Ancaster is a picturesque and historic community located on the Niagara Escarpment within the greater area of the city of Hamilton, Ontario. Ancaster's geography has had a significant effect on human settlement patterns throughout its history. A highly influential geographical formation has been the Niagara Escarpment consisting primarily of limestone formed from ancient fossilized sea organisms that spans from present day New York State through Ontario to Illinois. The escarpment itself created the water power that encouraged early European settlers to gravitate to the area in the late 1700s. This long-meandering landform was an inhospitable transportation barrier for past indigenous cultures. However, a natural break in this escarpment in the area that would become Ancaster village had created an opportunity for people to traverse up and down the escarpment providing a relatively easy navigable land transportation gateway from the head of the lake to the surrounding land on the escarpment. Ancaster was founded in 1793 and was one of the oldest European communities established in present day Ontario. By 1823, due in large part to its easily accessible water power located at the juncture of already existing historical trading routes, Ancaster became Upper Canada's largest industrial and commercial center. At that time, it had the largest population in Upper Canada with 1,681 townspeople surpassing both Toronto's 1,376 and Hamilton's 1,000 residents. After this initial period of prosperity beginning in the late eighteenth century, sudden significant water and rail transportation advancements of the early nineteenth century benefitted Ancaster's neighbouring towns situated closer to the Lake Ontario waterfront. Stationary steam engines for industries were being rapidly developed in the nineteenth century that eventually made Ancaster's water powered industries less vital. From the late nineteenth century Ancaster's population remained static until 1946 when new subdivisions around the village were established. The population expanded further with the completion of the Hamilton-Ancaster section of Highway 403 in 1968 and the introduction of sewer systems in 1974. Today, Ancaster's primary points of interest are its historical village core, its abundant recreational walking trails and its variety of restaurants, pubs and shops. Mount Hope is one of the six communities forming The City of Hamilton since its amalgamation in 2001.