Publisher's Synopsis
Grimsby is a town on Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region. It is named after the English fishing town of Grimsby in North East Lincolnshire. The majority of residents reside in the area bounded by Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment. Grimsby has experienced significant growth over the past decade as the midpoint between Hamilton and St. Catharines.The town of Grimsby was founded in 1790 (originally named Township Number 6 and then 'The Forty'), after a group of United Empire Loyalists settled at the mouth of 40 Mile Creek in 1787. A Loyalist from the Mohawk Valley, New York, Robert Nelles and his father and brothers were among the first to settle at The Forty (Grimsby) following the American Revolution. Robert Nelles was a politician and later lieutenant-colonel in the War of 1812. In 1816 the village became known as Grimsby, the name of the surrounding township.The town has gone through many changes, from being a small rural village; to a centre for the manufacture of farm machinery, hospital furniture, furnaces and other metal products; and later the hub of the Niagara Peninsula's fruit-growing industry. Grimsby had a successful fishing industry which lasted until the 1960s. The Town of Grimsby and the Township of North Grimsby were amalgamated in 1970 with the formation of the Regional Municipality of Niagara. With a number of wineries and distilleries, Grimsby now serves as the starting point for touring the Niagara wine region.Grimsby is the birthplace of Hollywood director, Del Lord who rose to acclaim as the director of most of the Three Stooges short vaudeville comedies. Later, under Columbia Pictures, he directed nearly two hundred feature films.Grimsby Beach was once a major holiday resort. Grimsby Park started in 1846 as a park for the Hamilton district of the Methodist Church. In 1910, the park's new owner, Harry Wylie, modernized the park with carousels, a motion picture theatre, and a "Figure 8" roller coaster. Operations continued until 1949, with attractions gradually closing and developers buying land to build houses.Bisecting the town is the Queen Elizabeth Way. It has three exchanges in the town, with Casablanca Boulevard in the west, a central exchange for three roads (Christie Street, Ontario Street, and Maple Avenue), and Bartlett Avenue in the east.The Grimsby Railway Station, on the south side of the railroad tracks west of Ontario Street and south of Queen Elizabeth Way, is served by the Maple Leaf train jointly operated by Via Rail and Amtrak.
