Port Hope Walking Tour

About Port Hope

Port Hope’s first settlers were drawn here by entrepreneurs, starting in the 1850s, who were looking to turn its forests into lumber needed by a growing nation. The founder of the community was a young man, William R. Stafford.

The town got its name from two of Stafford’s financiers who came from New Hampshire to view their investment. They came in a passenger steamship, then left for shore in a small rowboat. A storm rolled in. After rowing all night, they vowed that if they ever made it to shore, the landing spot would be their “Port of Hope.” They survived, and the name stuck.

Waves of immigrants, primarily from Germany, Poland and other European countries, worked the sawmills and later turned the former forests into some of the most productive farmland in America.

Three disasters shaped the landscape in those early years. The fire of 1871, the Great Fire of 1881 and the Great Storm of 1913. The fires claimed many lives and buildings, but cleared the land of the debris left by timber cutting. The 1913 storm destroyed docks along the Thumb, ensuring the ascendancy of rail and auto.

The history of Port Hope is a story of hardship, perseverance, creativity, sorrow, and triumph. It’s the story of the Thumb, the state, and ultimately, the nation.