Manhole covers in Hamilton have history

They are older than Canada itself and right in our own backyard, but you may have never noticed.

The Heritage Committee has approved the first step in giving these two items in the city’s core a heritage designation for being a part of Hamilton’s history.

On a walk through downtown Hamilton you may appreciate old fashioned homes and historic buildings, but you have to look down to see a piece of history- manhole covers.

At this point you may be thinking who cares about manhole coverings? Well a group of Hamiltonians are fighting to preserve these as a piece of our history.

Shawn Selway came across the manhole covering on Robert St. in 2014, although it can be easy to miss if you’re not looking closely.

“I’ve walked past this thing everyday for the past 20 years.”

The manhole is city owned and bears the acronym “HWW, which is Hamilton Water Works, which is the original water works”

What’s most remarkable about this covering is the date- 1859.

The manhole on Mulberry Street is just as old.

Some cities, all over the globe, showcase their manhole coverings as displays of art and some people love them so much they make t-shirts.

While Hamilton’s manholes aren’t as pretty as some in other cities these ones have a functional pattern.

“They are like a checker board pattern and that’s because of the horses. So when the horses walked across them they wouldn’t slip”

The oldest manhole coverings in the city need to be preserved, says the curator of the Steam and Technology Museum.

“Our sewage systems may look completely different in 100 years” said Debra Seabrook.

The Heritage Committee has approved the report to make these two coverings property of cultural heritage. If it’s also passed by the planning committee and city council the covers will stay put, as a reminder of our past.