Digital Microfilm Readers Are Currently Unavailable

Digital microfilm readers are not available at Central library branch until further notice. We're working on a repair. In the meantime a single analog reader is available in the Local History and Archives Reading Room

Published:
Monday, May 25, 2026 - 12:00pm
SmartPay Service Not Available

HPL's online payment service is not working. We aim to restore it quickly. Apologies for the inconvenience.

Published:
Friday, May 22, 2026 - 2:15pm
Bookmobile Service Modification

Due to Driver availability, Bookmobile has the following schedule modifications for the month of June. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Bookmobile Service June Modifications 

Tuesday, June 2:                  

  • McMaster University - Cancelled

Friday, June 5:                    

  • Winona - Cancelled
  • Queen Victoria - Cancelled

Saturday, June 6:                 

  • All Regular Sites are Cancelled due to a Special Event
Published:
Friday, May 22, 2026 - 12:00pm
Central Library - Fax Machine Out of Order

Please note that the fax machine is currently out of order. The estimated time of repair is unknown. Thank you for your patience.

Published:
Thursday, May 21, 2026 - 12:00pm
Staff Professional Development Day - All Branches Closed

All HPL Branches are closed on Friday May 29, for Staff Professional Development. Bookmobile is off the road and Extended Access service is not available. Regular service hours resume on Saturday May 30.

Visit our Virtual Branch at hpl.ca for our online resources and collections.

Published:
Thursday, May 14, 2026 - 12:00pm
Central Library: Children's Area Renovation on 2nd Floor

Renovations are currently underway for the 2nd Floor Central Children's Area. Programs are still being offered as scheduled and there is a temporary pop-up Children’s Area on the northeast side of the 2nd Floor (near the Piano Room), including access to collections and train tables. Construction is expected to be completed by late Spring. Thank you for your patience.

Published:
Monday, March 23, 2026 - 9:00am
Sherwood Branch: Renovations

As of Monday, March 2, Sherwood Branch's 2nd Floor is closed due to renovations. Makerspace, Children and Teen's collection are temporarily available on the 1st Floor. All programs will be held in the basement program room. Renovations are expected to be completed in late Spring. Thank you for your patience.

Published:
Tuesday, February 10, 2026 - 1:00pm

Mayors of Hamilton and Dundas

Mayor Henry McKinstry (ca1805-1871). Mayor 1859-1861
Mayor Henry McKinstry (ca1805-1871). Mayor 1859-1861

Hamilton

1847: Colin Campbell Ferrie (1808-1856)

1848: George Sylvester Tiffany (1805-1586)

1849: William L. Distin (1789-1879)

1850: John Fisher (1806-1882)

1851: John Rose Holden (1821-1879)

1852: Nehemiah Ford (circa 1808-1860)

1853: William G. Kerr (circa 1816-1861)

1854: James Cummings (1815-1894)

1854-1855: Charles Magill (1816-1898)

1856: James Cummings (1815-1894)

1857: John Francis Moore (1816-1870)

1858: George Hamilton Mills (1827-1901)

1859-1861: Henry McKinstry (1805-1871)

1862-1864: Robert McElroy (1810-1881)

1865-1866: Charles Magill (1816-1898)

1867: Benjamin Ernest Charlton (1835-1901)

1868: Hutchison Clark (1806-1877)

1869: James Edwin O'Reilly (1833-1907)

1870: George Murison (1820-1889)

1871-1872: Daniel Black Chisholm (1832-1899)

1873-1874: Benjamin Ernest Charlton (1835-1901)

1875-1876: George Roach (1818-1904)

1877-1878: Francis Edwin Kilvert (1838-1910)

1879-1881: James Edwin O'Reilly (1833-1907)

1882-1883: Charles Magill (1816-1898)

1884-1885: John James Mason (1842-1903)

1886-1887: Alexander McKay (1843-1912)

1888-1889: William Doran (1834-1903)

1890-1891: David McLellan (1841-1892)

1892-1893: Peter Campbell Blaicher (1835-1900)

1894-1895: Alexander David Stewart (1852-1899)

1896: George Elias Tuckett (1835-1900)

1897-1898: Edward Alexander Colquhoun (1844-1904)

1899-1900: James Vernall Teetzel (1853-1926)

1901-1902: John Strathearn Hendrie (1857-1923)

1903-1904: Wellington Jeffers Morden (1837-1928)

1905-1906: Sanford Dennis Biggar (1861-1920)

1907-1908: Thomas Joseph Stewart (1848-1926)

1909-1910: John Inglis McLaren (1865-1948)

1911-1912: George Harmon Lees (1860-1936)

1913-1914: John Allan (1856-1922)

1915-1916: Chester Samuel Walters (1878-1958)

1917-1920: Charles Goodenough Booker (1859-1926)

1921-1922: George Charles Coppley (1858-1936)

1923-1925: Thomas William Jutten (1861-1955)

1926-1927: Freeman Ferrier Treleaven Q.C. (1884-1952)

1928-1929: William Burton (1888-1944)

1930-1933: John Peebles (1827-1948)

1934-1935: Herbert Earl Wilton (1869-1937)

1936-1943: William Robert Morrison, K.C. (1878-1947)

1944-1949: Samuel Lawrence (1879-1959)

1950-1962: Lloyd Douglas Jackson (1888-1973)

1963-1976: Victor Kennedy Copps (1919-1988)

1977-1980: John Alexander MacDonald (1927-)

1981-1982: William Powell (1907-1992)

1983-2000: Robert Maxwell Morrow (1946-)

2001-2003: Robert E. Wade (1933-)

2004-2006: Larry Di Ianni (1948-)

2006-2010: Fred Eisenberger (1952-)

2010-2014: Robert Bratina (1943-)

2014-Present: Fred Eisenberger (1952-)

 

 

Mayor John Don (1888-1981), Mayor 1950-1953
Mayor John Don (1888-1981), Mayor 1950-1953

Dundas

1848: John Paterson (1805-1856)

1849: James Belle Ewart (1801-1853)

1850-1852: James Coleman (1811-1881)

1853-1854: Robert Holt (1801-1876)

1855: George Munns Barton (1829-1892)

1856-1857: John Quarry (ca 1810-1877)

1858: Alexis Fidèle Begue (1805-1872)

1859-1861: Thomas Howard McKenzie (1811-1896)

1862-1865: John Mair Thornton (ca 1823- )

1866: Dr. James McMahon (1830-1909)

1867-1871: Alexander Richard Wardell (1835-1913)

1872-1873: Robert McKechnie, Jr. (1834-1913)

1874: James Somerville (1834-1916)

1875: Alexander Stronach Wink (ca 1843-1899)

1876-1878: Thomas Wilson (1828-1891)

1879-1883: Alexander Richard Wardell (1835-1913)

1884; Robert McKechnie, Jr. (1834-1913)

1885; Thomas Wilson (1828-1891)

1886-1887: Herbert Charles Gwyn (1846-1926)

1888-1889: Henry Bickford (1842-1889)

1889-1890: John Bertram (1829-1906)

1891-1892: Richard Todd Wilson (1839-1927)

1893: Robert McKechnie, Jr. (1834-1913)

1894-1895: Col. William Edward Sheridan Knowles (1862-1931)

1896-1897: Thomas Atkins Wardell (1865-1902)

1898: Henry Bertram (1856-1945)

1899-1900: William H. C. Fisher ( -1921)

1901-1902: Charles (Chub) Collins (ca 1857-1914)

1903-1904: William Lawson (1854-1948)

1905-1906: John Wolfenden Dickson (1865- )

1907-1908: William Henry Moss (1859-1941)

1909-1910: John Wilkie Lawrason (1871-1940)

1911: Richard Todd Wilson (1839-1927)

1912-1913: Edwin Alfred Woodhouse (1845-1924)

1914-1915: William H. C. Fisher ( -1921)

1916-1917: Charles Edgar Dickson (1878-1939)

1918: Herbert C. Davis (1871-1952)

1919: Samuel Joseph Lennard (1857-1921)

1920-1921: Edmund J. Mahony (1870-1955)

1922-1923: Alfred Broad (1884-1953)

1924-1927: Dr. Alonzo Campbell Caldwell (1880-1961)

1928-1929: John Edward Robinson (1893-1968)

1930: Dr. W. E. Inksetter (1865-1947)

1931-1935: Dr. Alonzo Campbell Caldwell (1880-1961)

1936-1939: Robert P. Manning (1881-1951)

1940-1941: Edmund J. Mahony (1870-1955)

1942-1944: Robert Hart Hunter (1880-1974)

1945-1946: David P. (Bud) Cliff (ca 1902-1996)

1947-1949: Robert Hart Hunter (1880-1974)

1950-1953: John C. Don (1888-1981)

1954-1957: George Earl Kemp (1893-1965)

1958-1961: John Alexander Warren (ca 1914-2003)

1962-1965: Albert S. Edwards (1906-1965)

1965-1967: Leslie Brown Couldrey (1889-1996)

1968-1976: Hugh Munson Everett (1917-1999)

1977-1985: Joseph T. Bennett (ca 1925- )

1985-1988: Mary Ann Seldon (ca 1942- )

1988-2000: John Addison (ca 1943- )