Hastings is a community within the municipality of Trent Hills, Northumberland County, in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the Trent-Severn Waterway and the Trans Canada Trail in what is considered to be Ontario's "cottage country". It can be reached from Highway 401 by exiting at exit 474 at Cobourg and going north on County Road 45. It can be reached from Highway 7 at the Norwood exit going south (also on County Road 45).
Hastings had a population of 1,208 at the 2001 Census. It is known as "The Hub of the Trent" as Hastings is directly on the Trent River and serves as a major centre for tourists, boaters, and fishermen. One of Hastings' notable symbols is a tall, blue water tower which is perched prominently on high ground in the northern portion of the community.
Hastings is now part of the municipality of Trent Hills and makes up the second most substantial population centre in the municipality. The position of mayor of Trent Hills was filled in November 2017 by Hastings councillor and deputy mayor Robert Crate, following the death of Hector Macmillan who had served as mayor since 2003. Replacing Bob Crate as Ward 3 Hastings councillor is businessman, Michael Metcalf.
A marina was built in Hastings which added to the already bustling waterfront. In continuation of the street-scape design theme from the new Hastings Village Marina a Hastings Waterfront & Downtown Improvement Plan was prepared in early 2009. In 2009, after a four-year break, the local Chamber of Commerce was revived.EMC Newspaper "Hastings Chamber of Commerce makes bold comeback", May 1, 2009
The largest annual event in Hastings, the Canada Day celebrations, includes amongst other events a parade that runs through downtown during the day and a fireworks display at the waterfront at dusk. In recent years the fireworks display has attracted an increasing number of spectators and despite Hastings being a relatively small community the display has been considered one of the best in Ontario.
In 2012 Hastings was named Canada's Ultimate Fishing Town by the World Fishing Network.thestar.com "Best Fishing Town in Canada? Hastings, Ontario", June 22, 2012. Retrieved 2017-07-01 Muskie, pickerel, pike, walleye, large and smallmouth bass, catfish, perch, crappie, and bluegill are found in Hastings in abundance.
History
General history
The first European presence in the area dates to 1615 when Samuel de Champlain made a visit to Huronia. However, his "journals are too vague to make any final decisions."Cristall, Ferne. The Percy Portage, Trent University Press (Peterborough), 1973, p. 23. about the exact route taken. In 1810 James Crooks purchased of land on the north and south shores of the rapids at the top of Rice Lake, Ontario. A map prepared by Lieutenant James Smith in 1816–17 shows the name Little Bobakaijuen opposite rapids.Cristall, Ferne. The Percy Portage, Trent University Press (Peterborough), 1973, Table of contents facing page. The settlement of Crooks' Rapids was named in 1820. "As late as 1835, the only house on the site of the present village of Hastings was a small frame building on the bank, erected several years before that date by the Hon. Mr. Crooks as a mill, containing one run of very common stones. It is doubtful whether it ever ground much, and it is believed to have been intended rather as a means to secure the valuable mill privilege, at that place, rather than for practical utility."Poole, p. 160.
Between 1837 and 1839 at a preliminary estimated cost of £7062, a lock was built at Crooks' Rapids, together with a dam and slides, "the expenditure on which gave occupation to a great number of persons; laid the foundation for the village of Hastings".Poole, p. 161.
The following is a contemporary description of the village in the middle 19th century: From the building of the locks at Crook's Rapids in 1837–38, that place gradually grew into a thriving village of much importance. T. Coughlan, Esq., was the first hotel keeper and store keeper in that place. Its most marked progress took place after the chief portion of the property was acquired by Henry Fowlds, Esq., and his sons, and their removal there in 1857. A new grist and flouring mill was added to the old one, a saw mill of great power and numerous saws, capable of manufacturing large quantities of lumber yearly for the foreign market, were speedily erected. These were followed in later years, by other extensive factories filled with valuable machinery. Adjoining the saw mill mentioned, was a large woolen factory, which had just got into active operation when it was swept away by a most destructive fire in 1863, which also consumed the sawmill and its contents, and also a large planing mill and sash and door factory just erected by Mr. Henry Lye in close proximity. This great loss for a time checked the progress of the village, and paralyzed the enterprise of several active and industrious citizens. Another large factory erected for a cotton mill, a wool carding and knitting factory, and a bit larger saw mill than the former one, had in the meantime been erected on the south side of the river, just below the bridge, and these important structures with their valuable machinery, continue in active operation, and not only reflect much credit upon the enterprise of the place, but contribute much towards its prosperity.
Another serious fire occurred in Hastings in the spring of 1864, by which a fine brick store and a large stock of goods were almost entirely destroyed. Hastings was buoyant, rapidly progressive, and looking forward to the time ere long, it might become an incorporated village, when these severe disasters, followed by the general depression occasioned by scant harvests, and the embarrassment of the agricultural community, placed a barrier against further progress, and caused a withdrawal of a portion of the inhabitants to seek more remunerative employment elsewhere. But this dark day, it is believed, has to a threat extent passed away; and increased hope and renewed enterprise promise ere long to restore this fine village to more than its former prosperity.
For many years Hastings was but poorly furnished with church accommodation. This want has, however, been abundantly supplied, and several fine church edifices crown the rising ground which commands a beautiful view of the river and the bustling village. The first of these was the Free Presbyterian church, a large frame structure, erected in 1858, in which the Rev. James Bowie ministered for several years. An Episcopal church, also frame, pleasantly situated on the south side of the river, followed in 1863, of which the Rev. M. A. Farrar is Incumbent. In 1864, the Wesleyan Methodists, with commendable zeal and enterprise, completed a tasteful and commodious brick church, while in 1865, a much larger and well finished edifice of stone was erected and dedicated by the Roman Catholics, chiefly through the zeal and indefatigable exertions of their pastor, the Rev. J. Quirk. A neat and tasteful brick school house has now been many years in use, -- two or more teachers employed, and the most liberal provision made for the education of the rising generation.
In the year 1864, a printing press and type were introduced to the village, by Mr. A. E. Hayter, and the Hastings Messenger was for a time published there, but the attempt was premature, and during the period of depression referred to, the effort was abandoned.
Hastings, besides its unlimited water power, is pleasantly and advantageously situated on the river Trent, which furnishes communication by steamboats with the Cobourg railway at Harwood at Rice lake, and other points above and below the village. A new steamboat, the Forest City, was built and launched here in 1858, by the Messrs. Fowlds, and has since continued to ply up and down the river and lake in the transport of goods, passengers and lumber.Poole, pp. 162–63.
In Hastings' early history, lumber from the northern part of Peterborough passed through Hastings locks on its way to Lake Ontario. The Messrs. Fowlds, at Hastings, also manufactured from two to three million feet of sawn lumber annually ... which at Port Hope was worth $12 per 1000 feet.Poole, p. 95. It originally had a foundry, a cotton factory, grist mills, a stone Roman Catholic Church, Church of England and Presbyterian and Methodist Churches.
The locks were completed in 1844 and the waterways became part of the Trent-Severn passage.Angus, James T. A Respectable Ditch: A History of the Trent-Severn Waterway 1833–1920. McGill-Queens University Press, Montreal and Kingston, 1988. There are from Lock 18 in Hastings to Lock 19 in Peterborough. Henry Fowlds bought Crooks' Rapids in 1851 and renamed the settlement Hastings in 1852, the year of its post office opening. The population rose from 200 in 1852 to 1500 in 1882.
The Fowlds family
The Fowlds family had a large influence on the village of Hastings in its early history. Henry Fowlds bought and renamed the settlement of Crooks' Rapids to Hastings. He named the village after Lady Flora Hastings, a boyhood acquaintance. His family played significant roles within the community, such as reeve (now the term "mayor" is used in most communities), and also started small businesses. There is a park in Hastings named after Henry Fowlds.
Henry Fowlds was born in 1790 in Scotland. In 1813, he married Jane Marshall Steele. Together they had ten children, (Eliza, John, James S., Robert H., Elizabeth, Henry M., Mary C., William J., Mary Anne, and Theresa) of which only five survived (James S., Elizabeth, Henry M., William J., and Theresa). James S. (1818–1884) married Margaret MacGregor and they had nine children between the years of 1845 and 1860. Their seventh child, Frederick W. (1857–1930), married Elizabeth Sutherland and they had three children, Helen, Eric, and Donald. Eric and DonaldTrent University Archives. About Helen's Brothers...… Retrieved 2017-05-13 were soldiers in World War I and HelenTrent University Archives. Nursing Sister Helen L. Fowles Retrieved 2017-05-13 was a nurse in the same war. Helen married Gerald Marryat after the war and became a remarkable local historian of the Peterborough region. Helen Fowlds Marryat died on June 16, 1965. Her records and papers were bequeathed to Trent University.
The family came to North America in 1821, settling first in New York City, and then in Hartford in 1833. In 1834, they crossed the border and settled in Prince Edward County, Upper Canada. The Fowlds family settled in Asphodel Township in 1836, and then moved on to Westwood, where they set up a saw mill in conjunction with Dr. John Gilchrist in what was to become the village of Keene.