Dunnville was the site of a
Cayuga settlement called ''Detgahnegaha'gó:wah''. The European settlement was originally built as the entrance to the Welland "feeder" canal, and the town once boasted several water-powered mills and a once-bustling canal port. The feeder canal closed in the late 1880s, and the last mill was destroyed and replaced with a condominium complex. There is an impassable dam at Dunnville which regulates the level of the Grand River at
Port Maitland, which, in the 19th century, also helped regulate the level of the
Welland Canal (from 1829 to 1887 when the third canal began to intake its water directly from
Lake Erie). Dunnville was incorporated as a village in 1860 and then as a town in 1900. In 1974, the town amalgamated with the Dunn, Canborough, Moulton and Sherbrooke townships into an enlarged Dunville. In 2001, Dunnville was amalgamated with Haldimand and half of Nanticoke to form Haldimand. What was the incorporated town of Dunnville now consists of Wards 5 and 6 in Haldimand County. It is located only a few kilometres from
Lake Erie, so Dunnville has many private vacation properties. Dunnville has many events and natural attractions. In June, the annual
Mudcat Festival is held to celebrate one of the Grand River's most well-known inhabitants. The festival includes a parade, strongman contests, midway and fireworks. Another popular event is the Dunnville Agricultural Fair, held in late August, which includes heavy, light, miniature horse shows, and sheep and goat shows. Dunnville has tennis, golf and swimming facilities and many Bed and Breakfasts and campsites. Tuesday and Saturday are Farmers Market days since the relocation of the local arena. Dunnville is currently constructing a new Farmers Market Pavilion, providing more protection from the elements while helping to support what the local farming has to offer (heating may still be an issue). During
World War II the
RCAF build the
No. 6 SFTS Training Base for advanced pilot training as part of the
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. After No. 6 SFTS closed in 1944 the RCAF retained
the airfield as a repair depot until the property was sold in 1964. The Cold Springs Turkey Farm took over the property and many years later it became the
Dunnville Airport. Previously used for recreational flying and skydiving, the airport is now closed due to six large wind-turbine power generators on the airfield. The airport is also home to Haldimand County's newest museum, the No. 6 RCAF Dunnville Museum. It has also been the home of the Driver Rehabilitation Centre for the
reality television program ''
Canada's Worst Driver'' since 2010. The Grand River and nearby Lake Erie offers aquatic activities including swimming, sailing, windsurfing, canoeing and features prime locations for fishing. Nearby are Byng Island Conservation Area,
Rock Point Provincial Park and Port Maitland's new pier. In the fall, Rock Point hosts thousands of
monarch butterflies heading south. Dunnville is also the site of one of Ontario's largest expanses of provincially significant wetlands where bird watching and
nature photography are popular activities.
Smuckers Foods of Canada Co., which operates the
Bick's Pickle Plant (Dunnville's largest factory), employs a small percentage of the town's population, mainly students. In 2001, Bick's head office facility in
Scarborough,
Ontario was shut down, and operations were transferred to the Dunnville location, where it remained until the end of November 2011, at which point it closed. This community is the easternmost city that belongs to the
Green Energy Hub of Southern Ontario.
2009 Grand River flood On February 13, 2009, the Grand River flooded when the river ice thawed, damaging
Cayuga and Dunnville. The next day, the
CCGC Griffon proceeded up the river to help clear ice. ==Demographics==