The
settlement of Stratford
began with the surveying
of the Huron Road by
the Canada Company in
1828. In December of
that year and January
of 1829, their agent,
William "Tiger" Dunlop,
planted his surveyor's
stakes around the area
that was to become this
beautiful city.
The Canada Company had been formed in 1824, when the government of Upper Canada
was granted a million acres of land to settle. The district was known as the
Huron Tract and included what is now Stratford and most of Perth County.
Stratford, itself, began to take shape in 1832 when Thomas Mercer Jones, a Canada
Company director, gave a picture of William Shakespeare to William Sargint, the
owner of the Shakespeare Hotel. A stone marks the site of this hotel, near 70
Ontario Street.
Jones gave the village the name of Stratford and the creek, which had been known
as Little Thames, was renamed the Avon River.
In 1834 surveyor John MacDonald created the town plan. He placed the geographic
centre of town at the point where four townships met, not far from today's Wade's
Flower Shop. He then created four main roads radiating from the centre. Three
of these roads were named for the Great Lakes to which they lead, Huron, Erie
and Ontario.
In 1853 Perth County decided to separate from the Huron district, of which it
had always been a part. A condition of separation was that Stratford become the
county seat, with a courthouse, jail and registry office. The next year Stratford
was incorporated as a village, and in 1859 it became a town.
The year 1856 signaled the arrival of the Grand Trunk Railway and the Buffalo
and Lake Huron Line, beginning Stratford's long history as a major rail centre.
In 1871 a locomotive repair shop came to town; it was expanded in 1889 and 1906.
The Grand Trunk amalgamated with the Buffalo and Lake Huron Railway and in 1923
was taken over by the Canadian National Railway. The CNR was a significant contributor
to the town's economy until the closure of the shops in 1964.
Another major economic sector was the furniture industry. In 1886, the year after
Stratford was incorporated as a city, George McLagan created jobs in the furniture
industry. These positions attracted prospective workers to the area in the early
1890's, a time of economic hardship in other parts of the country.
With corporate success came industrial dispute. In 1933 a general strike, which
started with furniture workers and chicken pluckers, became so unruly that the
army, along with its tanks, was called in to put a stop to the strike. The strike
was a major event in Canadian industrial history and is the subject of playwright
James Reaney's play Kingwhistle!
In 1904 the Parks Board was established. It created Upper Queen's Park, a professionally
designed horticultural system around the area where the Festival Theatre now
stands. Another major accomplishment came between 1905 and 1912, when the Board
and citizens dissuaded the Canadian Pacific Railway from laying its tracks along
the Avon River.
Stratford's signature swans were introduced to the park system in 1918. And,
in 1936, R. Thomas Orr, an original member of the Parks Board, succeeded in having
the Shakespearean Gardens created.
It wasn't until 1953 that Tom Patterson, a Stratford-born reporter for Maclean's
Magazine, and a group of local supporters opened the Stratford Festival. As the
CNR shops closed and the success of the furniture industry waned, the Festival
helped make tourism a significant industry for the city. Today Stratford has
a diversified economy featuring manufacturing, finance and service-related businesses.
| Fascinating
Facts About
Stratford |
| 2009 |
Canada 3.0 brings 1500 people to Stratford. Canada 3.0 2009 was the launch of the University of Waterloo Stratford Campus and the Canadian Digital Media Network. |
| 2002 |
The Stratford
Festival
of Canada
celebrated
its 50th
season welcoming
672,924 patrons
to 18 plays.
This was
a record
number of
playgoers
during the
50 seasons.
The Avon
Theatre realized
a complete
renewal and
The Studio
Theatre,
a fourth
theatre space
seating 250
people was
added. |
| 1997 |
Stratford
named "Prettiest
City in
the World" as
champion
of the
Nations
in Bloom
Award presented
in Spain |
| 1997
| Act
III,
a $13
million
Festival
Theatre
renovation
project,
updates
patron
services
including
seating,
box office
and theatre
store. |
| 1993
| Canadian
Travel & Tourism
Industry
nominates
the Stratford
Festival
as the Canadian
Attraction/Event
of the
year.
Population
reaches
28,200
with an
economy
based on
theatre
and automotive
industries. |
| 1991
| Tom
Patterson
Theatre dedicated.
(formerly
the Third
Stage.) |
| 1985
| $3
million
dollar
addition
to Festival
Theatre allows
production
facilities
to be
housed
in one
of North
America's
largest
backstage
areas. |
| 1982
| 150th
anniversary of
the founding
of settlement. |
| 1957
| Stratford
Festival
moves into
a new
permanent
structure. |
| 1953
| Stratford
Festival
opens
in a
tent,
founded
by Stratford
journalist,
Tom Patterson.
CNR announces
its closure. |
| 1935
| Shakespearean
Gardens open. |
| 1918
| First
swans given
to the
city
by a
Michigan
CNR employee. |
| 1904
| Parks
Board
founded,
eventually
servicing
850 acres
of city
parkland. |
| 1901
| The
1250 seat "Theatre
Albert" is
built (now
the Avon
Theatre). |
| 1882-1889
| Stratford
reaches
a population
of 9000, designated
a city.
Present
jailhouse
and courthouse
are built. |
| 1856
| Stratford
becomes
a railway
town with
the coming
of the Grand
Trunk and
Buffalo-Lake
Huron railways. |
| 1854
| Stratford
is established
as a village. |
| 1849
| First
weekly
newspaper, 'Perth
County
News' is
established. |
| 1832-1834
| 'Shakespeare
Hotel'
opens as Stratford
is officially
named.
First sawmill & gristmill
are built. |
| 1827 |
Stratford
is surveyed
as a site
for the Canada
Company. |
|
|
|
Accessibility
