Early in the 19th century a farmer named John Martindale owned a large farm on the township line between Grantham and Louth townships, in the far northwest corner of Grantham Township.

As the district developed, a trail passing through his property became one of the main roads between St. Catharines and Port Dalhousie. That road ultimately became known by the name of the farmer - Martindale Road.

John Martindale died in 1846, his wife Jane in 1870. Their sons ran a brewery in Port Dalhousie; one was the postmaster there in the 1860s. Ultimately the Martindale family either moved away or died out. However, they have not been forgotten. They left their traces behind on our maps - the above-mentioned Martindale Road and, of course, Martindale Pond.

In its early days Martindale Road essentially began at the western end of Welland Avenue, descended down to Welland Vale in the valley of Twelve Mile Creek, then rose out of the valley on the other side and ran northward toward Lake Ontario. It closely followed the creek until about a mile or so south of Main Street/Lakeshore Road, when it abruptly shifted to the west, going down a slope and passing through a wetland there before finally merging with Third Street Louth just south of Lakeshore Road. Our old photo this week shows what that final section looked like, sometime in the 1930s.

Early in the 20th century, with the coming of the N.S.&T. street railway, Martindale Road was shared with the railway from Erion Road most of the way out to Port Dalhousie, until their paths diverged near the place where Richardson Creek feeds into Martindale Pond. There the rail line continued more or less straight ahead, taking a shorter, more direct route to the Lakeshore Road.

The N.S.&T.'s passenger service to Port Dalhousie ended in 1950, but it was not until the mid-1960s that the decision was made to have Martindale Road take over the old railway right-of-way for the last mile or so of its path to Main Street.

So it was that, starting in 1965, the old railway track was taken up, the wooden railway trestle that had taken the railway across Richardson's Creek was removed, and the concrete surface of the new road was laid down. This new section of Martindale Road opened to traffic in October 1967.

Thenceforth, Old Martindale Road became a quiet, remote place for cyclists and bird watchers and fishermen to quietly enjoy nature. It remains that today, but it has also taken on quite a different significance.

On Sept. 26, 1996, a 529-metre-long section of Old Martindale Road through the wetland was renamed the Green Ribbon Trail, a place of quiet and contemplation dedicated to the memory of missing children after the abduction and murder of young Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy early in the 1990s. The trail takes its name from the green ribbons that were adopted as a symbol of hope while the search was ongoing for Kristen French.

Dennis Gannon is a member of the Historical Society of St. Catharines. He can be reached at gannond2002@yahooo.com.

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