The History of Hamilton

Following a petition from a number of merchants in the central and western parishes, the Bermuda Government appointed a Commission in 1790 to lay out what was to become the Town of Hamilton. The Commission had to acquire the property involved – approximately 154 acres – at a fair price. Regulations governing the incorporation of the Town required the streets to be 50 feet wide, and the land on the harbour side of the first street (Front Street) to be reserved for wharf development (now the Hamilton Docks). Building owners were urged to preserve uniformity in the front of the streets and to give the township “a decent and advantageous appearance”. The average price of property in the Town was then 20 pounds per acres about $40. One acre of land in Hamilton would now be worth approximately $4 million.

The “infant Township of Hamilton” was incorporated by an Act of Parliament on 29th June 1793, when its Freeholders were granted authority “to elect and choose out of the Freeholders of the said Town, one person as Mayor, three as Aldermen, and five as Common Councillors”.

The first elections took place in January 1795 at the Town Hall on Front Street (built in 1794 as a Customs Warehouse) with Daniel Tucker being elected the first Mayor, along with Aldermen Richard Peniston, Joseph Stowe and William Hall and Councillors Benjamin Cox, George Harvey, Richard Darrell, William Morris and one other.

The new Town was named after Sir Henry Hamilton who served as Governor of Bermuda from 1788 – 1794 and was instrumental in supporting the settlement of a Town in the central parishes. The people of St. George's strongly objected to the creation of the new town but Governor Hamilton felt it made good sense to have a town in the central area which would be relatively close to people from all over the Island. This accounts for the motto “Sparsa Collegit” the translation of which is “bringing together the scattered”.

The new Town of Hamilton quickly thrived and overtook St. George's in both size and importance. In 1815 Hamilton became the capital of Bermuda. This was during the Mayoral term of Richard Darrell, considered to have been one of Hamilton's most outstanding Mayors. He also held office for longer than anyone else, from 1807 to 1848 (41 years.)

In 1851, during the term of Mayor Henry James Tucker, the cornerstone of the original Hamilton Hotel was laid, with the Corporation pioneering Bermuda's fledgling tourist industry. This hotel, which stood where the City Hall car park is now located, was extended and modernised at the beginning of the 20th century. It was destroyed by fire in 1957.

The Town of Hamilton was created a city by the “City of Hamilton Act, 1897” (passed by Parliament on 13th December 1897), to mark the diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria on condition that the Cathedral on Church Street would be completed.