The Grand | Historic Galt

I can’t recall when I first saw the historic city of Galt, Ontario. It was probably on a trip to see the outlet shops at the old Southworks location (now the Gaslight district), but I did do a bit of Urban Exploration in that same area several years later. Today, Galt is a part of the modern city of Cambridge, one of four historic settlements that merged in the 1970s. Galt was among the largest, and the historic core remains one of the best to visit if you’re a fan of historic architecture. When I first thought about taking a closer look at Galt, it was probably during the pandemic, and I was looking for places close to me that were easy to access despite everything that was happening. I could be in and out before anyone else was around. So, wanting to revisit it for the first time in a couple of years, I made a point of getting out there earlier in the month. I had with me two cameras: my Minolta Maxxum 9 with the 24mm lens and a roll of Ilford HP5+ which I developed in Ilfotec LC29 and my D750 with the 24mm lens and I also had a KMZ Helios 44M-2 for something different. I also ran with the Hanimex 35ES, but I won’t be including those photos here, those are for that camera’s review later in the year.

The Grand River is one of many major waterways that wind through Ontario and often form the backbone of human settlement, as far back as history can record. The Grand flows from the Dufferin Highlands to Lake Erie and the settlement of Port Maitland. The city known as Cambridge has two of its three historic communities located along its trace. Originally, the territory of the Mississuagas, a vast tract of land, was purchased and turned over to the Mohawk People under two treaties, the Haldimand Treaty of 1784 and the Simcoe Patent (Treaty 4) of 1794. The Mohawks, under Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant), had lost much of their land in the United States following the American Revolution and were granted this territory as compensation for their service to the Crown during the French and Indian War, Pontiac’s Rebellion, and the American Revolution. Like many other territories, it was quickly divided up through purchase and treaty. William Dickson purchased a 900,000-acre tract of land along the river, which forms the historic core of Galt. Dickson, along with his partner Absolom Shade, arrived in 1816 and established the townships of Galt and Dumfries. The two men quickly established mills along the Grand River, and a small settlement formed around them, gaining the name Shade’s Mills. The formation of the Canada Company gave Dickson and Shade the chance to improve their community’s infrastructure. The pair signed a contract with the company, which would build roads and bridges, despite the area not being part of Upper Canada, which they were responsible for colonising. It was, however, beneficial to this expansion, as it provided the necessary boost to expand Shade’s Mill, which took the name Galt in 1825 with the establishment of a Post Office. Galt provided a base for a growing industry: not only sawmills and gristmills, but also the fast-moving, good-water levels on the Grand quickly provided power for a textile and manufacturing industry. By 1850, Galt had been incorporated as a village and included textile mills, foundries, and a Grammar School (what we call High School today). It would be only seven more years when Galt was designated a town, and a beautiful town hall and market hall were completed. The 1870s saw the arrival of the railway, which helped complement the town as a regional population and industrial centre. The original Dickson mill and dam were converted to generate electricity in 1889, enabling the opening of a hospital and an interurban rail line connecting to Hespeler and, eventually, to Preston, Berlin (Kitchener), Waterloo, Port Dover, and Brantford. By 1915, Galt had been incorporated as a city and even had an armoury that housed elements of the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada. But in the mid-century, conditions began to change: Galt, along with the other area settlements, was overshadowed in the post-war era, and many industries soon faltered and closed. To better manage the area, the city of Cambridge was formed in 1973 by amalgamating Galt, Preston, and Hespeler.

With a large number of cameras and a couple of rolls of film, I made a point of trying to capture as wide an area as I could on this trip. But also keeping in mind that I did have a bit of a time limit. Most of the previous times I’ve been to the historic core of Galt, I’ve stuck to the eastern bank of the Grand River, or as close as possible, but there were some areas that I wanted to explore a bit more. Parking out by the Parkhill Dam lookout, I walked south along Grand Avenue, through Queens Square and to St Andrew’s Street. Here’s where I turned west to see an old school I had visited during a Doors Open event, then turned east again at Fraser to check out the old Southworks, now the Gaslight District. Crossing the river on the Highway 97 bridge, I started wandering in a different pattern, since there really is no easy way to see the whole downtown in a logical order. Despite the downtown’s grid pattern. All I knew was that there were some locations I hands-down wanted to include. The Old and New Post Offices, the Carnegie Library, Armoury, City Hall, Mill Ruins and street scenes. After visiting this area so many times, I already knew what I wanted and where I wanted to go. After wrapping everything up, I headed back to my car and drove home as I had arrived a little later than expected.

The one thing that has always drawn me to Galt, rather than Hespeler and Preston, is how well the historic core has been preserved. Ontario underwent a period of urban renewal in the 1970s, during which many historic buildings were demolished. At least in wealthier urban centres, the sad fact was that in the 1970s, the area that would become Cambridge was in a bit of a slump and couldn’t afford to complete this urban renewal. Many places we enjoy today for their historic buildings owe their preservation to a general decline in fortunes. But the buildings have not stayed this way, because I’ve seen a great deal of urban renewal through the downtown that preserves the heritage buildings while adapting them to modern uses. Many of the textile mills are now lofts and condos. New businesses have taken up residence, and the downtown is thriving. But there’s also an underlying current of a post-industrial era. If you look closely, you can find evidence of many people living rough in some of the beautifully preserved ruins. While not as present in the winter, in the warmer months, you can meet many of these people who have fallen between the cracks.

It’s interesting because while I’ve spent most of my time in Galt, I’ve also had the chance to explore Hespeler a couple of times but Preston has been only once. I have tried to make it out to Preston but for some reason I have always changed my mind. So maybe later this year I will finally make it out to that part of Cambridge to see what’s going on there rather than only driving through. Will it pop up in my writing, maybe, we’re still only a couple months into the year. You can check out all my photos from the trip over on Flickr.