Home > Stratford, Ontario

Stratford was incorporated as a town in 1859 and as a city in 1886.

Originally a furniture manufacturing city and railway junction, tourism became a large part of the local economy when the Stratford Shakespearean Festival started in 1953. The annual festival now brings hundreds of thousands of Shakespeare buffs to the area.

Some Important Dates in Stratford's History:

• 1828Events January 4 The Vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Comte de Villele as Prime Minister of France. January 22 The Duke of Wellington succeeds Lord Goderich as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He repeals the Test Act, emancipating all Catholics, and - Settlement begins.
• 1832 - Thomas Mercer Jones names the village "Stratford" and renames the portion of the Thames River running through it "The Avon River."
• 1849Events January 23 Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her MD by the Medical Institute of Geneva, New York, thus becoming the United States' first woman doctor January 31 Corn Laws abolished in the United Kingdom February 14 In New York City, James Knox Polk be - The Perth County News is Stratford's first weekly newspaper.
• 1853Events January 19 Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il Trovatore premieres in Rome January 21 Russell L. Hawes patents the envelope folding machine January 29 Napoleon III marries the Spanish Countess Eugenie at the Tuileries March 4 Inauguration of US president Fra - Perth County is created, with Stratford as its county seat.
• 1854Events January 13 The accordion is patented by Anthony Faas. February 11 Major streets lit by coal gas for first time. February 14 Texas is linked by telegraph with the rest of the United States, when a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas i - Stratford is incorporated as a villageA village is a human settlement commonly found in rural areas. It is usually larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town or city. Villages have been the normal unit of community living in most areas of the world throughout its history, up until the Indus.
• 1859 - Stratford is incorporated as a town.
• 1885 - Stratford is incorporated as a city.
• 1918 - A gift from a Michigan CNR employee, swans come to live in Stratford.
• 1933 - The army is called in to end a general strike.
• 1936 - The Shakespearean Gardens are created.
• 1953 - The Stratford Shakespearean Festival Theatre is opened.
• 1957 - The Festival moves into its first permanent structure.
• 1964 - The CNR shops close.
• 1997 - Nations in Bloom crowns Stratford the "Prettiest City in the World."

According to the 2001 Statistics Canada Census:

• % Change ( 1996- 2001): 2.3
• Dwellings: 12,642
• Area (sq. km.): 21.92
• Density (persons per sq. km.): 1353.7