Hamilton’s very first docks, wharves and warehouses were built here, at the north end of James Street, beginning in the 1820’s. The facilities were built by local tradesmen and landowners keen to take advantage of the increase in trade passing through the waters of the Harbour. The increase in traffic volume generated by a growing economy, lured boat-builders, marine foundries and other industrial manufacturers.

The Harbour’s centre of economic activity shifted west several decades later in the 1850’s with the opening of the Great Western Railway and grain elevator. Hamilton’s industrial centre shifted once again after 1900 as great portions of the Harbour were infilled and used as industrial lands. In 1912, the Hamilton Harbour Commission was assembled to manage the new development.

Source: Hamilton Industrial Trail