Locke Street History Bytes — Issue 3
by Bill Manson
Coauthor of Up and Down Locke Street South.
THE ORIGINS OF LOCKE STREET SOUTH
In 1816, as George Hamilton planned the site for a new town that
would one day take his name, Locke Street was nothing more than
a line on a map which separated two parcels of uncleared farmland.
These properties lay in Concession 3 of the newly-surveyed Barton
Township, and were bounded on the north and south by two of the
concession lines which were to become Main and Concession (Aberdeen),
and on the east and west by two sideline allowances which were to
become Garth (Dundurn) and Queen.
Richard Beasely, one of the first settlers here at the Head of
the Lake, owned some of the western parcel, while John Mills was
busy creating a farm out of the wilderness which lay between today’s
Locke and Queen Streets to the east.
Millennia before, water arising from springs at the base of the
escarpment and from mountain streams which flowed over the escarpment,
had cut courses through this area. This water formed several streams
and gullies which drained into a large swampy ravine popularly called
"Beasely’s Hollow", which in turn emptied into the
Chedoke Ravine and the Dundas Marsh near Princess Point.
Here was an area of swamps, rills, and gullies. Impenetrable forests
and scrub choked the landscape in all directions. All manner of"
exotic" fauna inhabited the "Hollow", including bears,
wolves, and rattlesnakes. During the steamy summer months hordes
of malaria-bearing mosquitoes infested the land. The line of Locke
South ran north-south right down the middle of this inhospitable
wilderness.
As Hamilton grew first into a town and later into a city, the Locke
South area was slow to develop. Even when the town of Hamilton was
incorporated in 1833, Locke was no more than an abbreviated dirt
track lying far from the town’s western boundary.
Standing at the intersection of today’s Locke (Lock as it
was first to be spelled) and King streets, an observer could gaze
north across untamed fields clear down to the sparkling waters of
Burlington Bay, where schooners anchored and steamers puffed their
way to and from the new Burlington Canal. The Great Western Railway,
which would soon make Hamilton a major North American commercial
and industrial centre, had not yet arrived, and Railway Street (Locke
North) was still without a name.
To the west, King Street, an old Indian trail to Dundas and Ancaster,
tumbled down into "Beasley’s Hollow". The trail was
almost impassable in all but the best weather, and it was rumoured
that unwary travelers were often waylaid by thieves and cutthroats
who plied their "foul trade" in the foreboding ravine.
Far beyond, the wooded Niagara Escarpment girded the Dundas Valley.
To the east, beyond the rise which extended from Burlington Heights
to the base of the Escarpment at James Street, the tiny town of
Hamilton appeared far distant from the Mills farm stead just discernible
at Queen and King Streets.
To the south, the "Lock trail" meandered downhill to
intersect with the northern boundary of Concession 3 ( Main Street).
Between King and Main the observer might spy a couple of ramshackle
wooden houses, various livestock, and the occasional stray dog wandering
down to a distant ravine for a drink. This ravine - an arm of "Beasley’s
Hollow" which can still be seen today running east-west along
the line of Bold Street - brought the Lock path to an abrupt end.
Beyond this weed-choked gully stretched uncleared fields leading
up to the virgin forest of the Escarpment .
There was, however, one sign of "civilization" in this
wild vista. Off in the distance to the southwest bounded by today’s
Aberdeen, Locke, Herkimer, and Dundurn streets, stood Richard Beasley’s
old race-course, a popular out-of-town summertime diversion for
Hamilton’s sporting men.
This old Beasley-Mills property line along Locke would provide
the nucleus for the vibrant commercial and residential community
which exists here some two hundred years later. The growth of Locke
South from desolation to civilization would be often tenuous and
sometimes arduous. Future "History Bytes" will explore
how and why this transformation came about, as we examine the ups
and downs of Locke Street South.
If you have any comments about this column, or interesting stories
about Locke South and the Kirkendall Neighbourhood, I would be most
willing to feature them in future columns. You can contact me at
upanddown@lockestreet.com.
Cheers for now.
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