Welland

 Welland is a city of 56,000 people (2021) in the Niagara Region of Ontario Canada. The city is centred on the Old Welland Canal which splits the city into a Northwestern section and a Southeastern section. The Eastern section is primarily older, having been the original settlement for the diggers of the Welland Canal. As the town grew it expanded Northwest and is now almost completely urbanized in this area.

History
The city was settled in 1788 by the United Empire Loyalists, who were refugees from the United States. On 19 October 1814, Canadian forces led by George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale, met an American raiding party, numbering approximately nine hundred, near the eastern edge of the present community during the Battle of Cook's Mills. After an intense skirmish, the Americans retreated to Buffalo, New York. Cook's Mills was the second to last engagement of the War of 1812 on Canadian soil.

The Welland Canal has been involved in the area's history since the First Welland Canal was extended to reach Lake Erie in 1833. A wooden aqueduct was built to carry the Welland Canal over the Welland River at what is now downtown Welland, and the area became known as simply Aqueduct. A lock to cross from the canal to the river and vice versa was also built. A small shantytown soon developed around the facility, providing essential services in what was a convenient stop-over location.

The growing town was later named Merrittsville, after William Hamilton Merritt, the initiator of the Welland Canal project. This name is still reflected in the name of the Merrittville Highway (Niagara Road 50), which served as the primary north-south route in central Niagara before the construction of Highway 406. Welland gained its present name when it was incorporated on 25 July 1858. It became a city in 1917.

In addition to the presence of the canal, one of the few railway crossings across the canal was near Welland. The two factors contributed to the development of heavy industry in Welland. The Plymouth Cordage Company was the first major industrial company to open a plant in Welland in 1906. By the 1930s, Welland was an important industry location in the region and was developing rapidly.

In the 1960s, the city was starting to outgrow the canal passing through its core. The Welland By-Pass project, started in 1967 and finished in 1973, provided a new, shorter alignment for the Welland Canal by removing it from downtown Welland to the city's outskirts. With the completion of the bypass, Welland's east end (and the former town of Crowland) became a virtual human-made island between the new and old canal channels.

This was viewed with enthusiasm as the canal's constant traffic was interfering heavily with transportation within the city. The canal's old alignment was renamed the Welland Recreational Waterway with the purpose of developing several recreational facilities and tourist attractions along its shores. The plans called for fishing platforms, water slides, boat rental points, as well as marine and rail historical exhibits.

The effects of the canal relocation were compounded by the gradual, but steady move of industry out of Welland as a trend for global manufacturing was developing. As a result, there was much deterioration in downtown Welland in the years immediately after the project. Many businesses relocated to the city's north end, where a retail hub was being developed in and around the Seaway Mall.

Visitor Information

 * City of Welland Tourism

By car
From St. Catharines take Highway 406 south. The 406 passes through Thorold before ending in Welland. The North end of Welland can be accessed from the Merritt Rd. exit. The Seaway Mall and other large stores and restaurants can be accessed from the Woodlawn Rd. exit. The Southeastern part of Welland and the downtown core can be accessed from Main St. where Highway 406 ends in a roundabout.

Get around


Taxis are also available but it is recommended that you travel by car. Park lands neighbour the canals and river and contain a continuous trail that runs the length of the city. This makes biking a convenient method to travel North-South in the city.

Biking or rollerblading along the canal trails is a good, safe way of connecting to the cities to the north and south, avoiding practically all car traffic.

See

 * Welland Canal. Hard to miss! Once the largest industrial project in the world and still operating today it facilitated the opening of the Upper Great Lakes to the Atlantic and thereby imperial Britain. A monument to the hundreds of workers who died in its construction can be found just outside the downtown core.
 * Merritt Island is in the center of the town and is a 3 km long island that runs between the Old Welland Canal and the Welland River. Recreational trails and parks run the extent of it.  The only car entrance is from the southern edge behind the court house.  Near the parking lot there is a playground for children, and in the summer you can rent paddle boats and canoes for use along the river.  The Niagara Food Festival is held in this park in the fall.
 * Welland is known for its murals. Around town you can find varied sizes and genres of the wall paintings.

Do

 * The village of Port Robinson is divided by the current Welland Canal. Either side is a good location to watch for ships traversing the canal. The canal is operational from late March to Christmas every year.

Eat
There are many chain restaurants around Welland, and Niagara Street is home to many of those chain restaurants including A&W, Boston Pizza, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Harvey's, Little Caesars Pizza, McDonald's, Mr. Sub, Pita Pit, Pizza Hut, Popeyes, Subway, Swiss Chalet, Tim Hortons (two locations), and Wendy's.

Go next

 * Hamilton — the Niagara Peninsula's largest city, and the "City of Waterfalls".
 * Niagara Falls — 30 minutes to the east.
 * Niagara-on-the-Lake — a quaint, historic town with great little shops, restaurants, wineries, and (in the summer) the Shaw Theatre Festival.
 * Port Colborne — at the south end of the canal, on Lake Erie.
 * Fort Erie — to the south-east, across the Niagara River from Buffalo.
 * St. Catharines — follow the Welland Canal to Lake Ontario.