Beamsville, Ontario
| Beamsville | |
|---|---|
| — Unincorporated community — | |
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| Coordinates: 43°9′57″N 79°28′35″W / 43.16583°N 79.47639°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| Regional municipality | Niagara |
| Town | Lincoln |
| Founded | 1788 |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Forward sortation area | L0R |
| Area code(s) | 905 and 289 |
| NTS Map | 030M03 |
| GNBC Code | FEGRM |
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This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2006) |
The community of Beamsville (2006 Urban area estimated population 9,703) is part of the town of Lincoln in the province of Ontario in Canada. It is located along the southern shore of Lake Ontario and lies within the fruit belt of the Niagara Peninsula. It contains century-old brick buildings, an old-fashioned downtown area with barbershops, women's dress shops, a bakery, a print shop, restaurants, banks, and other businesses, and plenty of orchards and vineyards.
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People
The town is home to numerous Dutch and United Empire Loyalist families, as evidenced by the large number of Dutch Reformed and Anglican churches in the area. Other ethnic groups include Italians — one family of whom founded the Commisso's Supermarket, Hallmark furniture factory and many more existing companies.
Beamsville currently has two secondary schools, Beamsville District Secondary School and Great Lakes Christian College, and three elementary schools, Senator Gibson, Maple Grove, and Jacob Beam. Beamsville also has a separate school, St. Mark Elementary School.
Bill Berg, formerly a hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and now an NHL broadcaster, was born, and continues to make his home in Beamsville. Paul Laus, a former Florida Panthers defemceman. Carmen Continisio, a world renowned track runner, and Ryan Christie, who played seven games with the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames are also Beamsville natives.
Another Beamsville native of note, Tonya Verbeek, earned an Olympic silver medal in women's wrestling at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Tonya Verbeek excelled once again by winning the bronze medal in women's freestyle wrestling, 55 kg class.
History
Beamsville was named after Jacob Beam, a United Empire Loyalist who founded the town in 1788. Both of his homes — the original one located on the Thirty Mile Creek, as well as the one near downtown Beamsville — are still intact today. Senator Gibson was also a major founder of Beamsville. His mansion is now the Girls' Dorm at Great Lakes Christian College.
Beamsville is also home to the annual Lincoln County Agricultural Fair, usually held on or around the first weekend of September. This fair is a very well known fair throughout the area, and attracts thousands of people every year since its inception in 1857. However, there has been recent controversy over the fairgrounds as Desantis homes is looking to rezone the fairgrounds as a residential area, and leaving the fair to be moved an area on the escarpment, which would ruin its natural order.[citation needed]
In 1970, the Town of Beamsville was amalgamated with Clinton and (half of) Louth to form the larger Town of Lincoln.
Industry
Beamsville is in the heart of Ontario's wine country and contributes greatly to the wine industry in the Niagara Peninsula. Many wineries from the area have taken home top awards, including Grape King at the Niagara Grape & Wine Festival, as well as international awards. A short list of Beamsville wineries include; Malivoire, East Dell Wineries, Thomas and Vaughan, Thirty Bench, Angel's Gate, Peninsula Ridge, Cave Spring Cellars, Daniel Lenko Winery, Magnotta, Mountain Road Winery, Legends Estates, and Crown Bench.
The town is located along the Queen Elizabeth Way - the main road that connects Toronto and Buffalo, New York. Many tourists stop off at the highway exit for something to eat at the many fast food restaurants located nearby.
In 1898, hockey players in the town of Beamsville were the first to make use of a hockey net. The town was also home to the first Japanese-Canadian home for the aged in 1967. The Nipponia Home closed in 2000 due to new provincial regulations. Also, several segments of the movie Fairfield Road starring Jesse Metcalfe were filmed on the shore of Beamsville. The movie was aired on The Hallmark Channel September 11, 2010.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Beamsville, Ontario |
- Town of Lincoln website
- History of Lincoln
- Local History
- Beamsville Weather Station
- Lincoln County Fair in Beamsville, Ontario
- Beamsville at Geographical Names of Canada
Coordinates: 43°9′57″N 79°28′35″W / 43.16583°N 79.47639°W
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Lake Ontario | |
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| Grimsby |  |
Vineland | ||
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| West Lincoln |
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