First chairman of the Niagara Parks Commission (1885-93), Gzowski was born in Russia of Polish parents. Forced to emigrate, following participation in the Polish Rising of 1830, he came to Canada in 1841. An exceptionally able engineer, he first served as a government construction superintendent. He later organized a company that built the Grand Trunk Railway from Toronto to Sarnia, 1853-7, and the International Bridge across the Niagara River at Fort Erie in 1873. He was a founder of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers in 1887. A colonel in the Canadian militia, he was appointed Honorary Aide-de-Camp to the Queen in 1879 and knighted in 1890. Gzowski served as Administrator of Ontario 1896-97.

Location

On the grounds of the Niagara Parks Commission administration building, 7400 Portage Road South, Niagara Falls

Themes

• Environment
• Scientific and technological innovations
• Transportation systems and communications