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Solomon Moseby Affair 1837, The
The second courthouse and jail of the Niagara District was erected at this site in 1817. Several high-profile cases were tried here, including that of African-American freedom seeker Solomon Moseby. In the spring of 1837, Moseby stole his enslaver's horse and escaped, settling in Niagara. A few weeks later, his new-found freedom was threatened when his enslaver arrived with an arrest warrant and extradition papers. Moseby was detained at this jail while awaiting an extradition... -
Joseph-Geneviève, Comte de Puisaye
Soldier, politician, diplomatist and colonizer, de Puisaye was born at Mortagne-en-Perche, France, about 1755, and enlisted in the French Army at 18. Elected to the States General in 1789, he supported reform but, alarmed by the course of the Revolution, later organized resistance on behalf of the Royalists. Outlawed, he sought refuge in England and in 1795, as Lieutenant-General, led an ill-fated expedition to Quiberon, Brittany. Three years later, with some forty other émigrés, he... -
St. Andrew's
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. Mark's Church
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... -
Chloe Cooley and the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada
On March 14, 1793 Chloe Cooley, an enslaved Black woman in Queenston, was bound, thrown in a boat and sold across the river to a new owner in the United States. Her screams and violent resistance were witnessed by a neighbour, William Grisley, who informed Peter Martin, a free Black and former soldier in Butler's Rangers. They brought the incident to the attention of Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe who immediately moved to abolish slavery... -
First Provincial Parliament 1792, The
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... -
Founding of Chippawa, The
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... -
Church of the Holy Trinity, The
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... -
Raid on Fort Schlosser 1813, The
At daybreak on July 5, 1813, a British and Canadian force, consisting of some 35 militia and a small detachment of the 49th Regiment, embarked in this vicinity to attack Fort Schlosser. The American depot (now within Niagara Falls, New York) was situated at the southern terminus of the Lewiston Portage, and was an important military trans-shipment point. The attacking force, commanded by Lieut.-Col. Thomas Clark of the 2nd Regiment, Lincoln Militia, surprised the U.S... -
Mackenzie's Crossing 1837
On December 7, 1837, William Lyon Mackenzie's "Patriot" forces were defeated north of Toronto by Loyalist militia and he fled toward the United States. Travelling little used routes in order to avoid government forces which were scouring the countryside, he reached this vicinity on December 11th. Capt. Samuel McAfee, who owned the property at the time, provided Mackenzie with a boat to cross the Niagara River. While the rebel leader was embarking, Col. William Kerby... -
Willowbank
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 quality grey stone, Willowbank is distinguished by four pairs of tall white pillars surmounted... -
Founding of Queenston, The
Following the loss, after the American Revolution, of the Niagara River's east bank, a new portage around Niagara Falls was established in the 1780s with Queenston its northern terminus. Wharves, storehouses and a block-house were built. Robert Hamilton, a prominent merchant considered the village's founder, operated a thriving trans-shipment business. Known as the "Lower Landing", it was named "Queenston" by Lieut.-Governor Simcoe. During the War of 1812, the village was badly damaged. Here lived such... -
"Colored Corps" 1812-1815, The
When the War of 1812 began, people of African descent in the Niagara peninsula feared an American invasion. They were anxious to preserve their freedom and prove their loyalty to Britain. Many joined the militia; others offered to raise their own militia company. Authorities responded by forming a "Coloured Corps" of about thirty men commanded by white officers. Based in the Niagara region throughout the war, it fought at Queenston Heights in October 1812 and... -
Queenston Baptist Church, The
By 1808, the Rev. Elkanah Holmes, a missionary from the United States, had organized the first Baptist congregation in Queenston. Following the War of 1812, the congregation declined, was reorganized in 1831 and, between 1842 and 1845, erected this rough-cut limestone structure as its church. It is an early and interesting example of the Gothic revival style in this province. The church had closed by 1918 and in 1928 was sold to the Women's Institute... -
Laura Ingersoll Secord 1775-1868
Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Laura Ingersoll came to Upper Canada with her father in 1795 and settled in this area. About two years later she married James Secord, a United Empire Loyalist, and within seven years they had moved to this site from nearby St. Davids. From here, during the War of 1812, Laura Secord set out on an arduous 19-mile journey to warn the local British commander, Lieutenant James FitzGibbon, of an impending... -
Major John Richardson 1796-1852
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... -
Christian Warner 1754-1833
Born in Albany County, N.Y., Warner served in Butler's Rangers during the American Revolution, and settled in this vicinity shortly after the corps was disbanded in 1784. Converted to Methodism, Warner became the leader of one of the earliest "Methodist Classes" in the province. Services were held at his home, and in 1801 a simple frame chapel was erected on his property. It became known as the "Warner Meeting House" and was the first Methodist... -
Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe 1763-1851
On October 13, 1812, following Isaac Brock's death in a preceding assault, Major-General Sheaffe assumed command and led a successful attack, which dislodged an invading American force from Queenston Heights. Born in Boston, Mass., Sheaffe was commissioned in the British army in 1778 and fought in the American Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Arriving in Upper Canada in 1812, he served as Administrator of the province 1812-1813, and returned to England in the latter year. He was created a baronet in 1813, attained the rank of general in 1838 and died in Edinburgh, Scotland. -
Beaverdams Church 1832, The
Early in the 1790s, a group of settlers in this area had been converted to Methodism and formed a Class which, in 1795, was included in the newly established Niagara Circuit. Services were held in the home of a prominent local settler, Israel Swayze, and camp meetings took place on his property. This church, one of the oldest remaining Methodist chapels in the province, was built in 1832. The Reverend Egerton Ryerson, who later was... -
St. Johns
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... -
Ball's Grist-Mill
By 1809, John and George Ball had constructed a four-storey grist-mill here on Twenty Mile Creek. Equipped with two run of stones, the mill provided flour for British troops during the War of 1812. It was expanded during the 1840s and by the end of the decade was part of a complex which included sawmills and woollen factories. About that time, George Peter Mann Ball laid out a village plot named Glen Elgin. His plans... -
Ontario Paper Company Ltd., The
In 1912, the Ontario Paper Company was incorporated as a subsidiary of the Chicago Tribune newspaper under the direction of publisher Robert McCormick. A paper mill was constructed south of here on the banks of the Welland Canal. On September 5, 1913, its No.1 Paper Machine began producing newsprint for the Tribune. Without sufficient timber in southern Ontario, pulp wood was shipped here by water from Lake Superior and Quebec's North Shore. The mill, designed... -
Richard Pierpoint c. 1744 - c. 1838
One of the first Black settlers in this region, Pierpoint was born in Senegal. At the age of about 16, he was imprisoned and shipped to America where he became the slave of a British officer. During the American Revolution, he enlisted in the British forces, thereby gaining his freedom, and served with Butler's Rangers. Disbanded at Niagara, "Captain Dick" settled near here. At the outbreak of the War of 1812, he joined the Coloured... -
Colonel Graham Thomson Lyall, V.C. 1892-1941
Graham Thomson Lyall emigrated from Britain in 1911, eventually settling in Niagara Falls where he worked for the Canadian Niagara Power Company. In 1914, at the start of the First World War, Lyall enlisted in the 19th "Lincoln" Regiment at St. Catharines. Later, he joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force and fought at the Somme in 1916, Arras and Ypres in 1917, and Amiens in 1918. On September 27 and October 1, 1918, Lyall led his... -
Welland Mills, The
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 façade which were distinctive features of...