For many a year now, the Hamilton region has suffered from a narrow reputation as Canada’s steel capital and southern Ontario’s industrial heartland. While it is true that it can’t complete with vacationlands like Muskoka, or with the picturesque villages surrounding Kitchener-Waterloo, it is also true that it has acquired a variety of attractions to encourage visitor to linger.

Hamilton’s mountain and its bay were the two distinctive features that drew pioneers to the area. Like most towns in the area, Hamilton too was settled by Loyalists fleeing the thirteen newly created American states after the American Revolution War.

Hamilton’s great harbour was the factor that made the city a significant commercial station on the Great Lakes Waterway. The city was also one of the firsts in the area to champion the development of the railway.