On the Edge of Death: Cholera's Impact on the Surrounding Towns and Hamlets

Cholera's impact on Hamilton from 1832 to 1854 was not an event that happened independently and without impact on the surrounding communities. Hamilton was a relatively small town during the early 19th century, and the outbreak of cholera did not go unnoticed. However, being the first stop for many immigrants coming to Canada, many of the surrounding communities had time to prepare and react to the outbreak with different degrees of success. Due to this period being one of growth to many of these communities, some of the challenge in documenting the ways in which cholera impacted these communities was in finding a surviving source from this period. Ancaster, Dundas and Brantford are by far the three towns that contain the best documented material on the reaction and affect of the cholera outbreaks on the communities surrounding Hamilton.