The Old Pelham Town Hall was built in the central part of the old Township of Pelham during the last half of the 19th century. Halls of this type, erected across the province of local materials, were important community hubs. They were designed to meet both the requirements of local administration as well as to serve as early community centres. Therefore, residents (even in rural areas) supported the construction of buildings that would make their community look both solid and progressive.
The provision of local government evolved slowly in early Upper Canada (Ontario). The Constitutional Act of 1791, passed by the British Government, divided the Old Province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada. This legislation, that established the foundations of colonial government, did not specify how local councils were to operate.
In 1792, the first session of the Upper Canada legislature introduced a bill to authorize town meetings and to permit local taxpayers to elect officers such as a clerk, pound-keeper, and collectors. This was the first official recognition by the central authority of the need for local self-government in the province. Over the next few decades, the provincial government ceded more authority over the provision of roads and education to local Town and Township councils.
The Baldwin Act of 1849 more formally gave “the several Counties, Cities, Towns, Townships and Villages” the right to manage their own affairs. Therefore, the year 1850 marked the beginning of our modern system of local government. This change was to have an important impact on the provision of services in the Township of Pelham.
The first recorded township meeting in Pelham was in 1807. A Clerk, Samuel Beckett, was chosen together with assessors, Nicholas Oyle and Jacob Benninger, wardens, John Petit and Martin Ernst, and a collector, Robert Strigley. Local tradition indicates that early meetings were held in a home that today is 358 Canboro Road in Ridgeville.
In 1848, a by-law was passed to raise 325 pounds by local assessment for the construction of a township hall. On Friday 25 January 1850, a new council was elected to manage the affairs of the township under the provisions of the Baldwin Act. Dr. John Frazer was elected Reeve. Other officers were appointed including Dexter D’Everardo as clerk and John S. Price as Treasurer. Jacob Crow (Junior) was requested to take charge of the Town Hall and furniture for the use of the council and “to provide fuel, make fires and keep the hall in good order.”
Most of the work of the early councils reflected the agricultural life of the community. By-laws were passed “for defining the height and description of lawful fences”, to establish fees for the Poundkeepers for impounded animals (6 pennies a day for oxen, 3 pennies for cows); for “restraining cattle from running at large”; to define the duties of the Overseer of Highways, which included repairing and maintaining the roads, collecting the money due from citizens in lieu of labour on the roads and removing fallen trees and excessive snow. (Note: There was an early requirement that settlers maintain the roads in front of their properties. Eventually this requirement could be waved if the property owner agreed to pay a fee to the township.)
Some entries in the township accounts list expenditures in support of rudimentary ‘social services.’ In 1866 a local resident was paid $5 for “taking care of an indigent” and another resident received a payment of $1 for “digging grave for an indigent”. In 1876, expenses of over $300 were noted for “support of the poor” plus $139 “resulting from smallpox” in a local family.
The township hall referred to in early township documents refers to a building constructed in 1848, also of brick construction, that probably occupied the site of the current Old Town Hall. By 1887 it was deemed to be in poor condition and in need of replacement. At a public meeting held in 1887 it was decided to build a new, more impressive township hall. In January 1888, at the first meeting of council, the new Reeve, Edward Morris “laid upon the table a contract for the erection of the new Town Hall entered into by the late Reeve and Mr. Vanderburgh”, a Welland contractor. Records indicate that “the councillors vacated their seats for 20 minutes to examine the land with a view to ascertain how best to place the new Town Hall.”
To pay for the building, Council had “loaned” $2,500 from Andrew Hansler and it was decided to impose a one mill levy. The building must have been erected that summer as the August Council meeting was held at the Pelham Centre Post Office. On Saturday 15 December 1888, the Council met at the “New Town Hall, being the first sitting therein.” Pelham Historian Mary Lamb noted that “though no longer used for municipal offices today, this fine old building is a heritage structure, representing so many years of Pelham’s municipal history.”
The Old Pelham Town Hall continued to administer the local township affairs from 1888 until 1970, when the Town of Pelham was created. It hosted meetings of the Township Council, levied and collected taxes, administered local roads, and even provided a home base for the local township police constable. While the hosting of these administrative functions was key to the provision of local services in the township, the building also became an important community hub for local residents. A letter written by Beulah (Pollard) Haist in the 1980s provides examples of some of the activities that happened at the Old Town Hall.
“I was born and raised in the property that is now known as the fox farm. (The farm located just northwest of the Old Town Hall.) My first recollection of the Town Hall is when the armistice was signed ending WWI. The community gathered at the Hall for a celebration. “I remember my mom and my brother going but I was very apprehensive and my dad stayed home with me and we watched from the kitchen window. There was an effigy of the Kaiser strung up on a gallows and at the end of the celebration, it was burned. I wanted to see the Kaiser’s ashes and my dad took me there.
“My grandfather and grandmother (Pollard) lived in the house” that is west of the Old Town Hall. “Grandpa was the caretaker of the Hall for quite a few years. Just inside the front door was a huge box stove. The stove pipes ran the full length of the Hall. The ceiling was high, and the pipes were wired to the ceiling. I have seen those stove pipes red hot when grandpa got a good fire going. At this time the Hall was lit by lamps.
“Once or twice during the winter, a travelling troupe came through and presented a play on the stage at the Hall. This was a great social event, and the community all came. Sometimes a troupe of Bell Ringers came, and we always enjoyed them. My dad rented our piano to these troupes and was paid two or three dollars. This of course meant the piano had to be tuned after moving for the sum of 50 or 75 cents.
“We were growing up and some new families moved in. We all played on the lawn of the Town Hall. These families included the Haists, Garners, Watts, Farrs, Wicks, the current minister’s children (Pelham Centre E.U.B. now Pelham Community Church) and the Pollards.
“The Ladies Aid of the Pelham Centre E.U.B. Church held their Annual Bazaar every Fall in the Town Hall. Many dinners were also served there until the Church had its own facilities. Pelham Centre S. S. #3 School always held their Christmas concerts there also. The entertainment was always in the afternoon as we didn’t have to bother with lamps. What happy memories.
“The Town Council always met in the daytime also. At noon they adjourned to my Grandpa Pollard's for their noon meal. They paid 50 cents for this full course meal. Their Christmas Dinner was always a festive affair with Grandma baking weeks in advance. My grandma’s daughter and my mom always helped. The table literally groaned with the amount of food and Grandma always found a one-dollar bill tucked neatly under each plate.
“The years passed and we grew up. Sheldon’s (Beulah’s husband) and my wedding reception was held at the Town Hall July 19, 1939, and less than a year later my brother Harold and Doris’ reception was held there also.”
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The building had a few alterations over the years that included the addition on the west and north side. The addition on the north included the provision of improved kitchen facilities.
In 1920 the Township of Pelham erected a cenotaph to honour the memory of 18 township residents who did not return from the First World War. A German trench mortar captured by the Canadian army during a raid at Neuville Vitasse in 1918 was installed as part of the memorial. The raid of Neuville Vitasse was made overnight on June 23 and 24 by two companies from the 31st Battalion South Alberta Regiment. The war ended on November 11, 1918.
After the First World War, the Government of Canada offered “spoils of war” to municipalities, schools, reserves and other groups to display. The Township of Pelham received its mortar by train at the Fenwick station in 1921. Similar captured military equipment was sent to Fonthill and to Welland. Many of these ‘war spoils’ fell victim to metal drives during the Second World War. These pieces of war materiel were melted down to create new weapons of war. Somehow the Pelham mortar was spared as it continues to be part of the Ridgeville cenotaph. It was restored in 2015 by the Town of Pelham, maintaining this important memorial to those who died in service to Canada.
An act of the government of Ontario created the Town of Pelham as part of the Region of Niagara in 1970. This legislation saw the reunification of the Councils of the Township of Pelham and the Village of Fonthill. (Fonthill, which was located partially in Pelham and Thorold Townships, was created in 1922.) The decision to locate the local government in the former Fonthill Village Hall resulted in the former township hall becoming surplus. Town council made the decision to retain the building for community use.
In 1974 the Council of the Town of Pelham designated the old Town Hall as ‘The Pelham Senior Citizens Drop-in Centre’. Many other local groups included the Fonthill and District Kinsmen. Musical Coffee House, and the Pelham Historical Society have met in the building over the years. The building continued to host bridal showers and weddings as well.
The Old Town Hall had significant renovations in 1990 and again in 2022. It continues to serve as an important community hub for the Town of Pelham.
This document has been created in response to a request for additional information regarding the Old Pelham Town Hall that is located at the corner of Canboro Road and Memorial Drive. It is a compilation of information from the various files located in the archives of the Pelham Historical Society. Most of the information is therefore derived from secondary sources and is a summary of information created by a number of local residents.
Robert Young is president of the Pelham Historical Society.