The town was originally a railway junction. Furniture manufacturing became an important part of the local economy by the twentieth century. In 1933 a general strike, started by the furniture workers and led by the Communist Workers' Unity League, marked the last time the army was deployed to break a strike in Canada.[3]
The city's economy took a major turn when the Stratford Shakespeare Festival started in 1953. The annual festival now brings hundreds of thousands of theatre goers and tourists to the area. Celebrities such as Alec Guinness, Christopher Plummer, Olivia McLean, Dame Maggie Smith, and William Shatner have performed at the festival. The Canadian novelist and playwright Timothy Findley performed in the first season, and had an ongoing relationship with the festival, eventually moving to Stratford in 1997.
The world-renowned festival takes place in four theatres throughout the city: the Festival Theatre, the Avon Theatre, Tom Patterson Theatre and the Studio Theatre.
Timeline
· 1828 - Settlement begins.
· 1832 - Thomas Mercer Jones, an agent of the Canada Company, names the village "Stratford" and renames the portion of the River running through it the "Avon River." The first sawmill and gristmill are opened.
· 1849 - The Perth County News is Stratford's first weekly newspaper.
· 1853 - Perth County is created, with Stratford as its county seat.
· 1854 - Stratford is incorporated as a village.
· 1856 - Stratford becomes a railway town with the arrival of the Grand Trunk and Buffalo-Lake Huron railways.[3]
· 1859 - Stratford is incorporated as a town.
· 1864 - The 17-year-old American telegraph operator Thomas Edison briefly lived at 19 Grange Street.
· 1885 - Stratford is incorporated as a city with a population of 9000.
· 1918 - A gift from a Michigan Canadian National Railway (CNR) employee, swans come to live in Stratford.
· 1933 - The army is called in to attempt to end a general strike and try to systematically remove communist leaders, but fails, the last time the military is used to quell a strike in Canada.
· 1936 - The Shakespearean Gardens are created.
· 1953 - The Stratford Shakespearean Festival Theatre is opened by a Stratford journalist, Tom Patterson.
· 1957 - The festival moves into its first permanent structure.
· 1964 - The CNR shops close.
· 1976 - The Stratford City Hall is designated a National Historic Site of Canada[4][5]
· 1992 - Stratford Armoury is a recognised Federal Heritage building 1986 on the Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings.[6]
· 1994 - Justin Bieber was born; March 1st 12:56am
· 1997 - Nations in Bloom crowns Stratford the "Prettiest City in the World."
· 2003 - The Stratford Festival of Canada celebrated its 50th season, welcoming 672 924 patrons to 18 plays. This was a record number of playgoers during the 50 seasons. The Avon Theatre realised a complete renewal and the Studio Theatre, a fourth theatre space seating 250 people, was added.
· 2009 - Canada 3.0 brings 1500 people to Stratford.
· The City of Stratford
· The City of Stratford at Statistics Canada
· The Stratford Festival Official Website
· Ovation Music Festival
· Pictures of Stratford
· Stratford Summer Music Festival
· Stratford Public Library
· Stratford Visitors Information
· I On Stratford
