Brantford

Brantford, city in southern Ontario, Canada, on the Grand River. Brantford is an agricultural and manufacturing center. Chief manufactured products include automotive parts, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and processed foods.

In 1876 American inventor Alexander Graham Bell made the first long-distance telephone call from his home in Brantford to Paris, Ontario. Known as the Bell Homestead, the house is now a museum. Brantford is also home to the Mohawk Chapel, which was built in 1785 and is Ontario's oldest Protestant church, and a First Nations educational center. The Six Nations Indian Reservation is nearby. Additional points of interest include the Brant County Museum and Archives, the Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant, the Canadian Military Heritage Museum, and the Woodland Cultural Centre, which documents the history and culture of the First Nations people. Annual events include the Brantford Riverfest in spring, the International Villages Festival in July, and the Six Nations Native Pageant in August.

Founded in 1830, Brantford is named for Joseph Brant, a Mohawk chief who was granted land to reward his support of the British during the American Revolution (1775-1783). Brantford’s growth was spurred by the construction of a canal system in the 1840s linking Brantford with the Great Lakes. Brantford incorporated as a city in 1877. A branch campus of Wilfrid Laurier University opened in downtown Brantford in 1999.

Brantford covers a land area of 71.2 sq km (27.5 sq mi). Population 81,997 (1991); 86,417 (2001).