Cayuga (/keɪˈjuːɡə/kay-YOO-gə)[2] is an unincorporated community and county seat of Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada located at the intersection of Highway 3 and Munsee Street and along the Grand River. Cayuga is about a 20-minute drive from Lake Erie and 30 minutes south of Hamilton and 115 minutes south of Toronto and consequently it has some cottages and recreational properties in the area. In the past, there was some light industry. It has the local district detachment for the Ontario Provincial Police. It is also uniquely located among larger communities on both the American and Canadian sides of the border boasting television reception from Toronto, Buffalo, New York, Hamilton, Kitchener and Erie, Pennsylvania.
Cayuga was incorporated as a village in 1859 and became the county seat for Haldimand County because of its central location. It is named after the Cayuga, one of the Six Nations of the Grand River Natives who were awarded land in the area for siding with the British in the American Revolution. The locality' name in Mohawk language is Nikana'tsà:'a.[3]
As the county seat, it is the location of the Court House, jail and a museum. In the late 18th century and early 19th century, public hangings were held in the courtyard and the prisoners buried on site. The Highway 3 bridge over the Grand River (Cayuga Bridge) was a very well recognized bridge over the Grand River and was commonly used as a symbol of Haldimand County and the Grand River. For example, the same bridge had been used in a movie that commemorated Terry Fox. That bridge no longer remains a symbol of the Grand River and Haldimand County as it was replaced in the summer of 2014 with a concrete bridge.[citation needed]
The village's population grew to about 2,500 in the mid-19th century because the Grand River was an important commercial route. There were locks constructed at Indiana just north of Cayuga. However, when the Welland Canal was completed, the Grand became an obsolete route. Further, an impassable dam was built downriver from Cayuga at Dunnville. Although originally part of the Welland Canal, the purpose of the dam and a canal at Port Maitland is to keep the level of the Welland Canal consistent. Presently the population of Cayuga has recovered to approximately 1,500 after having been around 1,000 for almost a century.
In 1974, the village was amalgamated into the new town of Haldimand within the Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk. Despite nearby Caledonia being the largest community in the town, the town hall was located in Cayuga because of its central location. In 2001, Haldimand and all other municipalities within the region were dissolved and the region was instead divided into two single tier municipalities with city-status but called counties. Cayuga is now an unincorporated community in Ward 2 of Haldimand County.
Climate
On February 13, 2009, the Grand River flooded when the river ice thawed, damaging Cayuga and Dunnville, Ontario.[4]
On February 14, 2009, the CCGC Griffin proceeded up the river to help clear ice.
Government
Cayuga is in Ward 2 of Haldimand County. The current councillor for Ward 2 is John Metcalfe, who has been councillor since 2018. Before him it was Fred Morison from 2010–2018 and before Morison, it was Buck Sloat from 2003 to 2010.
The current Mayor Of Haldimand County is Shelly Ann Bentley. The previous Mayor was Ken Hewitt[5] 2010-2022. The Mayor before him was Marie Trainer from 2003 to 2010. Before Marie Trainer, the mayor was Lorraine Bergstrand 2001–2003.
The current Clerk is Evelyn Eichenbaum who works in Cayuga at the Haldimand County Cayuga Administration building. The current Chief Administrative Officer of Haldimand County is Don Boyle who works in Cayuga at the Haldimand County Cayuga Administration building.
Demographics
Cayugans are overwhelmingly British by national background but many can trace their roots to an original German settlement near Cayuga in the 19th century. There was also a large Dutch migration to the area after the Second World War.
Just south of Cayuga and demographically associated is the hamlet of Fisherville. In 1954 a hockey team composed of local players which played out of the Cayuga Arena was sponsored by 'Fisherville Seed' and consequently known as the Fisherville Seedmen. It won the Ontario Intermediate Hockey Championship. Jack Melenbacher a local who was at the time an NHL referee mentored the team and a young Roy Edwards who played goal for the Seedmen later starred in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings.
In more recent years Cayuga has become known for auto racing. The oldest continually operating dragstrip in Canada and the fastest high bank oval race track in Canada, are located near the townsite; Cayuga International Speedway. It is a 5/8-mile oval auto racing track, which was reopened in 2017 and hosts a round of the NASCAR Pinty's Series. The drag strip was originally a runway built for training British Commonwealth pilots during the Second World War.
CayugaFest is an annual event in July, founded in 2002.[citation needed]
Notable people
Birthplace of Frank Martin (1933-2007), who played over 300 games for the Chicago BlackHawks in the late 1940s and the early 1950s.
Birthplace of Helen Kinnear (1894-1970) who, in 1939, was appointed the first woman Superior Court judge in the British Empire having previously been appointed the first woman King's Counsel.[12]
^Decolonial Atlas - Six Nations in Mohawk, AUGUST 6, 2020. Link
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Cathy Pelletier (2010-02-10). "The Flood --One Year Later". Dunnville Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2022-03-28. It was Friday the 13th, 2009 when the Grand River awakened from its winter hibernation and began to unleash an unprovoked assault upon its neighbours. Melting snow and the accumulation of waters flowing into the 300-km length of the Grand suddenly, and without warning, spelled disaster for Cayuga and Dunnville. A repeated cycle of ice jams and releases caused the crest of the water to rise and fall, spilling over the banks at various locations. Very early in the morning, the water began its considerable, rapid ascent in Cayuga, and emergency personnel embarked upon what would become a very long, intensive rescue effort
