| The idea for a video history developed following the Beach
Residents' Reunion at Dynes Hotel in December, 1998. It was recognized
that the present and former residents of Hamilton Beach (formerly known
as Burlington Beach) share an unusual love for "the Beach" and deserve
to have available a
complete and accurate account of the romantic and exciting history of
this unique geographic location. Originally expected to be released in
two years, the video project grows broader and deeper as more facts are
revealed, layer below layer.
Topics now to be covered
in depth include the geomorphological mechanisms which created the
sand Also to be
included is the history of Beach Bungalow School and Bell Cairn
Memorial, the four churches, the many hotels and the amusement parks,
the Fire Department and the Rescue Unit,
Estimated Time of Completion is uncertain, but it's not yet too late for you to contribute facts, leads, research, old photographs, and old home movie film. If you have any material which might possibly be of use in this project, please contact Fred Briggs, 905-662-4406 (or click E-mail below). I don't want to hear about it after the video is released! This web site is far from complete. The first intention is to use this site to help gather information, and then to add to the site much of the information which will appear in the video. After the release of the video this site will serve as a resource with on-site material and links to other sites for those who wish to delve deeper into some aspect of the story. Please come back soon
and watch
this site grow. THE BEACH STRIP BURLINGTON BAY CANAL THE LIGHTHOUSE HAMILTON HARBOURLINKS
VINTAGE POSTCARDS OF HAMILTON
BURLINGTON
BAY JAMES N. ALLAN SKYWAY POSTCARDS FROM HAMILTON'S
PAST HAMILTON
MUSEUM
OF STEAM AND TECHNOLOGY |
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bar, the First Nation inhabitants, the early
French explorers, the flood of United Empire Loyalists from the United
States and the heroic part that some of those who came to our beach
played in the American Revolution,
the Military Reserve which delayed settlement on most of the isthmus
itself, the impact of the War of 1812 on the "beach strip", early
government and the unique Burlington Beach Commission which governed
the community for
half a century, the ages of sail and of steamers, the building and
successive rebuildings of the Burlington Ship Canal and its many
bridges, the coming of the railway age and the building of the Hamilton
& Northwestern
Railway across "our beach" and then the Hamilton Radial Electric
Railway,
and their final replacement by automobiles and buses and the highway
across
the beach.
the Scouts and the
Guides, the Masons, the Beach Yacht Club, the skating rinks, the
fishing holes, and the many social organizations which came
and went over the years, as well as everything that can be recovered
about
the many retail businesses that now survive only in our memories.
Many
research sources have been mined, pictures (10,000+ and still
counting!) and films have been
collected, and considerable additional videography (over 200 hours!)
has been completed,
but this has become a very large project and more research must be
done, more pictures and movies are waiting to be found, and many more
interviews must be videotaped.