Menu
Search results
230 plaques found that match your criteria
-
Lieutenant-Colonel John By, R.E., 1779-1836
Born in London, England, about 1779, By graduated from the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, in 1799. He was attached to the Royal Engineers in Canada (1802-1811) and later served in the Peninsular War. By was sent to Canada in 1826 to superintend the construction of an Ottawa River – Lake Ontario waterway from "Bytown" (Ottawa) to Kingston. The 123-mile-long Rideau Canal, built as a military route and incorporating 47 locks, 16 lakes, two rivers and... -
Bruce Peninsula Portage
The Bruce Peninsula presents a formidable barrier to water transportation between Lake Huron and southern Georgian Bay. To avoid a difficult detour to the north, aboriginal peoples developed a portage route across the base of the peninsula. The eastern section ran along high ground between here and Colpoy's Bay at Wiarton. West of here were two routes. One ran south across Boat Lake and along the Rankin and Sauble Rivers to Lake Huron. The other... -
Founding of Wiarton, The
In 1855, a town-plot was laid out here on recently acquired Indian Land and named Wiarton, reputedly after the English birthplace of Edmund Head Governor General of Canada (1854-61). Settlement commenced in 1866 and two years later a post office was established. Agricultural prosperity, excellent harbour facilities and extensive sawmilling operations stimulated the community's growth. In 1880, with a population of about 750, it was incorporated as a village. The operation of the Stratford and... -
Founding of Blenheim, The
In 1837 James W. Little, a militia officer and land speculator of neighbouring Raleigh Township, purchased land here at the intersection of Ridge Road and Communication Road, the latter planned by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe to connect the town of Chatham with Lake Erie. Little surveyed a village plot, named Blenheim, but sold few lots before 1847. The completion in that year of Rondeau Harbour and of Communication Road fostered the development of lumbering, and... -
Founding of Bothwell, The
In 1851 George Brown, founder of the Toronto Globe and one of Canada's Fathers of Confederation, purchased about 4,000 acres in this vicinity. The Great Western Railway ran through his property in 1855 and that year a station and a post office were opened. He had the town plot of Bothwell surveyed and by 1857 Brown and others had established several industries. The new community prospered until affected by the general depression of 1857-58 but... -
Founding of Dresden, The
In 1846, Daniel van Allan, a Chatham merchant, laid out a town plot on land purchased from Jared Lindsley, the first settler (1825) on the site of Dresden. By 1849 the erection of a steam sawmill, and the operation of a grist-mill in the neighbouring Dawn Institute Settlement founded by Josiah Henson, provided the basis for a thriving community in this area. A post office named "dresden" was opened in 1854. The region's timber resources... -
Founding of Ridgetown, The
By 1826, the earliest settlers on the site of Ridgetown, notably William Marsh, James Watson, Edmund Mitton and Ebenezer Colby, had located in this vicinity. Marsh, the first to arrive, was granted a lease on 200 acres of Clergy Reserve land in 1831. Although the settlement's growth was slow, in 1853 a post office was opened. By 1858, with a population of 300, Ridgetown contained stores, hotels and a mill owned by John Moody, one... -
Founding of Cobourg, The
Saw and grist mills erected in this area during the first decade of the 19th century fostered the development here of a small settlement. The completion of the Kingston Road by 1817 facilitated its growth and within a decade it had a population of about 350. Known as Hamilton, then Cobourg, the community expanded rapidly as a commercial and shipping centre and as a port of entry, particularly after harbour improvements were completed in 1832... -
Founding of Colborne, The
A store established here about 1819 by Joseph Abbott Keeler, a prominent early settler, provided the nucleus around which a small community began to develop. Within ten years a distillery and a blacksmith's shop had been erected. The settlement, named Colborne reputedly after Lieutenant Governor Sir John Colborne, soon emerged as a service centre for the surrounding region and, with the establishment of a harbour nearby for the shipment of lumber and grain, it prospered... -
Nine Mile Portage, The
Site of eastern terminus of an Indian portage from Kempenfeldt Bay to Willow Creek and thence by the Nottawasaga River to Georgian Bay. In the winter of 1813-14, a force under Lieut.-Colonel Robert McDougall followed it on the way to relieve the isolated British garrison at Michilimackinac. That summer it was developed as a rough wagon road and till about 1829 was in frequent use for transport of supplies to Penetanguishene and the western military and fur trading posts. -
Huron Fish Weirs, The
In the adjacent Narrows joining Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching are the remains of Indian fish weirs. They were noted by Samuel de Champlain when he passed here on September 1, 1615, with a Huron war party en route to attack the Iroquois south of Lake Ontario. The weirs consisted of large number of stakes driven into the bottom of the Narrows, with openings at which nets were placed to catch fish. These weirs (claies) caused... -
Founding of Orillia, The
In 1820, the government surveyed Orillia Township and a decade later located Chief William Yellowhead's Ojibwa band on lands near the "Narrows". By 1849, when the government laid out the Orillia town plot, these Indians had been moved across Lake Couchiching to Rama. The first white settlers arrived about 1832 and by the 1850s, the community had become an agricultural and lumbering centre with two churches and a population of some 200. Advantageous transportation links... -
Northern Railway Company of Canada, The
In May 1853, the Ontario, Simcoe and Huron Union Railroad Company ran the first stem train in this province from Toronto to Aurora. By January 1855, the company had completed its 95-mile "portage line" from Toronto to Collingwood. The line was renamed "The Northern Railway Company of Canada" in 1858. Companies closely affiliated with the Northern built connecting lines to Meaford, Penetanguishene and Gravenhurst. Through the Northern sought traffic moving between the upper lakes and... -
Gateway to Huronia, The
From this lookout may be seen the bay which, during the first half of the 17th century, formed the western terminus of the 800-mile route connecting New France with the Huron settlements. Heavily laden canoes ascended the Ottawa, surmounted the rapids of the Mattawa and French Rivers, crossed Lake Nipissing and traversed the island-studded channels of Georgian Bay. Over these waters passed Recollet and Jesuit missionaries, Etienne Brûlé, Samuel de Champlain and other heroic figures of the French regime. -
Founding of Midland, The
In 1871, a group of the principal shareholders of the Midland Railway, headed by Adolph Hugel, selected this location as the northern terminus of their line which then ran from Port Hope to Beaverton. Known at the time as Mundy's Bay, the region was sparsely inhabited, but the interest aroused by their action resulted in the survey of a town site in 1872-73. Most of the lots were owned by the Midland Land Company which... -
Henry Wolsey Bayfield 1795-1885
Born in England, Bayfield joined the Royal Navy at the age of eleven and served in many parts of the world. While stationed at Kingston, Upper Canada in 1817, he was put in charge of the Great Lakes survey. Over the next eight years, he charted the coastal waters of lakes Erie, Huron and Superior. For much of this period Penetanguishene was his base of operations. Later, Bayfield surveyed the shorelines of the lower St... -
Founding of Stayner, The
Settlement on this site began with the arrival in 1854 of the Toronto, Simcoe and Lake Huron Union Railroad (later the Northern Railway). Edward Shortiss and Charles Lount acquired land here, divided it into village lots and the first settler, Andrew Coleman, opened a hotel. He was followed by Gideon Phillips who established a sawmill. First called Nottawasaga Station, and later Stayner after a prominent local landowner, the community flourished as an agricultural and lumbering... -
Founding of Huntsville, The
During the late 1860s, a small agricultural settlement, founded largely through the efforts of Captain George Hunt, developed here. In 1870, a post office called Huntsville was established and the following year the Muskoka Colonization road was extended to this point. Improvements in transportation including the opening of a navigable water route north from Port Sydney to Huntsville in 1877, and the arrival of the Northern and Pacific Junction Railway eight years later spurred the... -
Founding of Renfrew, The
Attracted by the development of the lumbering industry in the Upper Ottawa Valley, a few settlers had located in this region by 1830. Six years later, Xavier Plaunt acquired land here near the second chute of the Bonnechère River and by 1848 was selling village lots and had provided land for the community's first church. In that year a post office, Renfrew, was opened and in 1851, the settlement contained a sawmill, grist-mill, tannery and... -
Steamboating on the Upper Ottawa
The first settlement on the Upper Ottawa River was the 25 horsepower "Lady Colborne," built in 1853 for service between Aylmer and Chats Falls. Gradually, other sections of the river were opened to steam navigation and, in 1854, the "Pontiac" was launched to navigate the 40-mile route between Pembroke and Rapides-des-Joachims. The "Pontiac", the first steamboat to ply in waters above Portage-Du-Fort, was operated by the Union Forwarding Company, which contributed to the rapid development... -
Lyndhurst Bridge, The
Reputedly the oldest bridge in existence in Ontario, this structure was built in 1856-57. It was designed by John Roddick, then an employee of a prominent local mill owner, and erected by contractors Miles Fulford and Simon Ransom. A fine example of masonry arch construction, the picturesque three-span bridge was built of local field stone, laid in random courses, and is unadorned except for the sandstone wall caps and arch surrounds. It is distinguished by... -
Lieutenant-Colonel John By, R.E.
Born in London, England, about 1779, By graduated from the Royal Military academy, Woolwich, in 1799. He was attached to the Royal Engineers in Canada (1802-1811) and later served in the Peninsular War. By was sent to Canada in 1826 to superintend the construction of an Ottawa River - Lake Ontario waterway from "Bytown" (Ottawa) to Kingston. The 123-mile-long Rideau Canal, built as a military route and incorporating 47 locks, 16 lakes, two rivers, and... -
Founding of Cornwall, The
In June 1784, disbanded Loyalist soldiers and their families settled at New Johnstown, the site of present-day Cornwall. Initially called Pointe Maligne, the area had been visited by native traders and French missionaries and explorers during the 17th and early 18th centuries. In 1794, Cornwall was designated a judicial and administrative centre for the Eastern District and by 1805 contained a courthouse, a schoolhouse, two churches and numerous dwellings. The community grew gradually and was... -
Founding of Bolton, The
In 1821 George Bolton, an English immigrant purchased 200 acres of land here on the Humber River. Two years later in partnership with his uncle, James Bolton, one of Albion Township's earliest settlers, he erected a grist-mill. This provided the nucleus around which a community known as Bolton's Mills was established by 1830. A post office named "Albion" was opened in 1832. By 1850 the settlement contained a sawmill, stores, a woollen factory, tannery and... -
Government Inn 1798-1861
Near this site on the Credit River's eastern bank, the government of Upper Canada built a "post-house" or inn in 1798, for the use of persons travelling between york and such settlements as Niagara and Detroit. Constructed of dressed timber, it was for some seven years the only building between Etobicoke River and Burlington Beach. Local Mississauga Indians gathered here to trade salmon and furs. Here also they signe the Treaties of 1805 and 1818...