In 1778 a fur trade post was established and the settlement was known as Smith's Creek.[5]
In 1793, Loyalists from the northern colonies became the first permanent settlers of European heritage in the area, as the Crown granted them land as compensation for being forced to leave the colonies (much of their property was confiscated by rebel governments) and as payment for military service.[citation needed]John Graves Simcoe, then lieutenant governor of Upper Canada, established the Township of Hope in the early 1790s, named after Colonel Henry Hope, lieutenant governor of the Province of Quebec.[6]
From 1817 to 1819 the area was known as Toronto or "Toronto at Smith's Creek".[7][8]
In 1819 the village and township were united and named Port Hope.[9][10] In 1834 Port Hope was incorporated as a town.
Relatively slow growth from 1881 to 1951 resulted in much of the town's 19th-century architecture surviving. Port Hope's downtown is celebrated as Ontario's best-preserved 19th-century streetscape. The town's chapter of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario and the Heritage Port Hope Advisory Committee are very active and advise on the restoration and preservation of architecturally or historically significant buildings.
With over 270 heritage-designated buildings, Port Hope has a higher per capita rate of preservation than any other town or city in Canada. The municipality regulates downtown businesses to maintain the town's unique character. This character makes Port Hope a destination for heritage tourism and people interested in architecture.
In 2001, the original town amalgamated with Hope Township to form the Municipality of Port Hope and Hope, which was renamed to its current name in November of that year. At the time of amalgamation, the census listed the town's population as 11,718[12] and the township's as 3,887.[13]
During World War II, the Eldorado plant produced exponentially more uranium oxides, which the United States used in the Manhattan Project to make nuclear weapons.[17] This plant, now under the ownership of Cameco, continues to produce uranium fuel for nuclear power plants.
In 2002, a large amount of contaminated soil was removed from beachfront areas.[18] More recently, testing of over 5,000 properties began, with a plan to remove and store contaminated soil that had been used as landfill. Over $1 billion is expected to be spent on the soil remediation project, the largest such cleanup in Canadian history.[15]
Geography
Communities
Besides the town proper of Port Hope, the municipality of Port Hope comprises a number of villages and hamlets, including Campbellcroft, Canton, Dale, Davidson's Corners (partially), Decker Hollow (ghost town), Elizabethville, Garden Hill, Knoxville, Morrish, Osaca, Perrytown, Port Britain, Rossmount (partially), Tinkerville, Thomstown, Welcome, Wesleyville, and Zion.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Port Hope had a population of 17,294 living in 7,318 of its 7,607 total private dwellings, a change of 3.2% from its 2016 population of 16,753. With a land area of 278.8 km2 (107.6 sq mi), it had a population density of 62.0/km2 (160.7/sq mi) in 2021.[1]
Top ten Port Hope industries by employment (2015)[27]
Company
Employees
CPK Interior Products
403
Cameco Corporation
390
ESCO
157
Cameco Fuel Services
140
Akzo Nobel
78
Standard Auto Wreckers
60
Disk Tooling
40
Curtis Chicks
32
Unitrak
21
Port Hope Patterns
12
Downtown Port Hope offers shopping and a historic main street. Port Hope is served by a Via Rail station. It has a medical center, and a community health centre. It has had a daily newspaper since 1878, the Port Hope Evening Guide. Until 2007, this was part of the Osprey Media chain and subsequently a part of the Sun Media organization. In 2009 the newspaper was amalgamated with the Cobourg Daily Star and renamed as Northumberland Today.com. In November 2017 the newspaper was included in the large-scale closing of many local community newspapers throughout the province of Ontario.[28]
Port Hope's Economic Development Strategic Plan aims to increase job growth at least as fast as population growth. The town has a variety of industries.
The Ganaraska River (affectionately known as "The Ganny"), is well known to area anglers for annual salmon and trout runs. It has caused many historic floods, the most recent having occurred on March 21–22, 1980. Every April since until 2020, Port Hope has commemorated the flood with "Float Your Fanny Down the Ganny" ten kilometre boat race.[29][30][31] "Participants range from serious paddlers navigating the cold, fast-moving water in kayaks and canoes, to the very entertaining 'crazy craft' paddlers, floating any combination of materials down the river in an attempt to reach the finish line."[32] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was cancelled in 2020 and 2021, the first time in its history for such action.[33]
Attractions
The Capitol Theatre is Canada's last functioning atmospheric theatre.[34] The theatre's main auditorium is styled after an outdoor medieval courtyard and rolling clouds are projected onto the ceiling. The town spent in excess of three million dollars renovating and upgrading the theatre in 2004–2005. It is also used for live events by Port Hope Festival Theatre.
John David Smith House, c. 1834Waddell Block-Lantern Inn, 1845
The Municipality of Port Hope is home to many heritage and cultural attractions, and events, including:
Float Your Fanny Down the Ganny—a water race commemorating the 1980 flood of the Ganaraska River[35]
Pleasure boats dock at the foot of John Street at Hayward Street and share the facilities with Cameco, which has berths for freighters servicing their manufacturing facilities at the mouth of the Ganaraska River.
^"Port Hope", K.l. Morrison, The Canadian Encyclopedia, October 31, 2012
^"Port Hope", K.l. Morrison, The Canadian Encyclopedia, October 31, 2012
^"Port Hope has had several names", Northumberland Today, Tuesday, November 11, 2014, "Charles Fothergill was the spokesperson for the group who wished to change the name of Smith's Creek. When he petitioned the government for a post office in 1817, Mr. Fothergill referred to the area as “Toronto at Smith’s Creek.” The name Toronto appealed to Fothergill because it meant ‘carrying place.’ For two years this area was referred to as Toronto, and the name appeared on legal documents from the village during that period."
^"Port Hope", K.l. Morrison, The Canadian Encyclopedia, October 31, 2012, "From 1817-19 Port Hope was known as Toronto but the citizens then decided on the name Port Hope."
^"Port Hope has had several names", Northumberland Today, Tuesday, November 11, 2014, "In June 1819, the village and township were united after a unanimous approval of the name Port Hope."
^Edwards, Peter Unrepentant The Strange and (Sometimes) Terrible Life of Lorne Campbell, Satan's Choice and Hells Angels Biker, Toronto: Vintage Canada page 88
^"Port Hope, Ontario". Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000. Environment Canada. Archived from the original on August 19, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
^"1971 Census of Canada - Population Census Subdivisions (Historical)". Catalogue 92-702 Vol I, Part 1 (Bulletin 1.1-2). Statistics Canada: 76, 139. July 1973.
