Tours
Discover Hamilton neighbourhoods and histories on these tours, which can be walked, biked, or explored online.
Also, check out our COVID Chronicles virtual tour which shares workers’ experiences during the pandemic.
COVID Chronicles
The COVID Chronicles is a special series sharing the contemporary experiences of workers’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the unique stories of community members living and working in this unprecedented time.
Downtown
Hamilton has long been a Workers’ City. Explore where Hamilton’s rich labour history began by following part of the parade route of the 1872 “Nine-Hour Pioneers,” the campaign that marked the birth of Canada’s first real labour movement.
East End
Explore the history of the working communities that formed around the many factories that opened up on cheap land at the edge of the city in the early 20th century. Discover how East End Hamilton figured in the giant strike wave of 1946 that established modern unionism in Canada.
North End
There’s no place like the North End. So any North Ender will tell you. Explore the sites and stories of one of Hamilton’s oldest working communities.
19th Century Industry
Discover how Hamilton was transformed from a commercial centre with a sprinkling of small artisan shops to an industrial city in the second half of the 19th Century. Uncover the roots of the factory city.
20th Century Industry
Explore how Hamilton was transformed into a major industrial city in the first 50 years of the 20th century as much of the East End changed from farmland, fields, forests and marsh into heavy industry and workers’ housing.