The London, Ontario, suburb of London West (1874 to 1897) provides an examp
le of a community that strove to maintain its municipal autonomy. Composed
of independent wage earners, artisans, and small-business owners, London We
st cultivated a sense of identity separate from that of its neighbouring ci
ty. While a devastating flood in 1883 devalued property and greatly soured
relations between the village and London, it buttressed community unity in
London West. The flood similarly caused the villagers to insist upon the ma
intenance of certain controls in order to assure the security of their prop
erty and families in their negotiations with the city for amalgamation. Aft
er several protracted periods of discussions, the village tenaciously held
out against the city until 1897, when ratepayers had little alternative but
to accept London's less than satisfactory conditions. While the ultimate d
ecision to join the city in 1897 was based more upon the village's dismal f
inancial situation, London West's protracted resistance to municipal amalga
mation indicates that nineteenth century suburbs in Ontario were complex co
mmunities in their own right and not simply undifferentiated adjuncts that
craved amalgamation with their urban neighbours.