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• Martintown Grist Mill, The
  This mill was built in 1846 to replace part of a milling complex developed by Malcolm McMartin early in the century. Like similar operations throughout the province, the McMartin mills provided essential local services in an era of poor transportation. They served area residents by sawing timber, carding wool, fulling cloth and grinding grain. The mills and their associated tavern and store attracted tradesmen and residents, creating the village of Martintown. Malcolm McMartin's son Alexander...

• Bethune-Thompson House
  Built by Loyalist settler Peter Ferguson in 1784, the original log cabin on this site is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Ontario. The cabin walls were constructed using a French-Canadian technique called poteaux sur sole where vertically placed, squared logs were held together by horizontal plates located along the top and bottom. The larger home adjoining it was built in 1804 by Reverend John Bethune (1751-1815), the first Presbyterian minister in Upper Canada...

• "Cariboo" Cameron 1820-1888
  Born in this township, John Angus "Cariboo" Cameron married Margaret Sophia Groves in 1860. Accompanied by his wife and daughter, he went to British Columbia in 1862 to prospect in the Cariboo gold fields. That year at Williams Creek he struck a rich gold deposit. While there his wife died of typhoid fever and, in order to fulfil her dying wish to be buried at home, he transported her body in an alcohol-filled coffin some...

• Claude J.P. Nunney, V.C. 1892-1918
  Born in Ireland, Nunney was brought up in Lancaster Township, Glengarry. He enlisted in the 38th Battalion, C.E.F., in 1915 and in 1916 was sent to France where he won the Military Medal and Distinguished Conduct Medal. On September 1, 1918, his unit was heavily counter-attacked near Vis-en-Artois. On his own initiative, Private Nunney went through the German barrage to the forward posts, where, by his fearless example, he encouraged his companions to repulse the...

• College of Iona, The
  Established by the Reverend Alexander Macdonnell, father of Roman Catholic education in Upper Canada and later Bishop of Kingston, the College of Iona was opened in 1826 in a log building near this site. The central portion of the nearby stone structure, erected by Macdonnell in 1808 as the presbytery for the parish, served as a residence for teachers and students. Much of the cost of construction and of the operational expenses of the school...

• Glengarry Emigration of 1786, The
  Early in September 1786, a group of some 500 Scottish Highlanders, the majority of whom were Macdonells, arrived at Quebec. They were led by their parish priest from Knoydart, Glengarry, the Reverend Alexander MacDonell (Scotus). Forced to emigrate because of the depressed economic conditions of the Highlands, they had been encouraged to come to Canada and settle among their fellow countrymen in what is now Glengarry County. Despite initial hardships, most of these Scottish pioneers...

• Honourable John Sandfield Macdonald 1812-1872, The
  St. Raphael is the birthplace of John Sandfield Macdonald, Prime Minister of the Province of Canada 1862-64, and first Premier of Ontario 1867-71. First elected to represent Glengarry in the legislature of Canada in 1841, he became one of the leaders of the Reform party and served in several ministries prior to Confederation in 1867. Always independent in his political thinking, he at first opposed the federation of the provinces. Later he co-operated with Sir John A. Macdonald, chief architect of Confederation, at whose request he formed a coalition ministry in Ontario.

• Parish of St. Raphael, The
  A mission of the Roman Catholic Highlanders of the Raisin River settlement was begun in 1786 by the Reverend Alexander Macdonell (Scotus) and later a small frame church, called the "Blue Chapel" was built. St. Raphael's Parish was officially recognized in 1802. The existing stone church, a fine example of Canadian neo-classical design, was begun in 1821 by the Most Reverend Alexander Macdonell, who had been appointed to St. Raphael's in 1804, made Vicar General...

• Williamstown Fair, The
  Ontario's oldest continually operated agricultural fair received its patent on March 29, 1808, from Francis Gore, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. It is probable that at first, the local farmers simply gathered on the village common or streets. However, on June 25, 1814, Sir John Johnson, the founder of Williamstown, granted twelve acres for the express purpose of holding a fair and it has been held here annually ever since. Through the years, this fair, like...

• MacMillan Emigration 1802, The
  In September, 1802, over 400 Highland emigrants, including more than 100 MacMillans, arrived at Montreal under the leadership of Archibald McMillan (Murlaggan) on board the vessels 'Friends', 'Helen' and 'Jane'. He planned to form a settlement in Argenteuil County, Lower Canada, but while negotiations were proceeding, many of his followers moved to Glengarry, Upper Canada, where relatives and friends were already established. In 1804 Murlaggan's cousin, Alan McMillan (Glenpean), secured land in the wilderness township...

• Duncan Cameron
  Born in Scotland about 1764, he settled with his parents in Schenectady, New York. His father served with a Loyalist regiment during the American Revolution, following which the family moved to Glengarry. In 1784, Duncan entered the North West Company where, as manager of its Red River Department, he endeavoured to persuade Lord Selkirk's settlers to abandon their lands. When Selkirk's forces attacked Fort Gilbraltar in 1816, Cameron was captured and taken to England. Released and compensated for false arrest, he returned to Williamstown in 1820. He died in 1848 and is buried here.

• North West Company, The
  Travellers on the canoe route to the West had to make a portage around the St Mary's rapids. The North West Company established a fur-trading post south of the river by 1791. After the British abandoned their occupation of the American midwest, the company moved its post here in 1797. The depot eventually included storehouses, a canal and lock, a sawmill, and a portage road. Wharves were built at either end of the rapids for...

• St. Andrew's Church 1812
  This building, the oldest remaining stone structure in the province erected as a church, was completed about 1801. Many of the pioneer settlers in this area were Roman Catholic Highlanders, ministered to by the Rev. Roderick Macdonell, the missionary at St. Regis. The church was built under his leadership, with the assistance of a prominent local settler, «Spanish» John Macdonell, who obtained contribution for its construction from members of the North West Company and other...

• Fraserfield
  Begun about 1812, this house, one of the finest country residences of its day, was the home of the Honourable Alexander Fraser, Quartermaster of the Canadian Fencibles during the War of 1812. Fraser became Colonel of the 1st Regiment, Glengarry Militia, in 1822 and served under Sir John Colborne in Lower Canada during the Rebellion of 1837-38. Elected in 1828 to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada, he was appointed in 1839 to the Legislative Council. From 1842-49, he was first Warden of the Eastern District, now the counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry.

• Sir John Johnson's Mills
  Son of the celebrated Indian superintendent Sir William Johnson, Sir John was born in 1742 in New York's Mohawk Valley. During the American Revolution, his Loyalist sympathies brought him to Canada where he organized the King's Royal Regiment of New York. After the Revolution, he received extensive Crown-land grants in Glengarry County and elsewhere. He built a grist-mill and sawmill here on the Au Raisin River about 1790 and, on the bank opposite, a manor-house. Appointed to the Legislative Council of Lower Canada in 1796, he died near Montreal in 1830.