St. Thomas (Ontario)

Vorlage:Infobox settlement St. Thomas is a city in Southern (Southwestern), Ontario, Canada. It is the seat for Elgin County and gained its city charter on March 4, 1881.

History

The city, located at the intersection of two historical roads, was first settled in 1810. It was named the seat of the new Elgin County in 1844 and was incorporated as a village in 1852, as a town in 1861. In 1871, St. Thomas and the nearby village of Millersburg (a village east of the town) amalgamated^[1]. In 1881 St. Thomas finally grew to become a city.

Life-sized Jumbo statue

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Ten years after the incorporation as a town, the developing village of Millersburg, which included these lands east of the London and Port Stanley Railway, amalgamated with St. Thomas.

In the late 19th century and early 20th century several railways were constructed through the city, and St. Thomas became an important railway junction. A total of 26 railways have passed through the city since the first railway was completed in 1856. In the 1950s and 1960s, with the decline of the railway as a mode of transportation, other industry began to locate in the city, principally primary and secondary automotive manufacturing.

Jumbo (the elephant) died here on September 15, 1885, when a locomotive crashed into him. There is a life-sized commemorative statue that was erected in 1985, on the centennial of Jumbo's demise.

The city was named after Thomas Talbot^[2] who helped promote the development of this region during the early 19th century . The founder of the settlement that became St. Thomas was Capt. Daniel Rapelje, descendant of a Walloon family settled in New Amsterdam, now New York City, at its inception in the seventeenth century.^[3] In 1820, Rapelje, the town's first settler, divided his land into town lots suitable for a village. Owner of the New England Mill, Rapelje subsequently donated two acres of land for the building of Old St. Thomas Church.^[4]

In 1824, Charles Duncombe and John Rolph established the first medical school in Upper Canada, in St. Thomas, under the patronage of Colonel Thomas Talbot ^[5].

Between 1881 and 1988 the city had a private woman's school operating called Alma College (St. Thomas) which was destroyed by fire in 2008.

St. Thomas has a rich history of late 19th- early 20th centurary architecture. Notably these include the Elgin County Court House, Wellington Street public school, and its City hall, all designated heritage properties and all designed by former resident Neil R. Darrach.

St. Thomas railway station, built between 1871 and 1873. Currently it is under restoration.

Government

Cliff Barwick is the current mayor of St. Thomas. The City Council consists of the mayor and seven Aldermen, all elected at large.

St. Thomas Transit, which includes both conventional bus service and paratransit, is owned by the city and staffed and operated by Aboutown Transportation.

Demographics

Census	Population
1841	750
1871	2,197
1881	8,367
1891	10,366
1901	11,485
1911	14,054
1921	16,026
1931	15,430
1941	17,045
1951	18,173
1961	22,469
1971	25,545
1981	28,165
1991	29,990
2001	33,236
2006	36,110

St. Thomas had a population of 36,110 people in 2006, which was an increase of 8.4% from the 2001 census count. The median household income in 2005 for St. Thomas was $54,876, which is below the Ontario provincial average of $60,455.^[6]

According to the 2006 census, 95.5% of the population is Caucasian, 1.2% Aboriginal, and 3.3% Visible minorities.

Religious affiliation is 52.1% Protestant, 21% Catholic, 22.1% No affiliation, and 4.8% Other.

Education

Fanshawe College has a campus in St. Thomas. Catholic schools are controlled by the London District Catholic School Board and public schools are controlled by the Thames Valley District School Board. There are two independent Christian schools, St. Thomas Community Christian School and Faith Christian Academy.

Economy

The local economy has been dominated by automotive manufacturing, with two plants operated by Magna, the Ford St. Thomas Assembly in nearby Talbotville, and the Sterling Trucks plant. However, the recent global recession that impacted the auto sector ultimately trickled down to the city; the Sterling plant closed in March 2009, and the Ford plant is set to close in 2011. This had a domino effect on the other part manufacturers in town, such as Lear Seating. One automotive materials supplier, A. Schulman, had previously closed its local manufacturing plant in 2008, one of the first actions of a new CEO installed in January.^[7]

Media

St. Thomas has several media outlets based in the city. The St. Thomas Times-Journal is the city's newspaper, owned by Bowes Publishers. Rogers Cable operates a local community channel consisting mostly of local and dedicated volunteers.

A low-power FM radio station — VF8016, 90.1 MHz — broadcasts religious activities from Faith Baptist Church of St. Thomas. CFHK-FM, branded as 103.1 Fresh FM, is also licensed to St. Thomas, although its programming largely targets the larger London market.

Sports

There is a dragway called St. Thomas Raceway Park. The dragway is located a reasonable distance away from the town and minutes east of the historical community of Sparta.

Climate

Vorlage:Weather box

Parks

Satellite image of St. Thomas

There are two major parks in the city: Pinafore Park in the south, beside Pinafore Pond; and Waterworks Park in the north, which is straddled by Kettle Creek and the Waterworks Reservoir nearby.

The Trans Canada Trail goes through St. Thomas, with a pavilion located in Jonas Street Park.

The Elgin Military Museum is located in the west end of St. Thomas.

The Elgin County Railway Museum is located in central St. Thomas.