Cayuga, Ontario

Cayuga is an unincorporated community and county seat in the province of Ontario, Canada located at the intersection of Highway 3 and Munsee Street and along the Grand River in Haldimand County. 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.

History
Cayuga was incorporated as a village in 1859 ane 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. 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 court yard and the prisoners buried on site. The Highway 3 bridge over the Grand River (Cayuga Bridge) is a very well recognized bridge over the Grand River and is commonly used as a symbol of Haldimand County and the Grand River. The same bridge was also used in a movie that commemorated Terry Fox.

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 down river 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.

Politics
Cayuga is in Ward 2 of Haldimand County. The current councilor for Ward 2 is Fred Morison 2010-Present. Before Fred Morrison it was Buck Sloat 2003-2010.

The Current Mayor Of Haldimand County is Ken Hewitt 2010-Present. The Previous Mayor was Marie Trainer 2003-2010. before Marie Trainer it was Loraine Bergstrand 2001-2003.

The Current Clerk is Janis Lankester who works in Cayuga in the Haldimand County Cayuga Administration Building. The Current Chief Administrative Officer of Halidmand County is Don Boyle who works in Cayuga at the Haldimand County Cayuga Administration Building.

Demographics
Cayugians 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.

Landmarks
Cayuga is perched on the Banks of the Grand River, along a navigable portion of the river that stretches some 20 miles, ending at Lake Erie.

Cayuga is home to an underground house located just west of the Grand River.

The main office of the Haldimand Press is located in Cayuga.

Cayuga has one of the oldest Courthouses in the land, located at 55 Munsee St. Until the late 1960's, a functioning jail surrounded by tall rock walls was attached to the Courthouse.

Previously the New York Central Railroad went through Cayuga but the track has been torn up.

One of the termini for the Underground Railway was St. Catharines, Ontario, which is about 45 minutes north east of Cayuga. Harriet Tubman's nephew Lorne Barnes was the barber in Cayuga and was held out to the still-enslaved as an example of the success to be found by escaping to Canada.

There is a national bank and a credit union in town along with a United Church of Canada (Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational), an Anglican Church and a Catholic Church.

The main street has a "rural brick charm" to it and many older houses continue to reflect Cayuga's prosperous past. Cayuga very much retains its small town character. Uniquely isolated for years by the Six Nations Indian Reservation to the North and the Lake to the South, it has its own independent atmosphere and does not feel attached to any one larger community.

Noteworthy people
In 1939, Helen Alice Kinnear, who had been previously appointed the first woman King's Counsel was appointed the first woman Superior Court judge in the British Empire.

Dr. Justice T. David Marshall, Doctor of Medicine, Lawyer, Justice of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories, and Justice of the Superior Court of Ontario, honorary chief of Six Nations, Founding Director of Canada's National Judicial Institute. and Colonel Commandant of the Canadian Forces, Medical Branch. Author of several books including "Dr. Marshall's History of Haldimand County".

Cayuga is also known for producing a couple of noteworthy NHL hockey players. Both Marty McSorley and Ray Emery grew up playing minor league hockey in Cayuga.

Athletic accomplishment
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.

2009 Grand River flood
On February 13, 2009 the Grand River flooded when the river ice thawed, damaging Cayuga and Dunnville. On February 14, 2009, the CCGC Griffin proceeded up the river to help clear ice.

Attractions
One of the most beautiful, and fully navigable portions of the Grand River, runs along the western portion of the town. People from all around the "Golden Horseshoe" take advantage of great fishing and recreational activities along this part of the Grand River. Cayuga features two boat ramps, a water gassing station, and riverside restaurant, open during summer months.

In more recent years Cayuga has become known for auto racing. The oldest continually operating drag strip 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 recently underwent major renovations. The drag strip was originally a runway built for training British Commonwealth pilots during the Second World War.

Cayuga has a number of restaurants, including "River3", "The Cayuga Restaruant", "Twisted Lemon", "The Back Fourty (pub)" and "Tim Hortons". These restaurants cater to a variety of tastes and range in price and atmosphere from "very affordable" and family-oriented, to "moderately expensive" and urban-chique.

Just north of Cayuga is Ruthven Park (located in the old village of Indiana). This is a 1500 acre (6 km²) National Historic Site of Canada centered by the Thompson Mansion, which was the summer home of the Thompson family who owned the steamship lines on the Grand River when it was a commercial route. It is a magnificent Greek Revival style mansion which is open for tours during the summer.

Cayuga Golf Club, is a public 18-hole golf course located 5 km west of Cayuga.