Publisher's Synopsis
St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region in Southern Ontario. It is 51 kilometres (32 miles) south of Toronto across Lake Ontario, and is 19 kilometres (12 miles) inland from the international boundary with the United States along the Niagara River. It is the northern entrance of the Welland Canal.Before this area was settled several Indian trails intersected here at a ford in Twelve Mile Creek. They were improved by early settlers and a church was erected at the crossroads by 1798. A tavern soon followed and a settlement began to grow. After the War of 1812, the community expanded largely through the efforts of William Hamilton Merritt. He was the chief promoter of the first Welland Canal built in 1824-33. The canal made St. Catharines a centre for water transportation, and provided abundant water power for industry. Factories and mills were established and St. Catharines became a leading flour-milling and shipbuilding centre.Dr. Lucius Oille was born in 1830 and was one of St. Catharines most prominent citizens. He served as a member of council for several years before becoming mayor in 1878. He was the second mayor of the city and first chairman of the waterworks. Oille was a physician and owned the first x-ray machine in St. Catharine. He was involved in dozens of city projects, such as the organization of the Niagara Central Railway and the city's first streetcar system. In 1878 Dr. Oille donated a fountain in front of the courthouse at the corner of King and James Street to the citizens of St. Catharines. He wanted to provide water to citizens who were shopping in the market square or had come downtown to work. Tin drinking cups were attached to the fountain by a chain so that people could use them to drink. Dr. Oille even thought of the animals as the fountain has a small basin at the bottom specifically for them. This gift marked the establishment of the city's waterworks system in 1875-1876. Dr. Lucius Oille died on August 15, 1903.
