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31 plaques found that match your criteria
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Rideau Canal 1826-1832, The
Financed by the British government, on the Duke of Wellington's advice, it was built to provide a secure military route between Upper and Lower Canada. Work was supervised by military engineers commanded by Lieut. Colonel John By whose technical ability and perseverance overcame many obstacles. Many of his Irish emigrant labourers died of a virulent fever. Traversing 126 miles of largely unsettled country between Kingston and Bytown (now Ottawa), and including 47 locks, the canal was opened May 24, 1832. -
Rockwood 1842
Rockwood was built in 1842 as a country villa for John Solomon Cartwright (1804-1845). Designed by George Browne, architect of the Kingston City Hall, in a monumental phase of the Regency style, it is a stone structure covered with stucco but lined to suggest ashlar masonry. Cartwright began to practise law in Kingston in 1830 and in 1831, became president of the Commercial Bank of the Midland District. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly... -
Rush-Bagot Agreement, The
A naval arms limitation agreement negotiated to demilitarize the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain after the War of 1812, this convention was concluded between the United States and Great Britain, represented respectively by Richard Rush and Charles Bagot, in 1817. Under its terms each country agreed to dismantle all armed vessels on the lakes with the exception of four retained for policing purposes and to construct no new warships. During the 19th century there were... -
Sir Oliver Mowat 1820-1903
Born in Kingston, Mowat studied law under John A. Macdonald. After moving to Toronto in 1840 he was elected a Liberal member of the legislature of the Province of Canada in 1857 and served as provincial secretary in 1858 and postmaster general 1863-64. He took part in the Quebec Conference of 1864 which led to Confederation in 1867. Mowat became Ontario's third prime minister in 1872 succeeding the Honourable Edward Blake, and retained that post... -
St. Mark's Church
This church, a fine example of the early style of Gothic revival architecture, was built with the aid of funds subscribed by the British Admiralty and by settlers at Barriefield, many of whom had been employees of the Royal Navy dockyard at Navy Bay. John Bennett Marks, a naval paymaster, donated the land for a site. The corner-stone was laid by Bishop John Strachan, July 10, 1843, and the church, designed by Alfred Brunel, was... -
Typhus Epidemic 1847, The
Though typhus had been epidemic periodically in Canada since the 1650s, the worst outbreak occurred in the summer of 1847. In that year some 90,000 emigrants embarked for Canada, most of them refugees from the potato famine then ravaging Ireland. Nearly 16,000 died of typhus, either at sea or after their arrival in Canada. Those stricken while passing through Kingston found shelter in makeshift "immigrant sheds" erected near the waterfront. Despite the efforts of local...