that of its neighbours to the north in Saltfleet and Barton Townships (later Stoney Creek and Hamilton). Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the townships remained placid agrarian backwaters, far removed from the bustling heavy industry
Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...
growing only a dozen miles away in Hamilton.
Politically, the townships’ local governments were neither active nor intrusive nor controversial. As part of the Wentworth (and later Wentworth East) provincial and federal ridings, voters in the townships helped elect largely non-descript and conservative members of the Ontario legislature and Canadian parliament
The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...
.
1939–1974
During the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, the Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
built an airfield
An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for pub ...
in Glanford Township. It opened in 1940 to as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, and successively hosted Nos. 10 Elementary Flying Training School, 33 Air Navigation School and 1 Wireless School. The graves of 13 Britons and a Jamaican are still maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations m ...
in the churchyard where they were buried.
After a long, gradual decline in its military use, the RCAF Station Mount Hope was declared surplus and the airport was wholly given over to civil aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...
in 1963. It developed slowly in fits and starts as a cargo, light aircraft, charter, regional commuting and international airport.
Since 1971, a dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
at Binbrook Conservation Area near the source of the Welland River
The Welland River (originally called the Chippawa Creek) is a river in the Golden Horseshoe that passes through the Southern Ontario cities of Welland and Niagara Falls. It flows from its source just south of Hamilton, Ontario to meet the Nia ...
has created a reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
to control flooding
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...
downstream. The conservation area is operated by the ''Nia''gara ''Pen''insula ''Co''nservation Authority, and hence the reservoir is called Lake ''Niapenco''. Binbrook Conservation Area offers opportunities for fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
, boating, hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
and birding
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, ...
.
In 1974, the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
was created. ''Glan''ford and Bin''brook'' were amalgamated to form the Township of Glanbrook as one of the region's six second tier municipalities which were responsible for such things as fire services
A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...
.
1975–2019
Beginning in the early 1970s, a small group of enthusiastic volunteers with an interest in military aviation history helped create Canadian Warplane Heritage. Their small collection of Second World War-era aircraft flew at such events as the Canadian National Exhibition
The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Canadian Labour Day ...
Air Show in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
and the Hamilton International Air Show.
As the CWH's warplane collection grew, the first paid employees were hired and it expanded to occupy two hangars at Mount Hope Airport. Unfortunately, in 1993, a fire there destroyed five aircraft including a rare Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
and Hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
of the Victory Flight, but sparing a Lancaster.
The airport itself was privatized
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
in 1995. The following year, aided by provincial grants, a replacement hangar for the CWH was built and a proper static museum opened on the site. The airport was renamed for John Munro, former MP for Hamilton East and a former transport minister, in 1998.
In 2001, over the vocal objections of most of its 10,000 inhabitants and its elected representatives, Glanbrook
Glanbrook is the south-western district of the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It was first created as an independent township in 1974 through the amalgamation of Mount Hope, Binbrook, Glanford, and other nearby communities. In 2001, Glanbrook ...
was amalgamated with Stoney Creek, Dundas, Flamborough
Flamborough is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north-east of Bridlington town centre on the prominent coastal feature of Flamborough Head.
The most prominent man-made feature o ...
, Ancaster and Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
to form the new City of Hamilton.
References
External links
Glanbrook Conservation Committee
ecological group
{{authority control
Former township municipalities in Ontario
Neighbourhoods in Hamilton, Ontario
Niagara Escarpment
Populated places disestablished in 2001