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A brief History of Blackfriars / Oxford Park
Like London South, London West was originally part of the Crown
Reserve set aside at the Forks of the Thames River by John Graves
Simcoe as the future capital of Upper Canada. London West, however,
developed much differently from its neighbour in London South, and
the main reason for this was geography.While London South was situated
on high, well-drained ground, London West was located on low ground
in the Thames River flood plain, swampy and prone to annual spring
and fall flooding.While London South developed into an affluent
residential neighbourhood, London West was home to working class
people and small farmers.
The first settler to receive a Crown Grant was John Kent in 1824
and, by 1840, most of the former Reserve Lands had been granted
to individuals in small acreages by the Crown.In these early years,
the area was called either “Nixon’s Flats” or
“Kent’s Flats”. With the growth of London across
the River, it became obvious to the leading citizen’s of London
West that the land had more value for speculative purposes than
it had for agriculture. Beginning in 1848, and continuing into the
1880’s, most of London West was subdivided into building lots.
The most influential resident of London West was Samuel Peters,
a surveyor, butcher and distiller, who is considered to be the founder
of London West. It was he who built Grosvenor Lodge, an outstanding
example of the Tudor Gothic Revival style, as his residence in 1853
on a rise of land in the north end of London West.
By 1874, London West had a population of 1.047 persons and the
community was successful in its attempts to become an incorporated
village. The boundaries of the village ran from the Thames River
north to what is now the Platt’s Lane/Wharncliffe Road intersection,
and in the west, to Platt’s Lane/Woodward Avenue. The name
selected for the new village, Petersville, reflected the prominence
of the Peter’s family of Grosvenor Lodge. This name lasted
until it was changed in 1881 to London West, apparently in reaction
to what was felt to be the heavy-handed paternalism of the current
Peter’s patriarch.
Petersville did not possess a substantial business or industrial
base and, from its beginnings, was primarily a suburb of the City
of London. Access to London was easily accomplished over the Dundas
or Blackfriars Bridges , and most residents worked and shopped in
London.Because of the annual flooding (not completely solved until
the construction of Fanshawe Dam in 1953), building lots were always
relatively inexpensive and Petersville was always predominantly
working class.
The first severe floods to affect London West occurred in 1873.
This flood was as nothing compared to the flood of 1883 which ravaged
the area and resulted in several deaths. Substantial earthen diking
was soon completed on the banks of the Thames River. But even these
dikes had little effect during the Great Flood of 1937 when the
Thames River rose 23 feet above normal levels. Though there was
no loss of life, the economic damage suffered by London West (and
other parts of the City as well)was incredibly heavy.
London West remained an incorporated village for twenty-three years
until it was annexed by the City of London in 1897.
Among London West landmarks, it is undoubtedly the Blackfriars
Bridge that truly defines the neighbourhood.Blackfriars Bridge ranks
as one of Canada’s most significant surviving 19th century
engineering structures.Erected in 1875 to replace early wooden bridges
by the Wrought Iron Bridge company of Canton, Ohio, the structure
is one of the few remaining “rainbow” bridges still
standing and spans the South Branch of the Thames River –
an unsupported run of 212 feet.
Another London West landmark is the current Labatt Park, formerly
Tecumseh Park.This park, apparently the oldest continually-used
baseball park in North America, was the home of the Tecumseh’s,
London’s star baseball team, who in 1878 won the championship
of the International League.
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