Historic Hamilton is a series of caches that serve to bring cachers to historic places in and around the City of Hamilton. These caches can be placed by anyone, and are not limited to one CO. If you know of a historic place that you would like to bring people to, feel free to add it to the series!
This cache takes you to the area known as Duff's Corners. Specifically, it is the junction of Garner Rd (Hwy 53) with Wilson St (Hwy 2). Current maps identify Shaver Rd / Garner Rd as Duff's Corner's, so basically the entire commercial area across the road from the cache location is Duff's.
That is somewhat appropriate because the area got its name from Adam Duff's 1844 purchase of the area from the Vanderlip family. The sale included the Vanderlip tavern which was a a regular stopping point for changing horses. At one time practically all traffic stopped here. It became so well known by 1814 that it served as an unofficial post office for mail often addressed "in care of Vanderlip's Tavern".
Vanderlip's Tavern
It's difficult to describe where the tavern sat, but it was just west of the Toyota dealership, on the north side, almost in the middle of the present #2 Highway. This late 19th century photo show a fairly early (1840s?) building, with a later Victorian porch on the front. People are unidentified, but will be members of the Duff family
Also of note was a toll gate at the southwest corner of the Duff farm from days when the road was first stone, through to the days of the plank road, until the tolls were removed in 1900.
Moving along in time, this picture is from April 1952. It is looking north, back towards Ancaster. The Toyota dealership would be on the left side of this picture.
This was the caption in the newspaper when it was published: "Busy Highways Meet Here - Duff's Corner, three miles west of Ancaster, is the point where Highway No. 53 merges with Highway No. 2 - the Hamilton-Brantford road. No. 2, left, is being widened to a four-lane, undivided pavement from Cainsville to this point, at least. New culvert at the left indicates where the existing curve is to be straightened out. No. 53 is at the right."
The article went on to explain that this intersection is the "scene of many highway accidents, the rather sharp curve on No. 2 at Duff's Corner is being straightened out to a considerable extent in connection with general highway improvement in which this road is being rebuilt into a four-lane, undivided pavement. Present contracts call for the widening only from Duff's westward to Cainsville. What's to happen from Duff's towards Ancaster remains to be seen, but, whatever it is, it's not likely to bring any rush of business to this particular area." If only they could see it now!
Finally, it is very much worth mentioning the Phillip Shaver house which is just around the corner on hwy 53, to the south, from this cache. The Shaver Family was one of the earliest in the area and at one point would have owned over 1,400 acres in Ancaster. 