Historical Plaques of
Niagara Region

A Monument was originally erected, on this spot, by a grant from the Parliament of the Province, and subsequently destroyed in the year 1838. The present Monument was erected chiefly by the Voluntary contributions of the Militia and Indian Warriors of the Province, aided by a grant from the Legislature; the authority for erecting the same being delegated to a committee consisting of the following Gentlemen.

Sir Allan Napier McNab, Bart. Bhairman
Sir John Beverley Robinson, Bart.
Sir James Buchanan Macaulay, KN'T.
The Honorable Mr. Justice McLean.
The Honorable Walter H. Dickson.
The Honorable William Hamilton Merritt, M.P.P.
              Thomas Clark Street, Esquire.
Colonel, The Honorable James Kirby.
Lieut. Colonel Daniel Macdougall.
David Thorburn, Esquire.
Lieutenant Garrett, late 49th Regiment.
Colonel Robert Hamilton.
Captain H. Munro, Secretary.
T. G. Ridout, Esquire, Treasurer.
William Thomas, Architect.
John Worthington, Builder.

This small redoubt, or square fortification, and the U-shaped advance battery, named in honour of Sir Gordon Drummond, were built in the late spring of 1814 to defend the main portage road from Chippawa to Queenston. The earthworks enclosed a blockhouse which sheltered 100 men. After the British defeat at the battle of Chippawa, these men abandoned Fort Drummond and joined Major-General Riall's forces retiring to Fort George on 10 July 1814. For two weeks the fort and surrounding heights were held by American forces. When they retreated to Lundy's Lane, the British reoccupied Fort Drummond.

Nommées en l'honneur de sir Gordon Drummond, cette petite redoute ou fortification carrée et la batterie avancée en U furent construites tard au printemps 1814 pour défendre la principale route de portage entre Chippawa et Queenston. Les ouvrages de terre protégeaient un fortin qui abritait 100 hommes. Après la défaite des Anglais à la bataille de Chippawa, les troupes du fort se joignirent à celles du major général Riall et se retirèrent au fort George le 10 juillet 1814. Les Américains occupèrent le fort et les hauteurs environnantes pendant deux semaines. Lorsqu'ils retraitèrent jusqu'à Lundy's Lane, les Anglais revinrent au fort Drummond.

Born in England, Kirby emigrated to the United States in 1832 and to Canada in 1839. Having lived in Quebec and Montreal, he settled in Niagara where for 20 years he edited the Niagara Mail and was Collector of Customs. His prinicipal fame rests upon a novel about old Quebec, The Golden Dog (1877), which has been published in thirty editions and which was translated into French by Pamphile Lemay. He died at Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Né en Angleterre, Kirby émigra aux États-Unis en 1832 et vint au Canada en 1839. Après avoir vécu à Québec et à Montréal, il s'établit à Niagara où. pendant vingt ans, il dirigea la publication du Mail et fut receveur des douanes. Sa renommée tient surtout au roman Le Chien d'or, qu'il écrivit en 1877 et qui traite du Québec ancien. Ce livre, qui a connu de nombreuses éditions, a été traduit en français par Pamphile Lemay. William Kirby est mort à Niagara-on-the-Lake.

This is the third and only surviving court house erected for the former Niagara District. Constructed between 1846 and 1848, it was designed by the prominent Toronto architect, William Thomas, in the fashionable neoclassical style favoured for 19th century public buildings. It is an excellent example of a mid-19th century mulitpurpose civic structure. Though the courts were moved to nearby St. Catharines in 1862, this building has continued to play an important role in the life of this historic community, at one time as the town hall and latterly as the founding home of the Shaw Festival.

Cet édifice est le troisième palais de justice de l'ancien district de Niagara et le seul qui existe encore. Il a été construit entre 1846 et 1848 et conçu par le grand architecte torontois William Thomas, dans le style néo-classique de nombreux bâtiments administratifs du XIXe siècle. Celui-ci constitue une excellente illustration de la polyvalence des constructions municipales de cette époque. Après la réinstallation des cours de justice à St. Catharines, en 1862, le bâtiment devint l'hôtel de ville de Niagara et continua de jouer un rôle de premier plan au sein de cette ville historique. C'est ici notamment que fut créé le festival Shaw.

The Niagara Apothecary is a fine example of a Confederation era commercial establishment and pharmacy. Although the building probably dates to the 1820's, it was extensively renovated in 1866 when it was taken over by an apothecary. At this time the Italianate windows were installed and the interior fitted up as a drug store. Until it closed in 1964 it was one of the oldest and one of the longest continuously operating pharmaceutical practices in Canada.

La Pharmacie de Niagara est un bel exemple d'une pharmacie et d'une petite entreprise de l'ère de la Confédération. Érigé probablement dans les années 1820, l'édifice fut restauré en 1866, date où l'on installa les fenêtres de style italien et on en fit une pharmacie. Jusqu'à sa fermeture en 1964, ce fut l'une des pharmacies les plus anciennes et l'une des plus actives du Canada.

Simcoe was born in Northamptonshire and educated at Oxford. He joined the British army in 1771, and from 1777-81 commanded the Queen's Rangers, a Loyalist corps in America. After the Loyalist influx had led to the creation of a separate province of Upper Canada in 1791, Simcoe was named its first Lieutenant-Governor. During his five years of office the province's basically British and monarchical character and institutions took shape. After he left Canada in 1796 he held a succession of military and colonial offices, and died in Exeter shortly after being appointed Commander-in-chief for India.

Né à Northamptonshire et éduqué à Oxford, Simcoe s'enrôla dans l'armée en 1771. De 1777 à 1781, il commanda les Queen's Rangers, unité loyaliste d'Amérique. L'arrivée massive des Loyalistes provoquant la création d'une nouvelle province en 1791, Simcoe fut le premier lieutenant-gouverneur du Haut Canada et, pendant son mandat, il imprima aux institutions de la province un caractère britannique et monarchique. Après son départ, en 1796, il occupa divers postes dans l'armée et dans les colonies britanniques. Il mourut à Exeter, peu de temps après sa nomination comme commandant en chef des Indes.

In 1777 John Butler of New York raised a force of Rangers who, with their Iroquois allies, raided the frontiers of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey throughout the American Revolutionary War. From their base at Fort Niagara they successfully maintained British military power on the frontiers and seriously threatened rebel food supplies. When Fort Niagara became overcrowed in the autumn of 1778, Butler built near here a group of barracks to house his rangers and their families. Disbanded in June 1784, they were among the first Loyalists to settle in the Niagara peninsula.

Recrutés par John Butler, les Rangers attaquèrent avec leurs alliés iroquois les frontières de New-York, de la Pennsylvanie et du New-Jersey durant la Révolution américaine. Stationnés au fort Niagara, les Rangers maintinrent la puissance militaire britannique sur ces frontières. À l'automne de 1778, Butler érigea près d'ici des baraques pour loger ses Rangers ainsi que leurs familles. Une fois démobilisés, en juin 1784, les Rangers furent parmi les premiers loyalistes à s'établir dans la péninsule de Niagara.

To obtain land on which to settle Loyalists and dispossessed members of the Six Nations of the Iroquois, Guy Johnson in May 1781 and John Butler in May 1784 negotiated treaties with representatives of the Mississauga and Chippawa people of this region. The Crown thereby acquired title to a tract stretching from the Niagara River to the mouth of Catfish Creek. These two cessions were later confirmed and delineated by a third treaty negotiated by John Graves Simcoe, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, and certain Mississauga chiefs at Navy Hall in December 1792.

En vue d'obtenir des terres à l'intention des Loyalistes et des expropriés des Six Nations, Guy Johnson, en mai 1781, et John Butler, en mai 1784, négocièrent des traités avec des représentants des Mississaugas et des Chippawas de la région. La Couronne devint ainsi propriétaire d'un territoire s'étendant du Niagara jusqu'à l'embouchure du ruisseau Catfish. Un traité négocié au Navy Hall par John Graves Simcoe, lieutenant-gouverneur du Haut-Canada, et les chefs mississaugas en décembre 1792 confirma les dispositions des deux premiers traités et délimita la propriété acquise.

This tower and earthwork are all that survive of the barracks, guardroom, and cells of Fort Mississauga. Built between 1814 and 1816 to replace Fort George as the counterpoise to the American Fort Niagara immediately opposite, it was garrisoned until 1826. Repaired and rearmed following the Rebellion of 1837, it continued to be maintained until 1854 in response to border disputes with the United States. It was manned during the tense years of the American Civil War and the Fenian scare of 1866, but by 1870 it was no longer considered of military value.

LE FORT MISSISSAUGA

Cette tour et ces parapets sont les derniers vestiges des casernes, de la salle de garde et de la prison du fort Mississauga. Érigé entre 1814 et 1816 en remplacement du fort George pour faire face au fort américain Niagara, le fort abrita une garnison jusqu'en 1826. Il fut réparé et réarmé après la Rébellion de 1837, puis entretenu jusqu'en 1854, à cause des querelles de frontières avec les Américains. Des troupes y séjournèrent pendant la guerre de Sécession et l'invasion des Féniens en 1866; mais en 1870 toute activité militarie y avait pris fin.

The first lighthouse on the Great Lakes was built of stone at Point Mississauga in 1804 by John Symington, under orders from Lieutenant-Governor Peter Hunter. Demolished in 1814 to make room for this fort, its materials with debris from the ruined town of Niagara, were incorporated into this tower.

En 1804, John Symington, sur l'ordre du lieutenant-gouverneur Peter Hunter, construisit le premier phare des Grand lacs à Point Mississauga. Ce phare, qui était en pierre, fut démoli en 1814 pour faire place à ce fort. Les matériaux dont il était fabriqué et les débris de la ville du Niagara en ruines servirent à ériger la tour du fort Mississauga.

The first session of the Legislative Assembly held at Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake), 17 September to 15 October 1792, introduced a limited form of representative government to the newly created province of Upper Canada. The elected assembly formed part of the first legislature under the administration of John Graves Simcoe, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. Statutes of the first session established English property and civil law, and trial by jury. In 1797 the seat of government was moved to York (Toronto).

La première session de l'assemblée législative, tenue à Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) du 17 septembre au 15 octobre 1792, instaura une forme limitée de gouvernement représentatif dans la nouvelle province du Haut-Canada. Ce corps élu faisait partie du premier parlement constitué sous l'administration du lieutenant-gouverneur John Graves Simcoe. Les lois adoptées au cours de cette première session implantèrent le droit anglais pour les questions civiles et de biens, et le procès devant jury. En 1797, le siège du gouvernement fut déplacé à York (Toronto).

Inspired by the abolitionist sentiment emerging in the late 18th century, Lieutenant-Governor J.G. Simcoe made Upper Canada the first British territory to legislate against slavery, which had defined the conditions of life for most people of African ancestry in Canada since the early 17th century. The Act of 1793 did not free a single slave, but prevented their importation and freed the future children of slaves at age twenty-five. Faced with growing opposition in the colonies, slavery declined. The Imperial Act of 1833 finally abolished slavery in the British territories in 1834.

Inspiré par l'abolitionnisme de la fin du XVIIIe siècle, le lieutenant-gouverneur J.G. Simcoe fit du Haut-Canada le premier territoire britannique à légiférer contre l'esclavage, état de la plupart des personnes d'ascendance africaine au Canada depuis le début du XVIIe siècle. La loi de 1793 n'affranchit pas un seul esclave, mais elle empêcha désormais d'en importer et décréta l'affranchissement à l'âge de vingt-cinq ans des enfants nés d'esclaves par la suite. Face à une opposition croissante dans les colonies, l'esclavage déclina. La Loi impériale de 1833 abolit enfin cette pratique dans les territoires britanniques en 1834.

Here at the Forty Mile Creek, on 8th June, 1813, American forces, retreating after the Battle of Stoney Creek, were bombarded by a British flotilla under Sir James Lucas Yeo.

Indians and groups of the 4th and 5th Regiments Lincoln Militia joined in the attack and created such confusion in the enemy ranks that they abandoned this position and retreated to Fort George.

Ici, à Forty Mile Creek, le 8 juin 1813, des forces américaines qui se repliaient après la bataille de Stoney Creek furent bombardées par une flotille britannique sous les ordres de Sir James Lucas Yeo.

Des Indiens et des groupes des 4e et 5e Régiments de la milice Lincoln participèrent à l'attaque et semèrent une telle confusion dans les rangs ennemis que ces derniers abandonnèrent leur position et se replièrent au fort George.

Born at Beamsville and educated at Victoria College and the University of Toronto, Locke taught at Toronto, Chicago and Harvard Universities and was Dean of Education at Chicago and at MacDonald College before becoming Chief Librarian of the Toronto Public Libraries. In that position, he transformed a small institution into one of the most respected library systems on the continent. Sometime President of the American Library Association, one of the founders of the Arts and Letters Club, he was a gifted speaker and the author of books and articles on literary, historical, and professional themes. He died in Toronto.

Né à Beamsville, George Herbert Locke fit ses études à Toronto. Il enseigna aux universités de Toronto et de Chicago et à Harvard, et fut doyen des facultés d'éducation de Chicago et de MacDonald College. Dirigeant général des bibliothèques publiques de Toronto, grâce à lui, il les transforma en l'un des systèmes les plus réputés du continent. Président de l'American Library Association, il fut l'un des fondateurs du Arts and Letters Club. Bon orateur Locke a aussi écrit des livres et des articles sur des sujets littéraires, historiques et techniques. Il mourut à Toronto.

A distinctive religious denomination similar in doctrine and practice to Mennonite assemblies, the Brethren in Christ Church emerged in Pennsylvania during the 1770s. It was established in Upper Canada in 1788 when Johannes Wenger (John Winger), who later became a bishop and Jacob Sider formed a congregation here in the Short Hills. The denomination advocated adult conversion and baptism and rejected secular pleasues, fashionable dress and political and military involvement. A small tightly knit religious group because of these strongly-held views the Brethren in Christ Church grew slowly, drawing its members popularly known as Tunkers, primarily from German-speaking rural communities. By the end of the 19th century however, it was firmly established in Welland, York, Waterloo and Simcoe Counties.

Failing to seize power by force in Toronto on December 5, 1837, William Lyon Mackenzie was led to the United States by Samuel Chandler, a wagon maker from St. Johns. On June 12, 1838, "A Patriot Army" of some 29 armed Americans and Upper Canadians, including Samuel Chandler, left Grand Island in the United States to invade Canada. Early on June 21, 1838, the "Patriot Army", now about 50 men, rushed Osterhout's Inn on this site where 10 Queen's Lancers were posted to keep the peace in St. Johns and the Short Hills. The Lancers were captured, but later released unharmed. Chandler and other ringleaders were hunted down and tried for treason in Niagara (Niagara-on-the-Lake). James Moreau was hanged; the others were sentenced to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), the British Empire's penal colony then. This incident was one amongst many that would ultimately lead towards the peaceful establishment of responsible government in the late 1840's.

A sawmill built in 1792 on nearby Twelve Mile Creek by Benjamin Canby, an early entrepreneur, formed the nucleus of a settlement, which by 1799 was called St. Johns. Other enterprising businessmen, notably John Darling and John Street, developed several mill-sites and the flourishing community soon became the Niagara District's leading mill-centre. A post-office was established in 1831, by which time the village contained numerous operations, including a woollen factory, foundry, tannery, and several saw and grist-mills. The completion of the Welland Canal and the rapid emergence of industries on that waterway hampered the further growth of St. Johns, and the decline was accelerated by the bypassing of the Short Hills area by the Great Western and Welland Railways, completed between 1853 and 1859.

Samuel Birdsall may have
kept his school here in 1804.
This old schoolhouse was
closed forty years later.

The building was restored
in 1973 by the Niagara South
Board of Education.

An important community icon, this chapel bears witness to the early black settlement of the Niagara region and marks the role of the church in assisting newly arrived Underground Railroad refugees. It was constructed on Murray Street in 1836 and was later rolled on logs to this site. In 1983 the chapel, part of the British Methodist Episcopal Church of Canada, was named for Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943), a parishioner who became an internationally renowned musician and composer of North American sacred music.

Symbole social par excellence, cette chapelle évoque l'établissement des premiers Noirs dans la région de Niagara et le rôle de l'Église concernant l'accueil des réfugiés du chemin de fer clandestin. Érigée en 1836 dans la rue Murray, elle fut par la suite transportée sur billots jusqu'à son site actuel. En 1983, cette chapelle de la British Methodist Episcopal Church of Canada reçut le nom de Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943) en l'honneur de son plus célèbre paroissien qui devint par son talent de musicien et de compositeur une figure internationale de la musique sacrée nord-américaine.

Near this site on April 5, 1790, was held the earliest known session of a municipal government in what is now Ontario. This 'town meeting' of Township No. 6, later named Grimsby, dealt with such matters as the height of fences and the registration of livestock marks. While magistrates, appointed by the Crown, still exercised the more important functions of municipal adminstration, this marked a beginning of local self-government by elected representatives of the people.

A Loyalist from the Mohawk Valley, New York, Nelles came to Canada during the American Revolution and from 1780 to 1784 served in the Indian Department. Following hostilities he settled near the Grand River but by 1792 had moved to this area. Nelles built mills and a store on nearby Forty-Mile Creek and soon became a prominent merchant. About 1798 he constructed a Georgian-style stone manor on this site. Modified by later additions, notably the erection of the Neo-classical porch in the 1820's, the house served as a Nelles's residence during his lengthy career as a justice of the peace, member of the legislative assembly, and commanding officer of the 4th Lincoln Militia.

This nearby burial-ground, one of few representative sites known to have survived relatively intact in Ontario, was used by the Neutral Indians, a confederacy of Iroquoian tribes which occupied the area around western Lake Ontario before 1655. The remains of over 373 individuals were carefully interred here in 31 single graves and 24 multiple graves. Revered by the Neutrals, these remains were typically accompanied by a variety of wares, including carved combs, pipes, pottery, beads, and mid-seventeenth century European trade goods. The burial-ground, discovered in 1976, provides an invaluable record of late Neutral burial-customs and material culture. The remains were reinterred in 1977.

Following the American Revolution, Mennonites living in Pennsylvania began to come to the Niagara Peninsula in search of good farm land. A small group settled on land west of Twenty Mile Creek in 1786. Then, in 1799, Jacob Moyer, Abraham Moyer and Amos Albright scouted land in the vicinity of Vineland and Jordan and secured a 1,000-acre tract. They returned later that year with a number of families. Others joined them the next year. These industrious German-speaking people soon developed a flourshing agricultural community. In 1801 they organized the first Mennonite church congregation in Canada, with Valentine Kratz as minister. Several Mennonite communities in other parts of Ontario were founded by members of this first settlement.

A fine example of a Regional house of squared log construction with a central chimney. The wing of brick filled frame was added in 1830. The house was moved three miles to this site, restored, and presented to the Jordan Historical Museum of The Twenty by a group of dedicated citizens in May 1960. This historical building was restored as part of the design of the Jordan Museum to develop the natural magnificence of the historical district of the Twenty, and to display its charms for the benefit of not only those who are residents of the area but also to you as our welcome quests we extend our warmest hospitality.

One of the province's oldest Anglican churches, St. John's was begun in 1825, during the pastorate of the Reverend William Leeming, and consecrated three years later. It was erected under the auspices of Lieutenant-Governor Sir Peregrine Maitland, who had a summer residence nearby, with additional financial support and gifts of land and furnishings donated by Robert Henry Dee, a retired officer of the Commissariat Department, John Beverley Robinson, Attorney-General of Upper Canada, and other civic and military officials. Picturesquely set facing Stamford Green, the simple, rectangular structure is enhanced by Gothic-style windows and a square battlemented belfry. St. John's remained in continuous religious use until 1957 when a new church was completed and, though somewhat altered, it retains its original character.

On July 18th, 1814, during the final American campaign on the Niagara frontier, Major-General Peter B. Porter sent a detachment of militia from the United States encampment at Queenston to attack St. Davids. This force, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Isaac W. Stone, was joined later by a small group of American regulars. Despite opposition from the 1st Lincoln Militia, the enemy captured the village, looted it and burned most of the buildings. Stone was severely censured for this destruction of private property and summarily dismissed from the United States army.

This influential journal of radical reform was first published on May 18, 1824, at Queenston, by William Lyon Mackenzie. A native of Scotland, Mackenzie had immigrated to Upper Canada in 1820 and three years later settled here and opened a general store. Within a year he had established a printing office in his home on this site, but in November, 1824, moved to York (Toronto). Because of Mackenzie's frequent attacks on the "Family Compact", supporters of this group raided The Colonial Advocate's offices and damaged the press on June 8, 1826. The courts awarded Mackenzie damages and he soon resumed publication. Mackenzie severed his connection with the paper, now called The Advocate, in 1834, and the last issue appeared that November.

This pioneer historian, author and soldier was born in Queenston. His family moved to Amherstburg about 1802, and at the outbreak of the War of 1812 Richardson joined the British army. Retired on half pay in 1818 in London, England, he published the epic poem "Tecumseh" and the celebrated historical novel "Wacousta" which established his literary reputation. In 1838 Richardson returned to Upper Canada where he published two weekly newspapers, "The New Era" (1841-42) and "The Canadian Loyalist" (1843-44). His later works "Eight Years in Canada" and "The War of 1812" provide invaluable historical information. In 1848 he moved to New York City where he died in poverty.

An outstanding example of Classical Revival architecture, this stately home was begun in 1833 and completed some two years later. It was erected by Alexander Hamilton (1794-1839), Sheriff of the Niagara District and fourth son of the powerful Upper Canadian businessman, Robert Hamilton, and it possesses a formal elegance befitting the affluence and prominence of the Hamilton family. Constructed of fine quailty grey stone, Willowbank is distinguished by four pairs of tall white pillars surmounted by a handsome portico. The classic proportions of the structure are enhanced by its majestic setting in spacious grounds on a rise over-looking the village of Queenston. Owned by the Hamilton family until 1934, Willowbank remains little altered from its original appearance.

One of the oldest brick houses in Ontario, this handsome Georgian structure was built about 1800. Originally a farm house, it was the home of Gilbert Field (1765-1815), a United Empire Loyalist who was in possesion of the land by 1790. During the War of 1812 the house was used by British forces and was subjected to a brief bombardment from an American battery. Though damaged, it was one of the few homes in the area to survive the hostilities. It remained in the Field family until about 1925, after which it passed through various hands. In 1968 the Ontario Heritage Foundation acquired the property to ensure its continued preservation and twelve years later the Field House was returned to private ownership with a protective covenant.

This house was built in 1800 by James McFarland on land purchased about 1795 by his father, John McFarland (1757-1814) who was described as "His Majesty's boat builder". One of the Niagara District's finest residences, it was used during the War of 1812 as a hospital by both British and United States forces. A British battery was emplaced behind the house to command the river. In 1813 John McFarland was taken prisoner by the Americans following their capture of Fort George. When he returned in 1814, much of his property had been destroyed and the house badly damaged.

On July 20, 1799, the first edition of the "Canada Constellation", Upper Canada's earliest independent newspaper, was published at Niagara by Gideon and Silvester Tiffany, two brothers who had come from the United States. Gideon had at first held the post of King's Printer of Upper Canada and, with Silvester, edited the government-sponsored "Upper Canada Gazette". Suspected of American sympathies, the Tiffanys lost their government support in 1797 and were succeeded by Titus Geer Simons. Their subsequent efforts to operate the "Canada Constellation" without government aid were thwarted by limited population and the difficulty of collecting subscriptions. The last issue appeared about July, 1800.

This building, the first in Ontario to be constructed for use solely as an historical museum, was begun in 1906 and completed the following year. Its erection was due largely to the dedicated efforts of Miss Janet Carnochan, founder, and for thirty years curator of the Niagara Historical Society. Previously the Society had used a room in the Town Hall to preserve objects of this early Loyalist region. Donations were received from the federal and provincial governments, local municipalities, British regiments once stationed in the area, and private citizens. The museum was officially opened June 4, 1907, by Sir William Mortimer Clark, Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario.

For more than 30 years Janet Carnochan, a native of Stamford, Ontario, taught elementary and secondary school at Niagara-on-the-Lake, but she made her greatest contribution to the community as an historian rather than as an educator. A distinguished historical preservationist, Carnochan founded and was first president of the Niagara Historical Society, 1895-1925, and laboured tirelessly to safeguard and promote the rich heritage of Niagara. She wrote and edited numerous historical works including The History of Niagara and successfully campaigned for the construction of Memorial Hall, the first building erected for the purpose of a museum in Ontario. In 1949, when the town's former high school was incorporated into this complex, it was renamed Janet Carnochan Hall as a tribute to her efforts and dedication.

The first organization devoted to the improvement of agriculture in Ontario was founded at Niagara. Its original name, the Agricultural Society of Upper Canada, reflected Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe's hope that it would become a province-wide organization. Its members, mostly merchants, politicians, clergymen and gentlemen farmers, met regularly for dinner and discussion. They imported new varities of fruit trees to the Niagara peninsula in 1794 and sponsored the province's first agricultural fair in Queenston in 1799. The society folded in 1805 and left its collection of reference books to the Niagara Library. Although the society was short-lived, its scientific approach to farming anticipated the work of regional agricultural societies run by farmers after 1826.

The Upper Canada Gazette or American Oracle, first newspaper in what is now Ontario, was published in the town of Niagara. Its first issue, edited by Louis Roy, appeared April, 18, 1793.

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On this site was published the Gleaner which from 1817 to 1837, under the editorship of Andrew and Samuel Heron, was one of the most prominent newspapers in Upper Canada.

One of the earliest Anglican churches in the province, St. Mark's was begun in 1804 to serve a congregation organized twelve years earlier. Its first rector, the Reverend Robert Addison, chaplain of Upper Canada's first Legislative Assembly, numbered among his parishioners Lieutenant-Governor John Simcoe, Lieutenant-Colonel John Butler and Major-General Isaac Brock. Completed in 1810, the church was used by the British as a hospital in 1812 and by the Americans as a barracks in 1813. Burnt by the latter, the nave was rebuilt by 1822 and the church consecrated six years later. In 1843 the structure was altered by the addition of the transepts, chancel and the present Gothic Revival pulpits. Further interior alterations were made in 1892 and 1964.

In this house, built in 1818, William Kirby, F.R.S.C., historian, novelist, poet and editor of the Niagara Mail, lived from 1857 to 1906. His historical romance, The Golden Dog, stimulated interest in Canada's history and won for him international renown.

Presbyterians formed a congregation at Niagara in 1794 with John Dun as resident minister. Within a year they had built a church, and by 1802 a schoolhouse. American troops burned the church during the War of 1812, claiming that British soldiers had used the steeple as an observation post. The congregation held services in the schoolhouse until 1831 when, under the leadership of the Reverend Robert McGill, they built this church. Restored but little altered, St. Andrew's is a splendid example of Greek Revival architecture. The church's interior, classically Georgian in design, retains the original high pulpit and box pews.

Here stood the court-house and gaol of the Niagara District. Erected in 1817, they were considered to be among the finest public buildings in the province. Robert Gourlay, the radical reformer, was imprisoned and tried for sedition here in 1819. In 1837 an escaped American slave, Moseby, threatened with return to his master, was forcibly resuced here by local negroes abetted by other residents of Niagara. The courts moved elsewhere in 1847, and the gaol closed in 1866.

Here stood a Baptist church erected in 1830 through the exertions of a former British soldier. John Oakley, who although white, became pastor of a predominantly negro congregation. In 1793 Upper Canada had passed an act forbidding further introduction of slaves and freeing the children of those in the colony at twenty-five. This was the first legislation of its kind in the British Empire. A long tradition of tolerance attracted refugee slaves to Niagara, many of whom lie buried here.

On June 8, 1800, the Niagara Library, the first circulating library in Upper Canada, was established to diffuse knowledge among area subscribers. Financed by this group, library services were begun in 1801 with some 80 works for circulation, many on religion and history. Under the management of Andrew Heron, a merchant, the collection was steadily enlarged, and in 1805 the books of the Niagara Agricultural Society were added. The library operated successfully until the occupation of Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) by American forces in 1813, when numerous volumes were lost. By 1818 financial support for the library had seriously declined, and in 1820 the holdings were incorporated in a new subscription library, begun two years earlier by Heron, then a publisher and book-seller.

On September 17, 1792, Colonel John Graves Simcoe, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, opened in this community, then the capital, the first provincial parliament. The legislature consisted of an appointed Legislative Council and an elected Legislative Assembly. Its opening marked the introduction of a form of representative government into this province. Previously, both the French and British regimes had been directed by a royal governor advised by an appointed council of officials and prominent citizens. This first parliament held all its sittings in "Newark", as Simcoe had re-named Niagara, but the second was summoned to meet in 1797 at York (Toronto), the new seat of government.

The Parish of St. Vincent de Paul is the direct successor of the many and often interrupted missionary endeavours in the Niagara area since 1826. At first concerned with the native peoples, later French and then English-speaking priests came as chaplains for the troops stationed at Fort Niagara and Fort George.

The first permanent parish with a resident priest was established here in 1826 to serve the pastoral needs of the growing number of Catholics in the Niagara Peninsula and the west-central part of the Province. Though the area of its pastoral jurisdiction was soon reduced, St. Vincent de Paul remained very much a spiritual home to Catholics from both sides of the Niagara River for many years.

Bishop Alexander Macdonell of Kingston blessed the frame church with its Gothic windows on November 9, 1835. The Most Reverend Thomas J. McCarthy, Bishop of St. Catharines, blessed the restoration of the original church and the polygon-shaped addition to the front of the building on July 25, 1965. Today St. Vincent de Paul, an example of early church architecture in Canada, remains the oldest surviving Catholic Church still used for regular worship in the Province of Ontario.

This plaque was blessed and dedicated by the Most Reverend Thomas B. Fulton, D.D., Bishop of St. Catharines, on Sunday, December 1, 1985.

An historic plaque of the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Catharines

A frame church was built here following the arrival in 1820 of an Anglican missionary, the Reverend William Leeming. It was burned on the night of September 12-13, 1839, by supporters of William Lyon Mackenzie who crossed the Niagara River from New York State. The present church was designed by John Howard and built with the aid of private subscriptions and government assistance. The corner-stone was laid in 1841 by Bishop John Strachan. Among the well known persons who worshipped here were: Jenny Lind, the famous singer, in 1851; Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), in 1860; and Laura Secord, a parishioner, who died in 1868.

On the night of December 29-30, 1837, some 60 volunteers acting on the orders of Col. Allan Napier MacNab, and commanded by Capt. Andrew Drew, R.N., set out from Chippawa in small boats to capture the American steamer "Caroline". That vessel, which had been supplying William Lyon Mackenzie's rebel forces on Navy Island, was moored at Fort Schlosser, N.Y. There she was boarded by Drew's men, her crew killed or driven ashore, and after an unsuccessful attempt to start the engines, her captors set the ship afire and left her to sink in the Niagara River. This action almost precipitated war between Britain and the United States.

In 1792-94 a village grew up near Fort Chippawa on Chippawa Creek at the end of the new portage road from Queenston. In 1793 the creek was renamed the Welland River, but the village, where a post-office was opened before 1801, remained "Chippawa". It was largely destroyed 1813-14 when British and American forces fought for control of the Welland River. Portage traffic revived after the war and continued until Chippawa became an outlet for the original Welland Canal from 1829 to 1833. A horse-powered railway, the first in Upper Canada, was built to Niagara Falls in 1837-39. Chippawa was incorporated as a village in 1849, and in 1970 became part of the City of Niagara Falls.

On the night of August 12, 1814, seventy seamen and marines, led by Captain Alexander T. Dobbs, R.N., embarked in this vicinity to attempt the capture of three armed U.S. schooners lying off American-held Fort Erie. One of the six boats used had been carried some 25 miles from Queenston, while the others were brought overland from Frenchman's Creek. Masquerading as supply craft, the force boarded and seized the "Somers" and "Ohio", the "Porcupine" alone escaping. Two of the attackers, including their second-in-command, Lieutenant Copleston Radcliffe, R.N., were killed. This daring exploit was the last naval action fought on the Great Lakes during the War of 1812.

In 1831 the Welland Canal Company selected Gravelly Bay as the sourthern terminus of their waterway connecting Lakes Ontario and Erie, and in 1833 asked the permission of Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Colborne to name the site "Port Colborne". The Hon. William H. Merritt, president of the Canal Company, had streets laid out on both sides of the canal in 1834 and, with several partners, built a grist-mill by 1835. Initially the community's economy depended largely on the canal, but from the 1850's Port Colborne developed as a wheat-shipping point, railway junction and industrial centre. In was incorporated as a village in 1869 and council first met on January 17, 1870.

Port Robinson the southern terminus of the original Welland Canal, opened in 1829, was named for John Beverley Robinson, chief justice of Upper Canada. The village grew rapidly when hundreds of Irish immigrants laboured on the "Deep Cut" between Allanburg and this site. A company of Negro soldiers stationed here about 1843-51 enforced order along the canal. Port Robinson benefited from frequent canal improvements, and trade and industry, including a shipyard and drydocks, flourished. In 1856 Merrittsville (Welland) became the administrative centre for Welland County. Later, Port Robinson's development was slowed when the shipyards were closed. After about 1880, when its inhabitants totalled some 800, there was a decline in population and business activity.

Believed to have been one of Upper Canada's largest flour mills, this substantial limestone structure was erected in 1846-47 by Jacob Keefer. It was constructed on the Second Welland Canal, a channel which has since been filled in, and used that waterway as a source of power as well as a means of transport. Solidly built and functional in design, the structure possesses the massive exterior walls and symmetrical facade which were distinctive features of contemporary industrial architecture. Throughout its history the mill has had a series of owners including the prominent Howland family, the Hedley Shaw Milling Company, and more recently the Maple Leaf Milling Company. Although no longer in operation, it remains an excellent example of the province's early milling technology.

British by birth - January 13, 1910,
Canadian by conviction, World
War ll veteran, noted photographer.
Over 25 years dedicated municipal
service on the Board of Education,
Plublic Utilities Commission and
Municipal Council with one term as
Reeve. His leadership spearheaded
the campaign to create, construct
and pay for this beautiful Battle
of Beaverdams Park begun in 1975
-completed in 1980.

John Bean was born in Attercliffe, Ontario, on September 8, 1901. He attended Stratford Collegiate Institute in Ontario and Northwestern College before transferring to the University of Michigan, where he earned his degrees and spent the rest of his life doing reserch and teaching for twenty-eight years. His example inspired many students to continue in the field of physiology.

John did extensive research, and became a world leader in the field of oxygen poisoning, particularly during World War ll, when the subject had extensive applications in undersea operations.

He wrote and co-wrote hundreds of articles which were published in medical journals over the years, some of which are still being used as references and quoted to-day.

John belonged to several organizations and committees, both on a professional and non-professional level.

He continued to do research and work part-time after retiring in 1972, right up till his death in 1987.

The citizens of Thorold are grateful to John Bean for leaving a generous bequest in his will to the City of Thorold for the beautification of the Battle of Beaverdams Park.

During the construction of the original Welland Canal, 1824-1829, a number of communities sprung up along its length. Here, on land belonging to George Keefer, a village known as Thorold had developed by 1828. A large flouring mill was built on the canal and the Thorold Township post office was moved from Beaverdams to the new settlement by Jacob Keefer. By 1831 two sawmills were in operation and in 1835 the village contained 370 inhabitants. During the 1840's the building of the Welland Mills, then one of the largest flour mills in Canada, and the establishment of Ontario's first cotton factory, stimulated the community's growth. It was incorporated as a Village in 1850, as a Town in 1875 and as a City in 1975.