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Nov. 1st, 2015 09:50 am
Worldbuilding: Trinity City, Ontario
Trinity
Nicknames: Second City (Referring to its secondary status to Toronto), Consort City/Prince City (Another reference to Toronto, this time to Toronto's old nickname 'Queen City'), Canal City.
19th Century
1866-1868
John Rains Burke (1839-1891), a junior accountant with Great Western Railway, approaches investors in Toronto and Montreal with a plan to develop the 'Indian or Saugeen Peninsula'. With vague promises of support from GWR, Burke wins the backing of five investors.
1868
The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario grants John R. Burke three large tracts of land in exchange for a commitment to develop a railway through the peninsula. The wording describing the extent of Burke's new properties is vague, and there are rumours that Burke bribed a clerk in the Lieutenant Governor's office to intervene in his favour. Burke, the families of three of his backers, and 500 workers establish the town of Odawa on the shore of Georgian Bay.
1868-1871
Burke's Huron Railway and Shipping Company (HR&S Co) lays track between Odawa and Pike Bay, and establishes regular steamboat routes to Owen Sound, Severn Sound, and Parry Sound. Odawa grows to 5000 people.
Responding to the exact wording of his contract with the government of Ontario, Burke's crews lay out a survey grid with points at every mile and a quarter. Where the gridlines cross his new railway lines the crews build wooden platforms. The train stops at each platform at least once a week, and at every third platform twice a week. This exceeds the contractual obligation for frequent service at regular intervals along his line, forcing the province to pay him extra for each platform. Burke uses the money to buy more land through the peninsula.
1872-1876
The HR&S Co lays track between Owen Sound and Little Lake, extending the mile-and-a-quarter markers. The province goes to court to dispute the terms of the contract, losing the first round and having to pay out in 1877.
1874
With an endowment from Burke, the Anglican Church establishes the parish of the Holy Trinity.
1875
The Hudson's Bay Company opens its Huron Peninsula outlet.
1877
An HR&S Co clerk is convicted of attempting to bribe a provincial surveyor.
1879
500 Methodists from Toronto establish York, a dry colony at Little Lake.
1880
Burke carries his argument with the government of Ontario into public, influencing the local papers to attack the Premier and his party.
1881
Following the conviction of another HR&S Co clerk for attempted bribery of an official, John Rains Burke meets with the premier of Ontario. Following the meeting, he sells his tracks and rights of way to the Huron Peninsula townships of Odawa, Pike Bay, and York.
Burke donates tens of thousands of dollars and hires Calvert Vaux from New York City to support the construction of the new Holy Trinity Cathedral.
1883
The River Conservation League of Odawa and York Towns is formed.
Native reserves created in north Huron Peninsula.
1884
Construction of the Holy Trinity Cathedral finishes ahead of schedule and vastly over budget.
Methodist colony of York bought out by real estate speculators from Toronto. 15 farming families and 75 labourers move into the region, followed over the next year by 2000 settlers.
The HR&S Co expands into finances, lending funds to companies and small communities bankrupted by the changing Canadian economy. HR&S Co financing quickly specializes in seizing and selling off assets of debtors unable to make their payments, becoming early innovators in 'vulture capitalism'.
1885
In competition with J.R. Booth of the OA&PS, Burke invests in mill and mining operations throughout the Parry Sound and Severn Sound regions.
1886-1888
Burke quickly losses ground in the Algoma region, with Booth outcompeting him and buying up his investments.
1887-1888
J.R. Burke Financial Company spins off from HR&S Co and expands rapidly.
1888-1891
Owned by a municipal corporation, the narrow-gauge tracks of the former HR&S Co railway are converted to streetcars.
1890
The townships of Odawa (9500), Pike Bay (7500), and York (3000) unite as Trinity City. Aside from the town populations, another 2500 live in the newly incorporated area, giving Trinity a population of 22500. Another 3500 live in villages just outside of Trinity's limits.
Trinity has five wards, each named after one of the Great Lakes, with each ward electing a councillor and the mayor being selected in a city-wide election. In addition to the councillor each ward has an executive committee responsible for streets, utilities, and general infrastructure. The ward executive committee is elected by property owners within the ward.
Over the next fifteen years Trinity's wards will lay out several distinctive road systems, ranging from tight grids to radiant patterns or roads in concentric rings. All the wards use Booth's old mile-and-a-quarter markers for convenience, but otherwise have conflicting roadways.
The HBC opens a tunnel between its main store and its furniture store, for the convenience of people shopping during winter.
1891
John Rains Burke dies, leaving his real estate and business holdings to the city and his wealth to various artistic foundations.
John Rains Burke had terrible taste in architecture and the visual arts, and his endowments will stunt Trinity's artistic community for a generation. However, he had excellent taste in music and musical theatre, and music and theatre productions remain an important part of Trinity's media and tourism economy into the 21st Century.
1895
Ontario creates Ira Lake Provincial Park, settling the last of its land disputes dating back to the Burke era.
1900
Canada Post opens a service tunnel between the train station and its offices to avoid traffic.
1904
Following new legislation from the province Trinity abolishes its ward executive councils and creates a Board of Controllers. The Board's first act is to hire a French architect and engineer to lay out a new road system for the city.
McNicoll Marine Engineering expands from making engine and pump parts to include epoxies and solvents, forming the basis of Trinity's later chemical engineering industry.
1905
Trinity's new roads master plan is completed. The engineer used Burke's legacy survey markers to create a grid system overlaying the various ward maps. Despite some conversion errors stemming from the engineer's insistence on using metric units, the new plan allows Trinity to connect its communities and grow both inward and outward.
The Trent-Severn Waterway opens (A decade earlier than in real life), allowing Lake Huron shipping to reach Trenton. Recognizing that many of the old port towns along the shores of Lake Huron will be hard hit by changing shipping patterns, the J.R. Burke Financial Company reorganizes into Trinity First Financial and prepares to expand.
1907
Trinity establishes laws restricting the height of buildings along waterways and shorelines, taking the first step to creating its distinctive undulating skyline.
1915-1918
The wetlands at the south edge of the city are drained and boating canals are built.
1917
A tunnel is built between Confederation Station and the Caledon Hotel.
Construction begins on Trinity's elevated railway.
1919
First branch of the Trinity Metrorail system opens to the public.
1927-1947
Trinity expands to nine wards, named after the Great Lakes and major rivers. These ward-based communities will survive as the core of Trinity's major neighbourhoods.
1932
Welland Canal opens, making the Trent-Severn Waterway obsolete. Trinity First Financial claims assets from dozens of minor companies and communities along the waterway.
1944
Explosion at a munitions warehouse causes a fire that destroys most of the factories and warehouses along Pike Bay. Trinity pockets most of the insurance money as general revenue and rebuilds the area as cheap row housing for labourers.
Trinity Airport opens.
1948
Trinity's wards are redrawn and numbered rather than named.
1950
2000 Japanese-Canadians released from internment camps move into the new townhouses along Pike Bay and find work in the King Street Tunnel Project. In time this settlement will expand into the community of Little Tokyo and the shopping district of J-Town, forming the largest Japanese community in Ontario.
1950-1957
The King Street Tunnel constructed. A combination subway and underground freeway, the fifteen kilometre tunnel is one of the longest urban tunnels in the world. At ground level King Street is narrowed, improving the connections between communities on either side of the former major roadway.
1957
The Trinity First Financial Centre opens with underground shops and food court.
1960
TFF Centre connected to the Caledon Tunnel and Bay Tunnel.
1963
The old post office tunnel is added to Trinity's expanding underground.
1965
Trinity Airport sold to federal government, and redesignated as Trinity International Airport (YTR).
1972
Trinity amalgamates with the tri-city municipalities of Wiarton, South Huron, and Lake Charles.
1975
Trinity's city council votes to abolish the Board of Control.
Current
40 wards plus a mayor.
Nicknames: Second City (Referring to its secondary status to Toronto), Consort City/Prince City (Another reference to Toronto, this time to Toronto's old nickname 'Queen City'), Canal City.
19th Century
1866-1868
John Rains Burke (1839-1891), a junior accountant with Great Western Railway, approaches investors in Toronto and Montreal with a plan to develop the 'Indian or Saugeen Peninsula'. With vague promises of support from GWR, Burke wins the backing of five investors.
1868
The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario grants John R. Burke three large tracts of land in exchange for a commitment to develop a railway through the peninsula. The wording describing the extent of Burke's new properties is vague, and there are rumours that Burke bribed a clerk in the Lieutenant Governor's office to intervene in his favour. Burke, the families of three of his backers, and 500 workers establish the town of Odawa on the shore of Georgian Bay.
1868-1871
Burke's Huron Railway and Shipping Company (HR&S Co) lays track between Odawa and Pike Bay, and establishes regular steamboat routes to Owen Sound, Severn Sound, and Parry Sound. Odawa grows to 5000 people.
Responding to the exact wording of his contract with the government of Ontario, Burke's crews lay out a survey grid with points at every mile and a quarter. Where the gridlines cross his new railway lines the crews build wooden platforms. The train stops at each platform at least once a week, and at every third platform twice a week. This exceeds the contractual obligation for frequent service at regular intervals along his line, forcing the province to pay him extra for each platform. Burke uses the money to buy more land through the peninsula.
1872-1876
The HR&S Co lays track between Owen Sound and Little Lake, extending the mile-and-a-quarter markers. The province goes to court to dispute the terms of the contract, losing the first round and having to pay out in 1877.
1874
With an endowment from Burke, the Anglican Church establishes the parish of the Holy Trinity.
1875
The Hudson's Bay Company opens its Huron Peninsula outlet.
1877
An HR&S Co clerk is convicted of attempting to bribe a provincial surveyor.
1879
500 Methodists from Toronto establish York, a dry colony at Little Lake.
1880
Burke carries his argument with the government of Ontario into public, influencing the local papers to attack the Premier and his party.
1881
Following the conviction of another HR&S Co clerk for attempted bribery of an official, John Rains Burke meets with the premier of Ontario. Following the meeting, he sells his tracks and rights of way to the Huron Peninsula townships of Odawa, Pike Bay, and York.
Burke donates tens of thousands of dollars and hires Calvert Vaux from New York City to support the construction of the new Holy Trinity Cathedral.
1883
The River Conservation League of Odawa and York Towns is formed.
Native reserves created in north Huron Peninsula.
1884
Construction of the Holy Trinity Cathedral finishes ahead of schedule and vastly over budget.
Methodist colony of York bought out by real estate speculators from Toronto. 15 farming families and 75 labourers move into the region, followed over the next year by 2000 settlers.
The HR&S Co expands into finances, lending funds to companies and small communities bankrupted by the changing Canadian economy. HR&S Co financing quickly specializes in seizing and selling off assets of debtors unable to make their payments, becoming early innovators in 'vulture capitalism'.
1885
In competition with J.R. Booth of the OA&PS, Burke invests in mill and mining operations throughout the Parry Sound and Severn Sound regions.
1886-1888
Burke quickly losses ground in the Algoma region, with Booth outcompeting him and buying up his investments.
1887-1888
J.R. Burke Financial Company spins off from HR&S Co and expands rapidly.
1888-1891
Owned by a municipal corporation, the narrow-gauge tracks of the former HR&S Co railway are converted to streetcars.
1890
The townships of Odawa (9500), Pike Bay (7500), and York (3000) unite as Trinity City. Aside from the town populations, another 2500 live in the newly incorporated area, giving Trinity a population of 22500. Another 3500 live in villages just outside of Trinity's limits.
Trinity has five wards, each named after one of the Great Lakes, with each ward electing a councillor and the mayor being selected in a city-wide election. In addition to the councillor each ward has an executive committee responsible for streets, utilities, and general infrastructure. The ward executive committee is elected by property owners within the ward.
Over the next fifteen years Trinity's wards will lay out several distinctive road systems, ranging from tight grids to radiant patterns or roads in concentric rings. All the wards use Booth's old mile-and-a-quarter markers for convenience, but otherwise have conflicting roadways.
The HBC opens a tunnel between its main store and its furniture store, for the convenience of people shopping during winter.
1891
John Rains Burke dies, leaving his real estate and business holdings to the city and his wealth to various artistic foundations.
John Rains Burke had terrible taste in architecture and the visual arts, and his endowments will stunt Trinity's artistic community for a generation. However, he had excellent taste in music and musical theatre, and music and theatre productions remain an important part of Trinity's media and tourism economy into the 21st Century.
1895
Ontario creates Ira Lake Provincial Park, settling the last of its land disputes dating back to the Burke era.
1900
Canada Post opens a service tunnel between the train station and its offices to avoid traffic.
1904
Following new legislation from the province Trinity abolishes its ward executive councils and creates a Board of Controllers. The Board's first act is to hire a French architect and engineer to lay out a new road system for the city.
McNicoll Marine Engineering expands from making engine and pump parts to include epoxies and solvents, forming the basis of Trinity's later chemical engineering industry.
1905
Trinity's new roads master plan is completed. The engineer used Burke's legacy survey markers to create a grid system overlaying the various ward maps. Despite some conversion errors stemming from the engineer's insistence on using metric units, the new plan allows Trinity to connect its communities and grow both inward and outward.
The Trent-Severn Waterway opens (A decade earlier than in real life), allowing Lake Huron shipping to reach Trenton. Recognizing that many of the old port towns along the shores of Lake Huron will be hard hit by changing shipping patterns, the J.R. Burke Financial Company reorganizes into Trinity First Financial and prepares to expand.
1907
Trinity establishes laws restricting the height of buildings along waterways and shorelines, taking the first step to creating its distinctive undulating skyline.
1915-1918
The wetlands at the south edge of the city are drained and boating canals are built.
1917
A tunnel is built between Confederation Station and the Caledon Hotel.
Construction begins on Trinity's elevated railway.
1919
First branch of the Trinity Metrorail system opens to the public.
1927-1947
Trinity expands to nine wards, named after the Great Lakes and major rivers. These ward-based communities will survive as the core of Trinity's major neighbourhoods.
1932
Welland Canal opens, making the Trent-Severn Waterway obsolete. Trinity First Financial claims assets from dozens of minor companies and communities along the waterway.
1944
Explosion at a munitions warehouse causes a fire that destroys most of the factories and warehouses along Pike Bay. Trinity pockets most of the insurance money as general revenue and rebuilds the area as cheap row housing for labourers.
Trinity Airport opens.
1948
Trinity's wards are redrawn and numbered rather than named.
1950
2000 Japanese-Canadians released from internment camps move into the new townhouses along Pike Bay and find work in the King Street Tunnel Project. In time this settlement will expand into the community of Little Tokyo and the shopping district of J-Town, forming the largest Japanese community in Ontario.
1950-1957
The King Street Tunnel constructed. A combination subway and underground freeway, the fifteen kilometre tunnel is one of the longest urban tunnels in the world. At ground level King Street is narrowed, improving the connections between communities on either side of the former major roadway.
1957
The Trinity First Financial Centre opens with underground shops and food court.
1960
TFF Centre connected to the Caledon Tunnel and Bay Tunnel.
1963
The old post office tunnel is added to Trinity's expanding underground.
1965
Trinity Airport sold to federal government, and redesignated as Trinity International Airport (YTR).
1972
Trinity amalgamates with the tri-city municipalities of Wiarton, South Huron, and Lake Charles.
1975
Trinity's city council votes to abolish the Board of Control.
Current
40 wards plus a mayor.
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