The firemen greet the Governor General
In late August 1874. Governor General Lord Dufferin and Lady Dufferin undertook an official visit to southern Ontario — London, St. Thomas, Simcoe, Cayuga, Welland ... They finally reached St. Catharines on the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 28.
At the railway station in west St. Catharines they boarded a carriage for a procession through the town — down St. Paul West, past Rodman Hall, over the swing bridge across the Canal, and up the steep slope on the other side.
After a pause for a formal greeting at a reviewing stand at the broad St. Paul Street/Ontario Street intersection, the Vice-Regal couple proceeded along St. Paul Street through a series of arches specially erected in their honour by local citizens.
At the intersection of St. Paul and Carlisle streets, the Governor General saw the scene depicted in the accompanying painting. There, in front of the Fire Hall, local firefighters had constructed an arch made of the tools of their trade — ladders and hoses — embellished with evergreens and a large banner reading “FIREMENS’ WELCOME to LORD DUFFERIN.” Near the bases of the arch they had positioned their fire engines and hose reels.
As Lord and Lady Dufferin passed beneath that arch one of the firefighters perched on it tossed into their carriage a bouquet of flowers, which the Vice-Regal couple gratefully acknowledged.
After their triumphal procession through the town, Lord and Lady Dufferin were feted at a banquet and enjoyed a fireworks display. They spent the night at the Stephenson House Hotel on Yates Street before going on the following day to visit Merritton and Thorold as well as a work site on the Third Welland Canal, then being constructed
Today the area where the firemen’s arch briefly stood in 1874 has changed entirely. As we look up St. Paul toward the St. Paul-Geneva intersection far in the distance, the trees have all vanished and not a single building visible in the old painting can be seen. The Sala Thai restaurant now stands on the right, where the Hall stood in 1874.
About the artist – the painting was done by Joseph T. See, an immigrant from England who had come to this country in the mid1860s, studied art in Toronto, and by 1869 settled in St. Catharines where he established himself as a photographer, artist and political cartoonist. (The St. Catharines Museum has a photograph by See of this same firemen’s arch.)
After nearly a decade of commercial success here J. T. See returned to England in 1877, established himself in the photography business there, and lived until 1907. Dennis Gannon is a member of the Historical Society of St. Catharines. He may be reached at gannond2002@yahoo.com