Beasley is a neighbourhood in the Lower City area of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The Beasley neighbourhood is bounded in the north by the Canadian National Railway tracks just north of Barton Street, James Street (west), Main Street (south) and Wellington Street (east).
Beasley is one of the oldest and one of the first four neighbourhoods of Hamilton, the other three being Central, Durand and Corktown.[1] It is named after Richard Beasley, (1761-1842), a soldier, political figure, farmer, and businessman in Upper Canada who was one of Hamilton's first settlers.
He came to Canada from New York in 1777, occupied Burlington Heights (now the site of Dundurn and Harvey Parks) in 1790, and was granted land by the Crown in 1799. A local entrepreneur, Beasley's business ventures included fur trading, land acquisition and establishment of a grill mill in Ancaster. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada from 1791 to 1804 and was appointed colonel of the 2nd regiment of the York militia in 1809. Financial difficulties forced Beasley to sell lands at Burlington Heights, but they were purchased in 1832 by Sir Allan Napier MacNab, who built Dundurn Castle on the foundations of Beasley's brick home.[2]
Beasley Park in the neighbourhood is also named after him.[2]
Hamilton was also home to an annual Mustard Festival from 1998 to 2010. Hamilton is home to the largest miller of dry mustard in the world. It was held annually at Ferguson Station, Ferguson Avenue at Hamilton's International Village and was a summertime food & beverage festival that featured some of the top Blues and Jazz acts in the region.
The Hamilton Street Railway (abbreviated as HSR) operates all public transit vehicles in the city of Hamilton, Ontario.
Below are the HSR Bus Routes found in the Beasley neighbourhood: