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Daniel Fowler 1810-1894
In this house, Daniel Fowler, a well-known 19th-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 watercolour painter, J.D. Harding. As a result of ill health, he came to Canada in 1843, and settled on this farm on Amherst Island. He 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. -
David Brown Milne 1882-1953
One of Canada's outstanding artists, Milne was born on a farm near Burgoyne, Saugeen Township, and raised in Paisley. Though largely self-taught, he studied briefly in New York at the Art Student's League and, in 1913, exhibited some of his paintings at the Armory Show, which introduced contemporary European art to North America. Milne served as an official Canadian war artist during the First World War. Working mainly in watercolours, he developed a highly personal... -
Dr. Lorne Pierce 1890-1961
Editor of The Ryerson Press 1920-1960, Pierce was born at Delta and devoted his life to the promotion of Canadian literature. He established scholarships at several Canadian universities and, in 1926, presented the Royal Society of Canada's Lorne Pierce Medal for distinguished authorship by a Canadian. He edited the "Makers of Canadian Literature" and the "Ryerson Poetry Chap-books." His writings include: "An Outline of Canadian Literature" (1927); "A Canadian People" (1945); "A Canadian Nation" (1960)... -
Edward Johnson 1878-1959
Edward Johnson, one of the world's leading operatic tenors, was born in Guelph and lived for many years in a house that stood near this site. He studied in Italy and made his European debut in 1912 at Padua. During eight seasons, he performed leading roles in Rome and at La Scala Theatre, Milan and, following extensive tours of Europe and South America, he joined the Chicago Opera Company in 1920. He became a principle... -
Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe 1766-1850
The wife of John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim was born at Whitchurch, Herefordshire. Her diaries and sketches, compiled 1791-96 while in Canada, provide a valuable record of pioneer life in that colony. Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe, who claimed direct descendence from Lord William de Brewer, the founder, in the twelfth century, of the Abbey of St. Mary, Dunkswell, died in 1806, and thereafter Mrs. Simcoe devoted herself to charitable work. She... -
Founding of Haliburton, The
The Canadian Land and Emigration Company of London, England, was incorporated in 1861 and purchased for settlement purposes in this region nine adjoining wilderness townships comprising some 360,000 acres of land. The town plot of Haliburton was surveyed by 1864, a sawmill erected there that year, and a grist-mill built in 1865. Charles R. Stewart was appointed the first resident land agent, and the community was named in honour of Judge Thomas Chandler Haliburton, chairman... -
Frederick Stanley Haines 1879-1960
One of Ontario's outstanding artists and teachers, Haines was born in Meaford and educated at this school. In 1896, he moved to Toronto where he attended the Central Ontario School of Art. He later studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Antwerp, Belgium. Working in the realistic style as painter, etcher and printmaker, he tended to specialize in idealized Ontario pastoral landscapes. In 1928, he was appointed a curator at the Art Gallery of... -
Paul Peel
This noted Canadian artist was born in this city and about 1875, had a studio on Richmond Street in the marble works operated by his father. After studying in Philadelphia and at the Royal Academy Schools, London, England, he moved to Paris in 1887 where he worked under such prominent painters as Gérôme, Boulanger and Constant. Peel is represented in the National Gallery of Canada by "Mother Love", "A Venetian Bather" and other canvases. Examples... -
Pauline McGibbon 1910-2001
The first woman to hold a vice-regal office in Canada, Pauline Emily Mills, was born in Sarnia, Ontario in 1910. After local schooling and a degree at Victoria College, University of Toronto, she married Donald Walker McGibbon in 1935. A life-long volunteer and supporter of the arts, Mrs. McGibbon became president of the Dominion Drama Festival in 1948 and national president of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire in 1963. She was... -
Reverend Adolphus Egerton Ryerson 1803-1882, The
This outstanding educationist, journalist and clergyman, the son of an Anglican Loyalist, was born near Vittoria. He entered the Methodist ministry in 1825, serving as a circuit rider and missionary to the Indians. He was appointed first editor of the Methodist "Christian Guardian" in 1829 and became an advocate of the Reform objective of separating Church and State, though he later expressed conservative views in politics. As head of the Department of Public Instruction (1846-76)... -
Reverend Charles Alfred Marie Paradis 1848-1926, The
Born in Kamouraska County, Quebec, Paradis studied at Sainte-Ann-de-la-Pocatière College and taught art in Ottawa. Following his ordination in 1881, he was posted to Lake Timiskaming as missionary of the Oblate Congregation. Paradis' travels as a missionary provided the information for his pamphlet "From Temiskaming to Hudson Bay". In it, he strongly recommended the colonization of the region. After leaving the Congregation in 1890, he encouraged many French-Canadian farm families from Michigan to settle in... -
Reverend Charles W. Gordon 1860-1937, The
Born at Indian Lands (St. Elmo), Gordon was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1890. He served as a missionary in the North West Territories until 1893 and the following year was called to St. Stephens in Winnipeg. A chaplain during the War of 1914-18, he was Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada 1921-22. Under the pen name of Ralph Connor, Gordon became one of Canada's leading authors and wrote such books as "The Man... -
Robert Alexander Laidlaw 1886-1976
A prominent Ontario businessman and philanthropist, Laidlaw, who is buried here, was born in Barrie and raised and educated in Toronto. He joined his father's firm, the R. Laidlaw Lumber Company Limited, following his graduation in 1908, and during a long and successful business career, served it and other important Canadian corporations. Laidlaw is best remembered, however, for his philanthropic work. He made major contributions to leading health-care, educational and cultural institutions, including the Hospital... -
Sir Byron Edmund Walker, C.V.O., LL.D., D.C.L. 1848-1924
Born in Haldimand County, Walker joined the new Canadian Bank of Commerce at an early age, transforming it into one of Canada's leading financial institutions. He helped to author the Bank Act, cornerstone of Canada's national banking system. By 1907, he was president of the Bank of Commerce, a position he held until 1924. Walker was also a generous patron of the arts, helping to found and nurture many of Canada's cultural and educational institutions... -
Sir Richard Bonnycastle 1791-1847
As an officer in the Corps of Royal Engineers, Bonnycastle was trained in engineering, mapmaking, geology and painting. He served in Europe and Nova Scotia before coming to Upper Canada in 1826. The military surveys and related scientific work that he produced while posted at Niagara, Kingston and York contributed to the economic development of the province. Bonnycastle was recalled here in 1837 to supervise completion of the new Fort Henry. His masterful defence of... -
St. George the Martyr Anglican Church
Reverend William Crompton, a travelling missionary, founded an Anglican mission at Magnetawan in 1880. Later that same year, construction began on this church. Built on the Old Nipissing Colonization Road at a time of tremendous growth in the area, the church provided a spiritual centre for the local community and served as an important meeting place for settlers. The building is a fine example of Carpenter Gothic, a late-19th-century architectural style that incorporated Gothic-inspired elements... -
St. Lawrence Hall 1850
Erected in 1850, this structure provided a grand public hall in the St. Lawrence marketplace, then the centre of Toronto, for concerts, balls, meetings and other civic events. Seating a thousand, it was proudly regarded as one of the city's finest buildings. Here, Jenny Lind sang, the Anti-Slavery Society met, and George Brown addressed ardent Reform gatherings before Confederation. When the centre of the city shifted north and west in the 1870s, St. Lawrence Hall's great era ended. -
Harold Adams Innis 1894-1952
One of Canada's outstanding economic historians, Innis was born on this farm. Graduated from McMaster University, he obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and in 1920, joined the Department of Political Economy at the University of Toronto, where he subsequently became Department Chairman and Dean of Graduate Studies. His works, such as the monumental "Fur Trade in Canada" (1930), largely interpreted Canadian history as a thrust to control the St. Lawrence trade and... -
Hon. George Brown 1818-1880
Across the Grand River at this point lies Bow Park, once the farm of George Brown, a leading architect of Confederation, who built up an estate of some 800 acres beginning in 1866. A Scottish immigrant, Brown founded the Toronto Globe in 1844, the influential Reform journal which helped him become a powerful political figure. As leader of the "Clear Grit" Liberals and champion of Canada West, Brown entered the "Great Coalition" government of 1864... -
Honourable William Aberhart 1878-1943, The
Founder of the Social Credit Party and premier of Alberta, 1935-43, Aberhart attended Seaforth Collegiate Institute, 1893-98, and later graduated from Queen's University. In 1910 he moved to Calgary where from 1915-35 he was a high school principal. An ardent fundamentalist lay preacher he founded the Calgary Prophetic Bible Conference in 1918 to promote Bible study. His weekly religious radio broadcasts beginning in 1925 won him a large audience. In 1932 he became interested in... -
Isabella Valancy Crawford
Born in Dublin, Ireland, about 1846, this notable Canadian poet immigrated with her family to Canada, 1857-58, settling at Paisley. Her father practiced medicine here for some years and after his death in Peterborough, in 1875, Isabella moved to Toronto where she attempted to support her sister and mother by writing. A fine knowledge of classical literature, an intense idealism and a gift for startling imagery pervade her poetry. Like many post-Confederation poets, she was... -
J.D. Kelly 1862-1958
John David Kelly, a gifted painter and illustrator, is best known for his meticulously researched paintings depicting important events in Canada's history. Many of Kelly's paintings and sketches were commissioned for reproduction and were widely distributed. The artist was born at Gore's Landing in 1862 and grew up in Percy Township. He graduated from the Ontario School of Art in 1882, contributed to the noted calendars of the Toronto Art League, and was active in... -
J.E.H. MacDonald 1873-1932
MacDonald, one of Canada's outstanding artists, lived here 1913-1932. Born in Durham, England, of Canadian parents, he came with his family to Hamilton in 1887. Though his formal art training was limited, he became one of the founders of the "Group of Seven" and participated in most of its exhibitions. MacDonald's impressive painting, "A Tangled Garden", shown in the 1916 Ontario Society of Artists exhibition, strongly indicated the development of his later style. In 1929... -
James Llewellyn Frise
One of Ontario's leading cartoonists, Jimmy Frise was born near here about 1891 and educated at Myrtle, Seagrave and Port Perry. Wounded at Vimy Ridge in the First World War, he went to Toronto to resume his career in illustrations, a field in which he was entirely self-taught. For the Star Weekly Frise collaborated with the noted humorous writer Gregory Clark in a weekly series. In 1921 he created a half page cartoon, first entitled... -
Janet Carnochan 1839-1926
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...