Historical Plaques of
Lennox-Addington

On June 16, 1784, a party of some 250 United Empire Loyalists landed from bateaux near this site and established the first permanent white settlement in Adolphustown Township. They had sailed from New York in the fall of 1783 under the leadership of Major Peter Van Alstine (1747-1811), a Loyalist of Dutch ancestry, and passed the winter at Sorel. Van Alstine was later appointed a justice of the peace, represented this area in the first Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada and built at Glenora the earliest grist-mill in Prince Edward County.

This is one of few eighteenth-century Loyalist residences remaining in Ontario. William and Abigail Fairfield were among the first Loyalists to settle this area after the American Revolution. They arrived in 1784 and probably completed this farmhouse by 1793. Its symmetrical style and timber-frame construction evoke the architecture of the family's native New England. Except for its verandahs and french windows, added by 1860, Fairfield House survives much as it was built. It offers rare evidence of building techniques and interior detailing from the Loyalist era. By 1959, when it was donated for public preservation, Fairfield House had been in the family for six generations.

Of noble French birth, de Roybon was the first European woman to own land in what is now Ontario. She came to Fort Frontenac (Kingston), probably in 1679, where she acquired property from René-Robert Caveliere de La Salle, governor and seigneury of the fort. In 1681 she loaned him money to finance his explorations and about this time he granted her a seigneury extending westward from Toneguignon (Collin’s Bay). On this land she built a house, outbuildings and a trading post, grew crops and raised cattle. Marauding Iroquois, angry at the French for their campaign against the Senecas in 1686 destroyed the Roybon’s establishment in August 1687 and took her prisoner. Released the following year, she lived in Montreal until her death.

Settlement of this village, one of Ontario's oldest communities, began in 1784 when discharged soldiers from Jessup's Rangers, a Loyalist corps, took up land grants in the vicinity. The sheltered harbour here provided easy access stimulating the growth of a community. Connected to Kingston by an early waterfront road, the hamlet, called Ernestown, contained a tavern, a church and an academy by 1811. A significant shipbuilding industry developed and in 1816 the "Frontanac", the first steamboat in Upper Canada, was launched from a local shipyard. Two years later the settlement was officially renamed Bath. Incorporated as a village in 1859, it prospered as a commercial, shipping and industrial centre well into the 1870s. Today Bath 's thriving past is reflected in its many distinctive 19th century buildings.

On this site stood the Bath Academy, Lennox and Addington’s earliest public school, founded in 1811 by means of local subscriptions. During the war of 1812 it was used for a time as a military barracks. Barnabus Bidwell, a radical political reformer and supporter of William Lyon Mackenzie, was its first teacher. His son, Marshall Spring Bidwell, who held similar views and became a leading member of the Legislative Assembly 1825-33, attended the academy. The institution was supported for many years by local settlers, but was merged into the common school system under the Public School Act of 1850.

Born in Wales, Langhorn was appointed missionary to Ernesttown and Fredericksburgh townships in 1787. He thus became the first resident Anglican clergyman in the Bay of Quinte region, and the second in what is now Ontario. Although of somewhat eccentric character, he proved to be a tireless supporter of his faith during the twenty-six years he served in this area. He was largely responsible for the erection of St. Paul’s Church at Sandhurst in 1791, St. Warburg’s in Fredericksburgh in 1792 and the second St. John’s at Bath in 1793-95. The hardships he endured undermined his health and Langhorn returned to England in 1813.

Opposite here is the gap between Amherst Island and the eastern tip of Prince Edward County. On November 9, 1812, the British Corvette "Royal George" (22 guns), commanded by Commodore Hugh Earl(e), was intercepted off False Duck Islands by an American fleet, comprising seven ships under Commodore Isaac Chauncey. Pursued by the enemy, "Royal George" escaped through this gap into the Bay of Quinte’s North Channel. The chase resumed in light winds the following day when she arrived safely in Kingston harbour. Chauncey, intent on capturing the largest British warship then on Lake Ontario, attacked her in the harbour, but after exchanging fire with "Royal George" and shore batteries, was forced to withdraw.

Erected in 1786 by Henry Finkle, a Loyalist soldier, it was the first tavern built between Kingston and York. Henry Finkle also built the first brewery in Upper Canada and one of the earliest schools on this property. In 1788 an unfortunate transient was falsely accused of stealing a watch and sentenced to hang by Judge Richard Cartwright, of Kingston, who held the district court here. The tavern became the headquarters, in 1789, of Asa Danforth when he built the eastern section of the Kingston - York Road, the first public highway in Ontario.

In the early 1800’s Kingston was a shipbuilding centre of note. The FRONTENAC, the first steamship to navigate Lake Ontario, was built here at Finkle’s Point, Ernestown (now Bath), and launched September 7, 1816. Designed to carry freight and passengers, it was a boon to travellers, greatly reducing the difficulties and the cost of travel between Kingston and York (now Toronto). More sophisticated ships soon rendered the FRONTENAC obsolete and it was sold in 1825. Two years later it burned and sank in the Niagara River, but passenger steamships plied the lake for many years until rail and road travel became more effective.

French translation unavailable at this time

Born in Ireland, Rogers emigrated with his family to Massachusetts Bay Colony about 1730. During the Seven years War he served in the Queen’s rangers (Roger’s Rangers), a provincial corps raised by his brother Robert, and was present at the capture of Louisbourg and of Quebec. In the American Revolution he commanded the 2nd Battalion, King’s Rangers, thereby forfeiting some 50,000 acres in the old colonies. In 1784 he led a party of about 300 disbanded King’s Rangers and their families to this vicinity where they were granted land. Rogers, who first settled in Fredericksburgh, where he became lieutenant-colonel of the militia, lived for a time in Prince Edward County but returned to this township before his death.

Born at Ballston Spa, near Saratoga, New York, McDowall graduated from the Union Theological Seminary, Schenectady, and was ordained by the Dutch Reformed Church at Albany in 1797. A year later he was sent to Canada and ministered to the Presbyterians in the Bay of Quinte area. He organized congregations in Ernesttown, and Adolphustown Townships, and in Fredericksburg Township where he settled in 1800. A zealous missionary, McDowall travelled extensively preaching and performing marriage ceremonies at numerous centres between Elizabethtown (Brockville) and York (Toronto). His efforts as the first appointed missionary of the Dutch reformed Church in Canada helped to lay the foundation for the development of Presbyterianism in Ontario. He died at Sandhurst and was buried in the adjoining cemetery.

In 1791, William Losee, an itinerant preacher, organized in this district the first Methodist circuit in Upper Canada. This Meeting House, Upper Canada's first Methodist chapel, was built in 1792. Enlarged in 1834-35 it was used for worship until about 1860 after which it served as a farmer's storehouse. In 1910 in recognition of its historical significance, it was required and restored by the Methodist Church and is still used for annual services by the United Church of Canada.

The first Preparative Meeting of the Society of Friends (Quakers) in either Upper or Lower Canada was organized in Adolphustown Township in 1798 at the house of Philip Dorland. Quakers had settled in this district in 1784 and at first held religious gatherings in private homes. In 1795 a frame meeting house was authorized and shortly thereafter it was erected on this site. A Monthly Meeting was formed in 1801 which aided the formation of further Quaker Meetings in the Bay of Quinte area. A new meeting house was built here in 1868 but was abandoned after the Monthly Meeting was discontinued in 1871 and only this burying ground remains.

The first Anglicans of Adolphustown were Loyalists who arrived in 1784. Early services were conducted at the home of Nicholas Hagerman by the Rev. John Langhorn who, from 1787 to 1813, was the resident missionary for the Townships of Ernesttown and Fredericksburgh. In 1822 a frame church named St. Paul's was built, which still stands just west of this site. In that year Adolphustown became a mission, and its first resident clergyman, the Rev. Job Deacon, served until 1850. The present church of St. Alban-the-Martyr, erected 1884-88, was built through public subscriptions as a memorial to the Loyalists of the area.

Born in Scotland, the young Macdonald returned frequently during his formative years to his parents’ home here on the Bay of Quinte. His superb skills kept him at the centre of public life for fifty years. The political genius of Confederation, he became Canada’s first prime minister in 1867, held that office for 19 years (1867-73 and 1878-91), and presided over the expansion of Canada to its present boundaries, excluding Newfoundland. His National Policy and the building of the CPR were equally indicative of his determination to resist the north-south pull of geography and to create and preserve a strong country politically free and commercially autonomous.

This Colonization Road extended for about 73 miles northward from the Clare River in Sheffield Township to the Peterson Road in Brundell Township. It formed part of a network of government roads built to open up the southern region of the Pre-Cambrian Shield. From 1854 to 1857 Aylsworth B. Perry, a local surveyor, supervised construction of the road from the Clare River to the Madawaska River. A twelve mile extension northward to the Peterson Road was added during 1863 - 64. Settlement of the "free-grant" lands along the route progressed rapidly and by 1862 the population totalled about 800. Although parts of the road were later abandoned, considerable sections were incorporated into the present Highway No. 41.

In the early twentieth century many well known Canadian artists painted and sketched in this area. They were drawn here by the striking landscape and the ideals of the owners of the Bon Echo Inn. Flora MacDonald Denison, a Toronto feminist, bought the inn in 1910. Inspired by the philosophy of American poet Walt Whitman, she set out to create a wilderness retreat for the avant-garde. Guests were offered painting lessons, amateur theatre and poetry readings. Flora's son, playwright Merrill Denison, inherited the resort in 1921 when Canadian cultural nationalism was on the rise. Many of his artist friends, including members of the Group of Seven, came here to vacation and work. The inn closed in 1928 and burned down in 1936. Only these buildings remain from the original resort.

A passionate advocate of the rehabilitation and training of the blind, Baker was born nearby. In 1914 he enlisted in the Canadian Army and was blinded while in action in Belgium. He was hospitalized in England where he embraced the philosophy of self-reliance espoused by Sir Arthur Pearson, the prominent newspaper owner who was himself partially blind. Returning to Canada, Baker was instrumental in the formation of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in 1918 and, as its General Secretary and Managing Director (1920-64), worked tirelessly to improve the medical, rehabilitative and educational services for veterans and the handicapped. He received many honours for his efforts and in 1951 was elected first president of the World Council for the Welfare of the Blind.

This house, the oldest in the Bay of Quinte district, was built about 1785 by Captain Jeptha Hawley (1740-1813), a Loyalist from Arlington, Vermont. The Hawleys, an old Connecticut family, had sent several representatives, including Jeptha's father, to the legislature of that colony. Jeptha joined the Royal Standard in 1776, served under General Burgoyne and was later in charge of Loyalist refugees at Machiche, Quebec. In 1784 he settled here in Ernesttown Township. The stone portion of this building was added between 1787 and 1799 as quarters for the Rev. John Langhorn, the district's first resident Anglican clergyman.

An important figure in early Upper Canada, Spencer was born in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. During the American Revolution he fought with the British forces and in 1784, when his unit was disbanded, he settled here. Widely acknowledged as a man of ability and stature, Spencer quickly achieved prominence. He represented this region in the province's first parliament (1792-96) and secured several judicial and administrative appointments. Continuing his distinguished military career, he was commissioned an officer in the Royal Canadian Volunteer Regiment and served in the garrison at Kingston, (1797-1800) where he was commandant and at Fort George (1800-1802). Spencer gained his highest office in 1794, however, with his appointment as Lieutenant of the County of Lennox. He held this prestigious post until his death.

In this house Daniel Fowler, a well known nineteenth century Canadian artist, lived for over forty years. Born in England he first took up law, but on the death of his father studied art under the English water colour painter, J.D. Harding. As a result of ill health he came to Canada in 1843 and settled on this farm on Amherst Island. His subjects ranged from landscapes to still life, and his work was marked by originality and a strong sense of colour. In 1879 he became one of the first members of the Royal Canadian Academy.

Built before 1830 this house remains a fine example of a late phase of Georgian architecture. It was constructed by Allan Macpherson, who about 1812, had leased the mills on the opposite side of the Napanee River. His new dwelling was near his other principal business enterprise, a general store on Dundas Street on this side of the stream. Napanee’s first postmaster and an active magistrate, Macpherson was long the community’s leading citizen. When he moved to Kingston about 1849, his house was taken over by his son Donald, and it remained in family possession until 1896. Among the distinguished guests here were Bishop John Strachan and Sir John A. Macdonald.

Born in Edinburgh, Thomson emigrated in 1854 to New Jersey, there completing his apprenticeship as a paper-maker. He moved in 1860 to Saint John, N.B., where he devised an improved method for the chemical manufacture of wood pulp. Thomson then joined the firm of Angus, Logan and Company, at whose plant in Windsor Mills in 1864 he supervised Canada’s first commercial production of wood pulp. In 1872 he, his brother James and J.W. Rooklidge established the Newburgh Paper Mills. The following year, John built a paper mill at Napanee Mills (Strathcona), and in 1879-80 the brothers jointly erected the Thomson Mills near Newburgh which operated under various owners until dismantled in 1932.

In 1785 the Canadian government commissioned Robert Clark a Loyalist millwright from New York to build mills on this site. A sawmill was completed in March, 1786, and a grist-mill toward the end of that year or early in 1787. The latter was the first to be erected between Kingston and the Niagara peninsula. The mills were operated for a time by a government agent, James Clarke. In 1799 they were pruchased by a prominent Kingston merchant, Richard Cartwright. They served settlers as far west as the Trent and formed the nucleus of the thriving community of Napanee.

In this community of Camden East, where his father was a storekeeper and Justice of the Peace, was born Gilbert Parker, Canadian novelist and poet. Educated at the University of Toronto, he became a journalist and later turned to writing fiction. He moved to England 1889 and achieved a considerable reputation as an author of historical novels, many of which, such as “The Seats of the Mighty”, had a Canadian setting. Parker sat in the British House of Commons 1900 1918 as member for Gravesend and was knighted 1902 for his literary achievements.

Born in Newburgh of United Empire Loyalist ancestry, Aylesworth was educated at the University of Toronto, and called to the Ontario Bar in 1878. As the Canadian member of the Alaska Boundary Tribunal in 1903, he presented his country’s views in a minority report. Elected to the Dominion parliament in 1905, he served in the cabinet of Sir Wilfred Laurier as postmaster-general and minister of labour, 1905-06, and minister of justice, 1906-11. He acted as British representative at the North Atlantic Fisheries Arbitration in The Hague, 1910-11, and was knighted for his services. In 1923 he was appointed to the Canadian Senate.

This region was among the first in present day Ontario to receive loyalist settlers following the American Revolution. Surveying began in 1783, and by the following year five townships had been laid out between the Cataraqui River and the east end of the Isle of Quinte (Kingstown, Ernestown, Fredericksburgh, Adolphustown, and Marysburgh). Loyalist refugees and discharged soldiers arrived to take up land grants in these five Cataraqui townships in 1784. That same year, Iroquois loyalists settled lands granted to them on the north shore of this bay. These and other loyalist settlements west of the Ottawa River prompted the British government to establish the province of Upper Canada in 1791.