Stratford, Ontario

Stratford (2001 population 29,676) is a city on the Avon River in Perth County, in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Both the city and the river were named when it was first settled in 1832 after Stratford-upon-Avon, England, of Shakespearean fame. It is the seat of Perth County.

City Facts

• Stratford is home of the OHA Junior B hockey team the Stratford Cullitons. The Cullitons have been an extremely successful team and have produced NHL superstars such as Chris Pronger and Rob Blake.
• The current mayor of Stratford is Dan Matheson.
• The first mayor of Stratford was John Corry Wilson Daly.
• The swan has become a main symbol of the city, with 24 white swans and two black swans released into the Avon River every spring by their honorary keeper, Mr. Robert J. Miller.
• Thomas Alva Edison briefly worked as a telegraph operator for the Grand Trunk Railway at Stratford's railway station
• Neil Taylor, of television sitcom fame, was born in Stratford in 1982.