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Thomson Settlement, The
The first permanent resident in Scarborough Township was David Thomson, a Scot who came to Upper Canada with his brother Andrew in 1796. Each was granted 400 acres, and David built a log cabin on his property that year. He was soon joined by other settlers, including his brothers Andrew and Archibald. The Thomsons, who were stone masons, worked on the first Parliament Buildings at York (Toronto). A road connecting the settlement with York was... -
Founding of Weston, The
Settlers were attracted to this vicinity in the 1790s by the area's rich timber resources and the water power potential of the Humber River here. By 1792 a sawmill was established on the west bank and within two decades a small hamlet, known as "The Humber", had developed. About 1815 James Farr, a prominent local mill-owner, named it Weston after his English ancestral home. The community subsequently expanded along both sides of the river until... -
Yonge Street 1796
The shortest route between the upper and lower Great Lakes lies between here and Georgian Bay. For John Graves Simcoe, Upper Canada's first lieutenant-governor, this protected inland passage had strategic military and commercial potential. He founded York (Toronto) in 1793, then ordered a road built to replace native trails that led north to Lake Simcoe and its water links with Lake Huron. Completed on February 16, 1796, it was named after British Secretary for War... -
York Mills
In 1796, Thomas Mercer, a Loyalist, acquired some 200 acres of land in this vicinity. James Hogg, an enterprising Scottish emigrant, purchased part of this property about 1818 and built a grist-mill on the west branch of the Don River near here. In the 1820s, the mill became the nucleus of a small settlement known as Hogg's Hollow. The first St. John's Anglican Church (1817) was among the earliest built north of York. When the... -
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... -
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... -
Founding of Port Colborne, The
In 1831, the Welland Canal Company selected Gravelly Bay as the southern 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 gristmill by 1835. Initially the community's economy depended largely... -
Founding of St. Catharines, The
Before this region was settled, several Indian trails intersected here at a ford in Twelve Mile Creek. They were improved by early settlers and a church was erected at the crossroads by 1798. A tavern soon followed and a settlement, known as St. Catharines or Shipman's Corners, developed. After the War of 1812, the community expanded largely through the efforts of William Hamilton Merritt. He was the chief promoter of the first Welland Canal, built... -
Louis Shickluna 1808-1880
A prominent Canadian shipbuilder, Shickluna was born in Malta, where he worked before emigrating to North America. By 1835, he was engaged in ship construction at Youngstown, New York. Three years later, attracted by the traffic stimulated by the Welland Canal's completion in 1833, he purchased a shipyard on the Canal at St. Catharines. Shickluna steadily expanded his operations, which contributed significantly to the commercial prosperity of the region. Between 1838 and 1880 he directed... -
First Welland Canal 1824-1833, The
Lock number 6 of the original Welland Canal lies in the adjacent watercourse about 700 feet south-west of here. This first or "wooden" canal, constructed 1824-33 by the Welland Canal Company, ran from Port Dalhousie on Lake Ontario to Port Colborne on Lake Erie. William Hamilton Merritt was its chief promoter. With the opening of the canal as far as Port Robinson in 1829, lake boats reached Lake Erie via the Welland and Niagara Rivers... -
First Cotton Factory, The
The first cotton goods produced in this province were being manufactured in Thorold in 1847. The mill, a joint stock company founded by local citizens, included Jacob Keefer as president and James Munro as secretary, and was located near here. About twenty looms, driven by water power, produced unbleached sheetings, scrim and cotton batting. The factory operated till about 1849. A few years later, after a period of renewed activity under different ownership, it was destroyed by fire. This cotton mill was the forerunner of what later developed into an important provincial industry. -
Founding of Thorold, The
During the construction of the original Welland Canal, 1824-1829, a number of communities sprang 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... -
Founding of Port Robinson, The
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 dry docks, flourished... -
Chicora Incident 1870, The
The St. Mary's River was the scene of an international dispute between Canada and the United States in May 1870. The Canadian government had sent an expeditionary force to quell a Métis uprising led by Louis Riel at Fort Garry (Winnipeg). It chartered the steamer Chicora to ferry troops and supplies as far as Fort William. The canal at Sault Ste Marie was on American territory, and U.S. officials refused passage to the ship because... -
North West Company Post, 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... -
Superior's First Shipyard
The first decked vessel to sail Lake Superior was constructed near this site on Pointe aux Pins in 1734-35. It was used by Louis Denis, Sieur de la Ronde, during an unsuccessful attempt to establish copper mines on the southern shore of the lake. Alexander Henry, one of the leading fur traders during the early days of the British regime, built a barge of 14 tons in 1770 and in August 1772, launched a sloop of 40 tons. These vessels transported supplies to a short-lived copper mine developed by Henry and his associates near Point Mamainse. -
Trans-Canada Highway, The
This plaque stands at the halfway point of the Trans-Canada Highway, which runs from St John's, Newfoundland, to Victoria, British Columbia. Its construction, in conjunction with the provinces, was authorized by the federal parliament in 1949. The official opening for through traffic of this 4,859-mile route, of which about 1,453 miles are within Ontario, took place on September 3, 1962. However, with the completion of a section of Highway 11 between Longlac and Hearst in... -
Founding of Kapuskasing, The
In 1911, the National Transcontinental Railway, then under construction, reached the present site of Kapuskasing. Three years later during the first World War the Canadian government established in the area a prisoner of war camp and an experimental farm to investigate the agricultural potential of the Clay Belt. The prisoners cleared land and worked on the farm. In 1917, the Ontario Government launched near here an ambitious land settlement scheme for veterans. The detention camp... -
Mine Rescue Stations
When thirty-nine miners were asphyxiated in the 1928 Hollinger mine fire in Timmins, public concern prompted the province to set up mine rescue stations in Timmins (1929), Sudbury (1930), and Kirkland Lake (1932). The stations provided bases for rescue teams hand-picked from miners who volunteered for the dangerous work. Funded by an annual levy on mining companies, they stocked emergency gear and operated special smoke-rooms for training rescuers. In later years more stations were established... -
Salter's Meridian 1856
While laying out a meridian line (a north-south survey line) in 1856, provincial land surveyor Albert Salter observed severe compass needle deflections some five kilometres north of here. Alexander Murray, assistant provincial geologist, examined the area and reported "the presence of an immense mass of magnetic trap". Analysis of rock samples revealed nickel, copper and iron. This was the first indication of the Sudbury region's mineral wealth, but it aroused no interest at the time... -
Founding of Sudbury, The
The establishment of a Canadian Pacific Railway work camp here in 1883 stimulated the growth of a frontier community. Within a year a bustling settlement containing boarding houses, stores and a hospital had emerged. Though it suffered a temporary set back in 1885 when track-laying crews moved westward, Sudbury quickly revived. Located in a region rich in timber and mineral resources, it developed as a service centre for logging and mining operations. In 1892, with... -
Founding of the Red Lake Mining District, The
In 1924, two years after a discovery of gold by Gus McManus, the Ontario Department of Mines published a geological report on this district. Prospecting was thus encouraged, and in 1925 claims were staked by Lorne Howey and George McNeely. Financed through the efforts of Jack Hammell, Howey Gold Mines was incorporated in 1926, and production began in 1930. Although it ceased operations in 1941, successful mines were developed elsewhere within this region by other... -
Canada's Pioneer Airlines
In February 1926, J.V. Elliot and Harold Farrington, each flying a Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny", made the first in a series of passenger flights from here to the isolated Red Lake mining district. The following month, a Curtiss "Lark" flown by H.A. ("Doc") Oaks inaugurated a regular service from Sioux Lookout to Red Lake. That December, Oaks organized Western Canada Airways, whose aircraft were based at Hudson. One of the earliest airlines in Canada, it was... -
Kagawong Mill 1925
This building is a monument to two major Ontario resource industries. Built to process local spruce into pulp, it diverted water-power from the Kagawong River to drive its heavy machinery. Wet pulp was baled and shipped to Michigan to make Sears-Roebuck catalogues. The pulp mill closed with the onset of the Depression, but reopened in 1932 as a hydro-electric plant. Until 1949, it was the sold source of electrical power for Manitoulin Island. Ontario Hydro... -
Founding of Sturgeon Falls, The
The development of Sturgeon Falls began in 1881 with the arrival of Canadian Pacific Railway construction teams and the opening of a post office. About a year earlier, the community's first permanent settler, James Holditch, had acquired land here on the Sturgeon River about two miles north-east of a former Hudson's Bay Company post, which he later purchased. The erection of sawmills and the rapid growth of the lumbering and pulp-paper industries stimulated the development...