St. Thomas, Ontario
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City of St. Thomas | |
 |
|
| Motto: Strength through progress | |
 |
|
| Coordinates: 42°47′58″N 81°12′52″W / 42.79944°N 81.21444°W | |
| Country | Canada  |
|---|---|
| Province | Ontario  |
| County | Elgin County |
| Urban area | |
| Settled | 1810 |
| Incorporated | 1852 (Village) |
| 1861 (town) 1881 (city) |
|
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Cliff Barwick |
| - Governing Body | St. Thomas City Council |
| - MPs | Joe Preston (CPC) |
| - MPPs | Stephen J. Peters (OLP) |
| Area | |
| - City | 35.48 km2 (15.1 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 230 m (755 ft) |
| Population (2006)[1] | |
| - City | 36,110 |
| - Density | 1,017.7/km2 (2,669.8/sq mi) |
| - Metro | 457,720 |
| Census division population: 81,553 | |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Postal code span | N5P, N5R |
| Website | City of St. Thomas |
St. Thomas is a city in Southern (Southwestern), Ontario, Canada. It is the seat for Elgin County and gained its city charter on March 4, 1881.
Contents |
[edit] History
The city, located at the intersection of two historical roads, was first settled in 1810. It was named the seat of the new Elgin County in 1844 and was incorporated as a village in 1852, as a town in 1861, and as a city in 1881.
In the late 19th century and early 20th century several railways were constructed through the city, and St. Thomas became an important railway junction. A total of 26 railways have passed through the city since the first railway was completed in 1856. It has earned the title of the "Railway Capital of Canada." In the 1950s and 1960s, with the decline of the railway as a mode of transportation, other industry began to locate in the city, principally primary and secondary automotive manufacturing.
Jumbo (the elephant) died here on September 15, 1885, when a locomotive crashed into him. There is a life-sized commemorative statue that was erected in 1985, on the centennial of Jumbo's demise.
The city was named after Thomas Talbot[2] who helped promote the development of this region during the early 19th century . The founder of the settlement that became St. Thomas was Capt. Daniel Rapelje, descendant of a Walloon family settled in New Amsterdam, now New York City, at its inception in the seventeenth century.[3] In 1820, Rapelje, the town's first settler, divided his land into town lots suitable for a village. Owner of the New England Mill, Rapelje subsequently donated two acres of land for the building of St. Thomas Church.[4]
Between 1881 and 1988 the city had a private woman's school operating called Alma College (St. Thomas) which unfortunately was destroyed by fire in 2008.
[edit] Government
Cliff Barwick is the current mayor of St. Thomas. The City Council consists of the mayor and seven Aldermen, all elected at large.
St. Thomas Transit, which includes both conventional bus service and paratransit, is owned by the city and staffed and operated by Aboutown Transportation.
[edit] Demographics
- Caucasian: 95.5%
- Aboriginal: 1.2%
- Visible minorities: 3.3%
- Protestant: 52.1%
- Catholic: 21%
- No affiliation: 22.1%
- Other: 4.8%
[edit] Education
Fanshawe College has a campus in St. Thomas. Catholic schools are controlled by the London District Catholic School Board and public schools are controlled by the Thames Valley District School Board. There are two independent Christian schools, St. Thomas Community Christian School and Faith Christian Academy.
[edit] Business
Ford Motor Company of Canada' St. Thomas Assembly in nearby Talbotville has been building cars since 1968.
[edit] Media
St. Thomas has several media outlets based in the city. The St. Thomas Times-Journal is the city's newspaper, owned by Bowes Publishers. Rogers Cable operates a local community channel.
A low-power FM radio station — VF8016, 90.1 MHz — broadcasts religious activities from Faith Baptist Church of St. Thomas. CFHK-FM, branded as 103.1 Fresh FM, is also licensed to St. Thomas, although its programming largely targets the larger London market.
Although the city does not have its own television station, Industry Canada has allocated channel 33 for future use in St. Thomas.
[edit] Sports
There is a dragway called St. Thomas Dragway located a reasonable distance away from the town and minutes east of the historical community of Sparta. The dragway was established in 1962 to better accommodate the local drag racing community.
[edit] Climate
 Weather averages for St. Thomas, Ontario  |
|||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | -1 (30) |
-1 (30) |
3 (37) |
12 (54) |
19 (66) |
25 (77) |
27 (81) |
26 (79) |
22 (72) |
14 (57) |
6 (43) |
0 (32) |
12 (54) |
| Average low °C (°F) | -9 (16) |
-11 (12) |
-5 (23) |
0 (32) |
6 (43) |
11 (52) |
14 (57) |
12 (54) |
10 (50) |
3 (37) |
-1 (30) |
-6 (21) |
2 (36) |
| Precipitation cm (inches) | 10 (3.9) |
8 (3.1) |
7 (2.8) |
7 (2.8) |
7 (2.8) |
7 (2.8) |
8 (3.1) |
7 (2.8) |
7 (2.8) |
7 (2.8) |
9 (3.5) |
8 (3.1) |
97 (38.2) |
| Source: Weatherbase [5] March 2009 | |||||||||||||
[edit] Parks
There are two major parks in the city: Pinafore Park in the south, beside Pinafore Pond; and Waterworks Park in the north, which is straddled by Kettle Creek and the Waterworks Reservoir nearby.
The Trans Canada Trail goes through St. Thomas, with a pavilion located in Jonas Street Park.
[edit] Notable residents
- Jack Graney, professional baseball player and broadcaster, namesake of the Jack Graney Award
- Dave Hudson, former professional ice hockey player (New York Islanders, Kansas City Scouts, Colorado Rockies)
- DJ Kennington, NASCAR Nationwide Series driver
- Rachel McAdams, actress (The Hot Chick, Mean Girls, The Notebook, Wedding Crashers, Red Eye, The Family Stone, Marriage)
- Stephen Ouimette, actor, director widely known for his work at the Stratford Festival of Canada
- Stephen J. Peters, politician, MPP for Elgin—Middlesex—London, former Minister of Labour (Ontario) and Minister of Agriculture and Food (Ontario)
- Philip Francis Pocock, former catholic archbishop of Toronto
- Janet and Greta Podleski, bestselling cookbook authors (Looneyspoons, Crazy Plates, Eat, Shrink & Be Merry!), Food Network hosts and Reader's Digest columnists
- Capt. Daniel Rapelje, (1774–1828), born in New York State, founder of St. Thomas, Ontario
- Helen Shaver, actress, director, producer (The Amityville Horror, The Color of Money, Judging Amy)
- David Shaw, former professional ice hockey player (Stratford Cullitons, Kitchener Rangers, Québec Nordiques, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota North Stars, Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Vipers)
- Joe Thornton, professional ice hockey player (San Jose Sharks, Boston Bruins, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, St. Thomas Stars)
- Aaron Walpole, the third-place finisher in the third season of Canadian Idol
- Kari-Lynn Winters, children's book author, dramatist, literacy educator
[edit] References
- ^ Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada and Census Subdivisions (Municipalities), 2001 and 1996 Censuses - 100% Data
- ^ Rayburn, Alan (1997), Place Names of Ontario, University of Toronto Press, Pg. 304 ISBN 0802072070
- ^ Capt. Daniel Rapelje, 1774–1828, OntarioPlaques.com
- ^ History of St. Thomas Church Begins with Rapelje
- ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada". http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=139927&units=metric. Retrieved on 2009-03-30.
[edit] External links
- City of St. Thomas official website
- St. Thomas Downtown Development Board
- St. Thomas, Ontario, the Railway Capital of Canada
- Elgin County Railway Museum
- Elgin Theatre Guild
- St. Thomas Weather
- History of St. Thomas
| Destinations from ST. THOMAS | |||||||||||
| Strathroy via Highway 4 and Highway 402 |
London via Highbury Avenue and Wellington Road |
Belmont via Highway 3 |
|||||||||
| Sarnia via Highway 4 and Highway 402 |
|
Aylmer via Highway 3 |
|||||||||
| Chatham via Highway 4 and Highway 401 |
Port Stanley via Highway 4 |
Port Bruce via Highway 3 and Elgin County Road 73 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
