Downtown Grimsby is the town's historic core, laid out where United Empire Loyalist families first settled beside Forty Mile Creek in the 1780s, a settlement originally known simply as The Forty. It is remembered as the site of the first recorded municipal meeting in Upper Canada in 1790 and later matured into a compact Main Street commercial district serving the surrounding tender-fruit country. Today it retains a well-preserved stock of pre-1939 buildings and functions as a walkable heritage downtown of independent shops, restaurants, and cultural events.
Known for
- Historic Main Street heritage district
- Founding Loyalist settlement (The Forty)
- First municipal meeting in Upper Canada, 1790
- Pre-1939 heritage architecture
- Independent shops and dining
- Tender-fruit and peach-growing heritage