St. Catharines in Niagara Region, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)
Welcome to Malcolmson Eco-Park
Photographed by Kevin Westell, March 4, 2026
1. Welcome to Malcolmson Eco-Park - Marker
In the early 1900s, the area was a tree nursery and maintenance yard for the Welland Ship Canal Company. The glass greenhouse was built by the Lord & Burnham Company in 1930. It is still in use, and has been restored as a heritage building. In 1976 Prime Minister Trudeau, on behalf of the Federal Government, presented the 36 acre property to the City of St Catharines as a park. The City named it after Mary Malcolmson who founded the first Girl Guide troop in Canada, here in 1910. In 1993, City Council approved a plan for stewardship and restoration of native ecosystems in the park. A volunteer group, The Friends of Malcolmson Eco-Park, was formed to realize the plan in partnership with the City and with community participation.
The Friends of Malcolmson Eco-Park
"Giving Nature A Helping Hand"
This group consists of a volunteer Advisory Committee who work with City staff, and other volunteers. They hold an annual Earth Day event for the community, and work projects through the year. New members are always welcome.
For additional information visit the website: www.malcolmsonecopark.com
Goals and Objectives of the Park
- provide a natural park that represents the ecological habitats of southern Ontario
- Restore and preserve a tallgrass prairie, Carolinian woodland and wetlands
- Provide community education and awareness of these ecological habitats
- Promote community participation in restoring and preserving these ecological habitats
Enjoy this natural oasis and help protect it for the future.
[ Captions for photos, left to right:
Welland Ship Canal Company Lord & Burnham Greenhouse
Mary Malcolmson ]
Erected by Friends of Malcolmson Eco-Park.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed
this page online
Location. 43° 12.984′ N, 79° 13.009′ W. Marker is in St. Catharines, Ontario, in Niagara Region. It can be reached from the intersection of Lakeshore Rd and Niagara St. The marker is 150 m N of the road, at the north end of the parking lot for Malcolmson Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 325 Lakeshore Rd, St Catharines ON L2M 7Z3, Canada. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe and in Niagara Canada. It is also in Central Canada. Globally, it is in North America, on the Great Lakes, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony, the Viceroyalty of New France, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, and Ruperts Land.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker:
Photographed by Kevin Westell, March 4, 2026
2. Left: Marker. Centre: Trail Map. Right: Trail Descriptions
More about this marker. 1. For clarification: The marker describes the elder Trudeau - Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
2. Where the marker describes website www.malcolmsonecopark.com , the new URL is www.fomep.com
3. This is one of five similar markers around the park.
Regarding Welcome to Malcolmson Eco-Park. 1. Malcolmson Park's location and surroundings makes it a good place to see birds. Besides the year-round residents, migrating birds travel along the Niagara isthmus; wintering water birds often loiter on the Welland
Photographed by Kevin Westell, March 4, 2026
3. Marker in context
Photo faces south. The marker (left) is at the north end of the parking lot. The skeleton tower (centre right) has a ship navigation light, which is the back range-marker, of the two range-markers for ships entering Port Weller harbour en route to the Welland Canal. (This is the last surviving use by the Welland Canal of this former canal land.)
2. Some history:
- around 1910: Port Weller was a planned community, designed in parallel with the planning for the Welland Ship Canal (aka the Fourth Welland Canal, which is the current working canal). This strip of land (upon which Malcolmson Park now sits) was originally set aside as canal land.
- During canal construction (1913-1931), it was a supply depot. It had a wye for engines to turn around (on the map, the yellow dashed lines). The Welland Ship Canal Construction Railway ran north-south along the east side of this park (the straight part of the yellow dashed line); and along the west side of the canal from here down past the current Glendale Ave to the current flight locks. On the map, the red line that runs up the west side of the park was a road.
- By the end of the canal construction phase, the adjoining land had been all torn up. Briefly in the early 1930s, the canal project had a nursery sub-project, to raise trees and flowers to plant on these lands. (This was the time of the tree nursery and the greenhouse.)
- In the 1970s, the federal government (which owns the canal lands) gifted this land to the City of St. Catharines, and it became Malcolmson Park.
Also see . . . Friends of Malcolmson Eco-Park (web site). (Submitted on March 4, 2026, by Kevin Westell of St. Catharines, Ontario.)
Credits. This page was last revised on March 4, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 4, 2026, by Kevin Westell of St. Catharines, Ontario. This page has been viewed 36 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 4, 2026, by Kevin Westell of St. Catharines, Ontario.
