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St. Thomas, Ontario

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St. Thomas is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat for Elgin County and part of the greater London urban area, gaining 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, and as a city in 1881.

In the late 19^th century and early 20^th 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. It has earned the title of the "Railway Capital of Canada." 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 train 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 who helped promote the development of this region during the early 19^th century.

Demographics

· Caucasian: 95.5%

· Aboriginal: 1.2%

· Visible minorities: 3.3%

· Protestant: 52.1%

· Catholic: 21%

· No affiliation: 22.1%

· Other: 4.8%

Education

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

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 has a local cable channel. 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.

Although the city does not have its own television station, Industry Canada has allocated channel 33 for future use in St. Thomas.

Parks

There are two major parks in the city: Pinafore Park in the south, beside Pinafore Lake; 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 pavillion located in Jonas Street Park.