Welcome to our People of the Parks blog series. This four-part series is a companion to “You are Here,” our temporary exhibit all about mapping St. Catharines, on at the museum through the end of 2026. 

The City of St. Catharines has over 100 public parks. The first one came in 1888 with the opening of Montebello Park, designed by superstar American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The greenspace at Montebello had already been used for public enjoyment in an unofficial capacity since shortly after the unexpected death of its former owner, William Hamilton Merritt Jr, in 1860.  

The late 19^th century is considered the first boom era for public park building. This was especially the case in increasingly industrialized and urbanized North American cities where planned greenspaces were introduced as a public health initiative; an antidote for the distress caused by living away from nature. Given this trend, the Montebello’s central location, and the public’s enjoyment of the space, it was only natural for the municipal government to purchase this lot and seal the deal. 

And the name? The City did not have to worry about coming up with a moniker for this space, because it had already been dubbed “Montebello” by the late William Hamilton Merritt Jr. Montebello is Spanish for “beautiful mountain” and was inspired by time William spent in Europe for his education. A similar process happened with other early city parks, emerging naturally from already communal spaces and inheriting a pre-established name – think Lakeside Park or Oakhill Park.  

But as the 20^th century progressed and more and more new parks were established from scratch, names had to be chosen. Several dozen St. Catharines parks are named after people, but over time public memory of that person can fade and be lost. In this blog series, I will be exploring twelve of these “People of the Parks”, sharing biographical information along with some history of the parks themselves. 

Each part of this blog series will explore parks located in a particular section of the City of St. Catharines. Rather than follow historical municipal boundaries, the city will be split into four equal parts with three parks in each. Readers can refer to the map below to orientate themselves. 

Part 1: Northwest 

This week, I’ll be taking a look at three parks in the northwest area of St. Catharines that are all named after people. These are Rennie Park and Howes Park in Port Dalhousie, and Torosian Park, located in the Orchard Park neighbourhood. Keep reading for a leisurely stroll through history! 

Rennie Park 

Rennie Park, located at 60 Lakeport Rd, is one of the first places drivers will see as they cross the bridge into the village of Port Dalhousie. Its location has a complex history linked to several key features in the history of Port Dalhousie and St. Catharines more broadly. The park is very much a product of human engineering as, just over 50 years ago, the site was nearly entirely under water. Rennie Park primarily comprises an artificial peninsula that was built on part of the route of the Second Welland Canal as well as the Muir Brothers Dry Docks. 

The Second Welland Canal operated as a shipping route from 1845 until 1881 and it continued to be used for industrial and local transportation purposes for several decades after that. What’s left of Lock 1, just 100 metres from Rennie Park near Lakeport Road and Lock Street, has also been converted for public use, making it relatively easy to imagine how the canal would have once cut directly through what is now greenspace.  

The west side of Rennie Park is on the site of the former Muir Brothers Dry Docks. This was a shipyard that operated from the 1840s until 1968 – Port Dalhousie’s longest running industry. This shipyard was founded by Alexander Muir, a Scottish shipbuilder and one of Port Dalhousie’s earliest major business owners. He was later joined by four brothers. Though designed for the Second Welland Canal, the shipyard remained in operation for the entire lifespan of the Third Welland Canal, which also entered at Port Dalhousie. The Muir Brothers Dry Docks continued their business well into the Fourth Canal’s tenure as well by switching their focus to scrapping versus repairing and building. This part of Rennie Park would have also been mostly under water, as the shipyard was comprised largely of docking space for schooners, steamers, and early lakers. Dalhousie House, on the Western edge of the park, dates to around 1850 and is the only remaining infrastructure from Muir Brothers.  

Rennie Park is also linked to a third significant piece of Port Dalhousie history: the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. The regatta has taken place in Martindale Pond, which Rennie Park dips into, since 1903. The park includes two public art installations celebrating aspects of the regatta. Furthermore, continued dredging of the racecourse over the years has expanded the park’s footprint. 

That’s a lot of history, but what about the name? Who was Rennie?  

The park is named for Jim Rennie, a local community volunteer who is credited with spearheading efforts to revitalize Port Dalhousie during a period of de-industrialization, economic downturn, and identity crisis in the 1960s and ‘70s. Rennie had twice been president of Port Dalhousie’s Neighbourhood Improvement Program and was a founding member of Port Dalhousie Quorum, a citizens group that renovated Dalhousie House. Rennie was a great Port promoter and was known for providing anonymous help to those in need. Jim Rennie passed away in 1976. When this public park opened up two years later, community members pushed for the space to be named after Jim Rennie. The proposal was brought to city council and, after some back and forth, the city’s newest park was given the name that remains today. 

Howes Park 

Howes Park is quite close to Rennie Park and shares much of its historical context. While Rennie Park is in the path of the historic Second Welland Canal, Howes Park is in the path of the Third Welland Canal. Like Lock 1 of the Second Canal, Lock 1 of the Third, located just to the southeast, was plugged and partly buried, resulting in a small public greenspace overlooking the old lock walls. This project ensured that more waterflow would be sent through the adjacent Heywood Hydroelectric Generating Station turbines.  

The Third Welland Canal was in use for shipping from 1881 until 1932. However, Lock 1 continued to be used to allow ships access to the Muir Brothers Shipyard until the company’s closure in 1968. Like the first two canals, this system entered at Port Dalhousie. But after the first lock, the Third Canal took a sharp eastward turn. This system followed an entirely humanmade channel that once cut across what is now the North End of St. Catharines. This was done to bypass the slow, challenging route that the first two canals followed along the natural curves of Twelve Mile Creek through busy downtown St. Catharines. This bypass line was completely filled in and built over beginning in the 1930s, meaning that, in St. Catharines, the older Second Welland Canal is in a far better state of preservation than the Third. Howes Park, which also features an 1887 lockkeeper’s shanty, provides a rare opportunity to view Third Canal infrastructure in St. Catharines. 

So where does the name Howe come from?  

Sandwiched between the first locks of the Second and Third Welland Canals is an old factory building that was constructed in 1899 as the Maple Leaf Rubber Factory. It is, however, now better remembered as the site of Lincoln Fabrics, which occupied the space from 1955 until 2017. This company’s founder was A. Stewart Howes. His son, David S. Howes, led the company from 1983 until his death in 2015. The park was named after both of them the following year. Both Howes were known as active and generous community members and were involved in health, education, and heritage organizations. 

The Howes’ company, Lincoln Fabrics, was the last active factory in the core of Port Dalhousie. The company manufactured specialty utility fabrics like ballistic and protective clothing, fire-resistant materials, and hockey pants. Operations moved down the highway to Grimsby in 2017 but, at the time of writing, the company no longer has a presence in Canada. Howes Park helps to commemorate Port Dalhousie’s industrial history, as well as the importance of the first three Welland Canals in supporting these industries and establishing a local identity. 

Torosian Park 

Unlike the other two northwestern parks, Torosian Park is not located in Port Dalhousie. This small neighbourhood greenspace and playground is located on Ventura Drive, and the closest major intersection is Carlton and Ontario Streets. This neighbourhood, which is sometimes referred to as Orchard Park, is at the north end of St. Catharines’ old core and historically revolved around the McKinnon Industries/General Motors Plant as well as the city’s small but vibrant Armenian community.  

This park is named after Hygus Torosian and his family. Hygus Torosian was a notable figure in the Armenian community. The family owned a farm on Ontario Street north of Carlton Street that grew strawberries and greenhouse produce. Virtually the whole stretch between Carlton Street and Lakeport Road – the approximate historical urban boundaries of St. Catharines and Port Dalhousie – was once fruit farms. By the 1980s, however, the Torosian farm was surrounded by urban development. In 1989, Hygus became the second last landowner in the area to sell to commercial developers. Five years before this sale, however, he had sold a small chunk to the City which was made into the park that remains today. 

Hygus’ father Ohannus Torosian came to Canada from Armenia in about 1905. Like many others, he was escaping a brutal genocide being committed against his people by the ruling Turks in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire. A community of Armenians soon formed around McKinnon Industries, where most of the men found work. Ohannus bought the family farm in 1919 and, for years, worked at McKinnon in the winter and on the farm in the summer. The Torosians were among the families that helped build St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church on Carlton Street in 1930. This was Canada’s first Armenian Church, and it is still open today.  

Hygus was born in 1912. Like his father, he worked at McKinnon Industries and was a lifelong active member of the Armenian church community. Hygus was also a founding and active member of UAW Local 199. This union, now called Unifor Local 199, was established at McKinnon Industries in 1936 and still represents St. Catharines General Motors employees today. He was also a veteran of the Second World War, having served on the front lines for four years with the Royal Canadian Mechanical Engineers. Hygus Torosian died in St. Catharines in 2002. 

Conclusion 

Thank you for reading Part 1 of our People of the Parks blog series! Be sure to check back next week when I will be delving into the stories of three more individuals or families who inspired park names in St. Catharines. Next week I’ll be heading to the Northeast. See you there! 

Click HERE for Part 2

Sean Dineley is a Public Programmer at the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre