Showing 13 results

Steel paddle steamer measuring 143 x 25 x 7 feet, 303 tonnage, built in 1897 in Levis, Quebec by John Lovett Davie. The vessel was originally named the Champion and sailed the St. Lawrence River as a river boat for most of its career. It then served as a ferry operating around the Thousand Islands and between Gananoque, Ontario and Clayton, New York. In 1944, it was purchased by the Hamilton Harbour Commission and re-named the Hamiltonian, to be used as a ferry and day cruise service taking passengers from Hamilton Harbour to Burlington Beach and Lasalle Park in Burlington, Ontario. After a fire destroyed the boat in 1952, it was taken out of ferry service and scrapped in 1954. During its time as a ferry boat, the Hamiltonian carried one million passengers across the waters of Hamilton Bay. The file contains a transfer of registry, a report of shipping casualties and strandings documenting the fire, as well as some correspondence from Canada Customs and Excise Office, Hamilton Harbour Commissioners, the Department of Transport, and the Steel Company of Canada Limited, to the Registrar of Shipping, Hamilton.

This series highlights images of Hamiltonian streets and street transportation, such as the streetcar in the first half of the 20th Century.

Material consists of 2 coloured photographs of Jimmy Lomax posing with a bouquet of flowers received from "Edith and Staff," for winning the Outstanding Young Hamiltonian Award, 1979.

This series contains postcards depicting prominent Hamiltonian buildings through the 20th Century. They range from buildings as old as the Bank of British North America building, to New City Hall.

American steel screw (propeller) steamer built in River Rouge, Michigan in 1928 by the Great Lakes Engineering Works. It was originally a ferry boat called the Cadillac and it serviced the Detroit-Windsor route. It was used during the Second World War as an ice breaker. The vessel was then upgraded and modernized and used as a day boat until it was bought by the Hamilton Harbour Commission in 1952 to replace the Hamiltonian. It was renamed the Lady Hamilton and operated as a day passenger boat and pleasure cruising vessel out of Hamilton Harbour. The file contains a bill of sale, ship name change documentation, registration and ownership documents and transfers, telegraphs, a certificate of marking verifying it’s seaworthiness, as well as correspondence between the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Hamilton Harbour Commissions, and the Department of Transport, to the Registrar of Shipping, Hamilton.

Series consists of certificates and letters of recognition and congratulations from prominent politicians for receiving various awards such as the Order of Canada, the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship, the Outstanding Hamiltonian of the Year award, as well as his 50th anniversary of Operation Santa Claus. Dignitaries sending their congratulations include the Right Honourable Lincoln M. Alexander, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, former Governor General Michaelle Jean, former and current mayors of Hamilton, city councilors, and a few Members of Parliament from various political parties. The series also consists of invitations to awards nights, a Hamilton Tiger-Cat Football Club Touchline Pass ticket no.1 with Jimmy Lomax’s name on it, programs for awards nights, as well as plaques.

This collection principally consists of early to mid-20th century postcards collected by Michael Johnstone depicting Hamilton, Hamilton citizens, and the Hamiltonian lifestyle at the time. Examples include: King street landscapes, Ellen Fairclough, Gage Park, the City Hospital, and New City Hall. Furthermore, collection contains non-postcard ephemera from the early 20th century such as photographs, Stereoscopic prints, an insurance policy, and a commemorative centennial coin.

Materials are organized into the following series:
Series 01: Motorways and waterways. – [ca. 1910-1915, 1960]
Series 02: Advertisements. – [ca. 1913]
Series 03: People. - [ca. 1901 - 1913, 1958 -1960]
Series 04: Parks and landscapes. - [ca.1907 - 1910, 1929, 1938 - 1940]
Series 05: Mountain Inclines. - [ca. 1903 -1910]
Series 06: Hospitals and Asylums. - [ca. 1906 - 1921]
Series 07: Streets and Streetcars. - [ca. 1900 - 1940]
Series 08: Hamilton Market. - [ca. 1910 - 1913]
Series 09: Churches. - [ca. 1906 – 1911, 1929]
Series 10: Railways and Train stations. - [ca. 1908-1920]
Series 11: Buildings. - [ca. 1905 - 1920, 1941,1955, 1960]
Series 12: Non-Postcard Materials. - (1906-1920, 1956)

The material consists of a cash book including receipts and disbursements for the steamboat Queenston, dated February 5, 1834 to November 28 1834, and for the steamboat Niagara, dated April 6, 1839 to December 23, 1841.

The subfonds consists of minute books, and war service records.