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 CIHM/ICMH 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Series. 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 Collection de 
 microfiches. 
 
 Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut canadien de microreproductions historiques 
 
 1980 
 
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tBDOOBUiti 
 
 A HISTORICAL 
 
 AND 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH 
 
 OK THE 
 
 COUNTY of WELLAND 
 
 •'V-'V^X^X^ Vjn^Vrf'X** V^ Xj^ X.ii>» x.<^ x^ 
 
 IN THE 
 
 Province of Ontario, 
 
 ^htbUsl)eb btj autljovitt] of ©onntij Coimcil. 
 
 WELLAND : 
 
 f ^nvle <{• Snartf, Pt infers, Telegraph Off! re 
 
 188«. 
 
 ^im\^6.j!^ 
 
A HISTORICAL 
 
 ANT) 
 
 Descriptive Sketch 
 
 OF THE 
 
 COUNTY of WELLAND 
 
 In the Province of Ontario, 
 
 IN THF. 
 
 DOMINION OF CANADA, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 A SUCCINCT account OF THE VARIOUS MUNICI- 
 PAI.rrJES COMPOSING THE SAIL) COUNTY; 
 THEIR SETTLEMEN'J, RESOURCES, AND 
 PRESENT CONDITION. 
 
 ^ubiisljfb bti nntljoritiT of tijc Counhj Counctl 
 
 WELLAND : 
 
 PRINTED BY SAWLE & SNARTT, TELPXRAPH PRINTING OFFICE. 
 
 1886. 
 
Historical and Descript'ive Sketch 
 
 OK IHE 
 
 County of Welland. 
 
 Tlie whole, of this District between the two great hikes is siiperlativelv 
 beautiful. — Mr<. Javietton, Wintu' S/iafii't. 
 
 The Peninsula lying between Lakes Ontario, Krie, and Huron 
 was originally occupied, at the earliest period of which there is any 
 historical record, by the Algon(]uins, Hurons, and Wyandots, and the 
 tribes composing that singular confederacy known among the I'Vench 
 explorers as "La Nation Neutre," who inhabited that portion of 
 the country, afterwards termed the Niagara District, and the entire 
 north shore of Lake Erie. "La Nation Neutre," after a des[)erate 
 struggle was nearly exterminated by the Iroquois in one of their fre- 
 quent inroads into Canada about the year J 650, and the few indivi- 
 duals who survived were incorporated with their c()n(|uerors. Their 
 settlements were destroyed and abandoned, and their ccHintry 
 remained for years uninhabited, e\i;e|)t by an occasional roving band 
 of Wyandots or Hurons in search of small game, in which it abounded. 
 After the lapse of half a century the Chippawas (C)tchipwes) and 
 Missasaugas appear to have gradually emigrated from their original 
 hunting-grounds on the shores of Lakes Huron and Superior and 
 occupied the lands of " La Nation Neutre " and other tribes extir- 
 pated or dispersed by the conquering Irocjuois. Daring French ex- 
 plorers from the settlements near the sea had already made their ap- 
 pearance. The Jesuit Father, Hennepin, conducted by his Indian 
 guides, was the first white man who penetrated to the banks of the 
 >"iagarato gaze with awe upon its stupendous cataract, which he esti- 
 mated with true Gallic extravagance as falling a height of six hundred 
 feet, and assured the world that its thunders were audible at times 
 forty-five miles away. Adventurous La Salle, on his way as he hoped 
 to China, a few years later made a halt above the Falls, where he 
 built a vessel for lake navigation. The chain of French posts, trading 
 and military, was rapidly extended -.vestward from Montreal to Macki- 
 nac and even farther. Fortifications were built at the mouth of the 
 Niagara on its eastern bank, above the great falls at Schlosser on the 
 east and at the mouth of the tributary Chippawa, and near the site 
 of Fort Erie on the west bank of the river where it debouches from 
 
Lake Kric. Hoyoiul this there was no attempt at settlement while 
 the l-'rench held sway in ('anada. A few soldiers and fur-traders oc- 
 cupied these oiitlyinj; jtosts, while uita^iunal schooners and balteaiix 
 carried merchandise and furs alternately from ^^arrison to garrison. 
 The early race of I"'rench colonists displayed slight int lination to till 
 the soil. 
 
 'j'he final struggle for supremacy in the New \\'orld, wh.ich termi- 
 nated m the conijuest of Canada, brought the rival armies to the 
 shores of the Niagara. English garrisons took the place of French 
 ones, and clusters of houses sprang uj) around the stockades they oc- 
 cupied during the next twenty years, still there was no attempt at 
 permanent settlement. The woods swarmed with game, the lakes and 
 streams abounded in fish, the fur ships went and came, the hunter 
 and the trapper plied their craft with rich success, but the settler with 
 his axe and i)l<nigh was yet to come. 
 
 During the war of the American Revolution fhost> I.riynl.ists wh.o 
 were driven from their homes in the Mohawk and Wyoming valleys 
 and formed the famous partizan cor[)s known as Butler's Rangers, 
 made these posts their wii ter (juarters and base of operations for 
 their raids into New York and I'ennsylvania. A small shi|)-yard was 
 established at Navy Island, where several schooners were built for 
 lake navigation. When the treaty of peace of 1783, by which the 
 independence ot the United States was recognized and the Loyalists 
 were excluded from all hopes of regaining their lost estates, it was 
 determined to reward iliem for iheir fidelity by a grant of lands in the 
 vicinity of the posts occupied in Canada. The country lying on the 
 west bank of the Niagara and scuth shore of Lake Ontario was 
 accordingly surveyed and divided into townships. 'I'he entire penin- 
 sula was covered witli an unbroken forest, exce[)t in few i)laces near 
 the coast of the lake, where there were natural meadows of small ex- 
 tent thinly dotted with trees. A narrow horse-jiath wound along 
 the bank of the Niagara, but there was nothing that could be termed 
 a road in any direction. 'I'here was probably not a single white 
 settler living out of sight of the trading posts in the whole of Upper 
 Canada. The grants of land made by the government to the dis- 
 banded Loyalists were certainly liberal in (juantity. Field-ofticers 
 were allowed to select 5,000 acres, captains, 3,000, subalterns, 2,000, 
 and privates, 200 acres each. A few years later another order-m- 
 council was issued, by which every child of a Loyalist who had borne 
 arms was granted 200 acres of land on arriving at the age of twenty- 
 one. They were provided with seed-grain and farming implements at 
 the public expense and furnished with provisions and a certain 
 amount of clothing for two years after their settlement upon their 
 lands. In the summer of 1784 about forty families were established 
 in this manner within the boundaries of the present County of WeL 
 land. Tardy justice may yet some day be done to the character and 
 motives of those who in their zeal for the maintenance of the '* Unity 
 
5 
 
 of thf ICiii|nri", ' tofMiok |)li.;isanl homes nnd |>itiIIc{1 ihcir lives in ml UH 
 popular :\ni] almost lioiiclcss causi-. 
 
 "Tlio I'statt'H f»f tlio 'J'ories were amoii^ tin; fiiiit-.st; their stiitfly iiiunHions 
 Htood oil the wightlifst hill brows ; the lichfHt and heHt-tillcil meadows were 
 their fanim ; tin; lonu avenue, tlic l)i'oad lawn, the trim heil^'it about the gar- 
 dens, HervautM, plate, pictures, the varied ciniimstance external and imturnul 
 of dii^nlHed iind f^euemus iiouse l<ee|)in^', for the most part tiiese tiiinxH were 
 at the homes of the Tories. Tiiey loved beauty, dignity, and retiuement. "* 
 
 Tlicsc arc the words of no partisan, ot tlieins, fnit contain the 
 canilid avowal o( a descendant of a noted NV'hig in writing the life of 
 one of the founders of th^ United States. Such were the men who 
 formed the nucleus of a settlement iti I'pper Canada and the Mari- 
 time Provinces of l>ritish Ameri( a. 
 
 (iame both larLi,e ami small was ahundant. The brown bear was 
 fre(|uentl) met in the forest, and its ravages seen in the settlers' maize 
 fields. I .;iru(. Ivi-rds of deer grazed in the openings. I'locks of wild 
 turkeys and llights of ])igeons might be seen daily. Sipiirrels, black 
 and gray,thr()nged the woods on every siile, so unsuspicious of danger 
 that they could be knocked down with a stick. The land was so 
 densely timbered that the labor of "clearing" was very great, large 
 (quantities of valual)le wood were burned on the spot, merely to get 
 rid of it, and luxuriant crcps of wheat, rye, and oais were s(jon grow 
 ing in its place. Most of the early settlers had learned from the In- 
 dians the art of converting tv skins of animals they had killed into 
 articles of clo'hing, and the men were chielly clad in buckskin, while 
 the women wore liomcspun garments, the produit of their own spin- 
 dle and loom. Houses were erected of roughly-hewn logs, notched 
 together at the ends, vv'th the interstices caulked with clay. Mills or 
 shops of any kind, as yet, did not exist, and every man was of neces- 
 sity obliged to bee jme his own blacksmith, wheelwright, and miller,as 
 well as his own tailor and shoemaker. Still a slender, but steady 
 stream of emigration from the young United States i)oured into the 
 country, and the population increased so ra[)idly that in the year 1791 
 the district west of the Ottawa River, was erectea into a I'rovince by 
 the title of Upper Canada, and Col. John Simcoe, a distinguished par- 
 tisan otiticer of the Revolution, appointed Lieut. -Covernor. He di- 
 vided the Province into counties as far as surveyed, and gave the 
 name of Lincoln to a large tract of land bordering on the Niagara and 
 south shore of Lake Ontario, comprising the present Counties of Wel- 
 land, Lincoln, and the principal part of Wentworth. The townships 
 which had hithertcj been numbered only, now received names trans- 
 ferred from well-known localities in English Lincolnshire. The prin- 
 cipal stream fiilling into the Niagara on the west, formerly known as 
 the Chippawa, was now called the W'elland, and the adjacent town- 
 ships were named Stamford, Crowland, Thorold, Willoughl)y, Hum- 
 berstone, Bertie, and Pelham, while that comprising the marshy 
 
 'Bosnier, Sauiuel Adams, p. 27 j. 
 
lands, near its source, was entitled \\ iiinllcel, ii» make the similantv 
 more complete. Nim( oe made energetic, efforts to encourage emigra- 
 tion, which were so su( cessful that during the years of his government 
 several thousand settlers entered Upper (Canada from the United 
 States. Those who made their honies in the Count}- of Lincoln came 
 chiefly from the County of Sussex, in \ew Jersey, and the State.s of 
 New \ crk and I'emisylvania. Nearly all were des<endanls of (ler- 
 man euiigrants from the Palaiinate and Swiss Cantons. Most of 
 them were !)y rehgion. <^)uakers, Mennoiiites, or 'I'unkers, attracted 
 not only l)y the liberal grants ot new and fertile kuids, hut also by the 
 exemption from liability to military service secured to them by the 
 laws of Upper Canada. In six years the population had so far in- 
 creased, in certain districts, that the Legislature of the Province 
 deemed it advisable to re-adjur>t the limits of the counties, and the 
 County of Lincoln was divided into four ridings, each entitled to send 
 one representative to the Legislature, 'i'he i'ownships of Stamford, 
 'I'horold and I'elham formed the third riding, while the remaining 
 townships of the i)resent County of Welland, comprised the fourth. 
 
 Lands increased rapidly in value on the borders of the lake and 
 river near which the settlers liad, as a rule, built their houses ; but 
 the interior of the Peninsula remained an almost unbroken forest. 
 Notwithstanding the hardships of their mode of life, the early settlers 
 were fairly prosperous. Their agricultural methods were rude, yet 
 their cro])s were luxuriant, 'i'axes existed in name only, the entire 
 amount of direct tax raised in iSi i, a year of unusual expenditure, 
 for all purposes, being less than a shilling per individual. In the 
 .same year it may be safely estimated, that nearly five thousand white 
 settlers were already living within the boundaries of the present 
 County of Welland. Mills had been erected for the manufacture of 
 (lour and lumber on a triljutary of the Welland River, in the Town- 
 ship of Crowland, and at Clark Hill Island in the Niagara, or Bridge- 
 water, as it was then called, a short distance above the cataract. A 
 small village had sprung up at the junction of the Welland and the 
 Niagara, the head of the i)ortage around the Falls, which already 
 possessed a thriving trade. A similar cluster of thirty houses sur- 
 rounded the stockade, known as I'ort Erie. 
 
 The progress of the settlement of the country was, however, des- 
 tined to be arrested by an event whi( h. had, for sometime, been anti- 
 cipated and dreaded by the more thoughtful inhabitants. On the 
 i8th of June, r8i2, the Congress of the United States declared war 
 against (ireat Britain and her dependencies. American armies had 
 been mustering tor months, and were already on their march to invade 
 Canada. The only preparation that had been made by the Clovern- 
 ment of the Province, or indeed which was in its power to make, was 
 to pass a Militia Act, and authorize the formation of flank companies, 
 which were armed and drilled at intervals, as their peaceful occupa- 
 tions would permit. American travellers, traders, and spies who had 
 
7 
 
 ir.iversed t ppcr f'nn.iila, roncurrcd in representing the mass of the 
 inhabitants in the western part of that Province as leeling Uikewarm 
 and disaffected, if not positively hostile towards the British (lovern- 
 ment. The regular force west of the Ottawa River was less than one 
 thousand men, scattered in small detachments from I'rescott to St. 
 |<)sei)h's Isle, west of Mackinac. This, then, was a glorious opportu- 
 nity. I )r. luistis, the American Secretary of War, declared that they 
 could take ('anada without soldiers, as it would only be necessary to 
 supply officers and arms, disaffected Canadians would do the rest, 
 (leneral Widgery stated that he would undertake to conquer Upper 
 Canada in six weeks alter the dec laration of war, while Mr. Calhoun 
 reduced the necessary period to one month. Henry Clay declared 
 that he would never agree to any treaty of peace which did not stipu- 
 late for the cession of Canada to the United States. 
 
 It soon appeared that they had underrated the loyalty of the 
 Canadians. The first attempt at invasion resulted in the surrender 
 at Detroit, of the American (leneral, Hull, with his entire army, to an 
 inferior force under (leneral Isaac IJrock, the acting Lieut. -Clovernor 
 of Upper Canada, princijjally composed of (Canadian militia and In- 
 dians, A second inroad at (Jueenston, on the Niagara, was hardly 
 less unsuccessful, nearly the whole of the detachment that effected a 
 crossing, being killed or taken. A formidable army, however, still re- 
 mained encam|)ed on the American shore. Nearly five thousand 
 regulars and militia, with several hundred sailors and Indians, were 
 assembled in the vicinity of IJuffalo, under (leneral Smyth, the In- 
 spector-Cleneral of the United States army. A strong detachmet.t m 
 boats attacked two small F.ritish armed vessels lying near Fort Erie, 
 under cover of the darkness on the 9th of October, 1812, and over- 
 powered the crews. One of the vessels grounded while drifting down 
 the river, under the fire of the British field artillery, and was des- 
 troyed, lunboldened by thi:j success, and conscious of his enormous 
 superiority in numbers, Smyth de'termined to enter Canada with his 
 whole force. To oppose him, Lieut. -Colonel Cecil Bisshop had less 
 than six hundred men to guard a frontier of twenty miles, scarcely 
 half of whom were regular troops of the 41st and 49th British regi- 
 ments. The threatened attack was delayed for various reasons till 
 the 29th of November, 1812. .\ picked detachment of five hundred 
 soldiers and sailors, forming the advance-guard, succeeding in landing 
 under cover of the night, two miles below Fort Erie. They attacked 
 two small batteries held by seventy of the 49th and Norfolk militia. 
 The batteries were carried, after a desperate hand-to-hand conflict, 
 with cutlass and bayonet, in which half the defenders were killed or 
 wounded. The remainder took refuge in a house whic h they held 
 against all attacks until it was set on fire, when they broke through 
 their assailants and escaped. Their determined defence gave Bisshop 
 time to assemble all his forces and march to the point of attack. On 
 his approach, the Americans abandoned the batteries and retired to 
 
their oWn shore, leaving their leader, Captain Kitig, and sixty men ds 
 prisoners, and thirty dead on the field. Another detachment of about 
 ecjual numbers, under Col. Winder, was subsequently repulsed by a 
 few rounds of grape from a fieldpiece. Another attempt made on a 
 subsecpient day tailed through the insubordination of the troops, many 
 of whom refused to embark. Smyth's army was rapidly reduced in 
 numbers by disease and desertion, si\ hundred of the militia leaving* 
 their corps in a single day, and active operations were soon after dis- 
 continued .for the winter. 
 
 The Americans opened the camjjaign in the spring of J 813, by a 
 descent upon the town of N'ork ('rort)nto), the capital of the Pro- 
 vince. They found it almost defenceless, and made an easy con([uest. 
 'i'heir forces were then concentrated near I't. Niagara, and on the 
 27th May they attacked Kt. (leorge, near the town of Niagara, with 
 very superior numbers, and earned it after an obstinate struggle of 
 several hours duration. (ieneral Vincent, who commanded the 
 British force on the frontier, retired with the remainder of his corps to 
 Queenston, called in tlie detachments posted at Chippawa and Fort 
 Erie, and retreated rapidly upon Burlington Heights, at the head 01 
 Lake Ontario, leaving the Americans in undi.;puted poss-^ssion of the 
 entire line of the Niagara. A few days liter, however, two brigades 
 of American troops under (Generals Chandler and Winder, which had 
 been sent in pursuit, were surjirised in th.eir camj) near Stoney Creek 
 by Colonel Harvey, with seven hundred British, and both Generals 
 and many officers and men captured, with several pieces of cannon. 
 In consequence of this well-executed attack, the remainder of the 
 pursuing corps retired hastily to Niagara, where they fortified them- 
 selves, and the British General advanced his outposts to the line of 
 the Twelve Mile Creek. A small scouting party under command of 
 Lieut. Fitzgibbon, an active ond intelligent subaltern of the 49th, was 
 sent forward to occupy an isoliled stone house near the present '1 own 
 ofThorold. His exposed situatitxn having become known to the 
 American commandant at Niagara, he despatched Lieut. -Colonel 
 Boerstler with six hundred men and two pieces of artillery to occupy 
 that position. The expedition left Niagara on the eveningof the 23rd 
 June, and encamped tor the night at Queenston. The village was at 
 once surrounded by their pickets and patrols, and the utmost care 
 was exercised to prevent their destination from becoming known. 
 The inhabitants of the village were strictly prohibited from passing 
 beyond the line of sentries, which was established around the place. • 
 Yet all their precautions were destined to be foiled by the shrewdness 
 and patriotism of a Canadian woman. Fitzgibbon, had been in the 
 village a few days before, and Mr?. I .aura Secord instinctively divined 
 that his little party at l)e('ew's house was the object of attack, and 
 determined to undertake a walk of twenty miles through the forest 
 in the dead of night to warn him of his danger. A pasture field, 
 containing a number of cows, lay just beyond the line of sentinels, 
 
and she easily sUcLCcilotl ill |Kissin^ 'Jicm with a niilkpail on her ami. 
 The cows proved restless n.nd she cleverly guided them behind a 
 clump of elder-bu.;hes, which concealed her from view. This resolute 
 woman then dropped her pail and began her lonely twenty-mile 
 walk. Fortunately the moon shone brightly, and she was able to travel 
 swiftly. Wolves howled in the distance and rattle-r.nakes frequently 
 crawled across her path; she was obliged to cross a deep and swiftly 
 flowing stream on the trunk of a fallen tree, yet nothing could shake 
 her resolution. Finally a deafening war-whooj) broke upon her ear, 
 and a party of Indians si)rang into the road from their covert, and 
 surrounded her with menacing gestures. She succeeded with some 
 difficulty, for few of them knew any English, in explaining her object, 
 and they conducted her to I''itzgibbon, who was not far distant. A 
 dispatch was at once sent to Major DeHaren at St. ('atharines, and 
 l''itzgibb()n determined to meet the enemy on their advance, and con 
 test the way. He had forty-six men of the 4yth, and about seventy 
 ('aughnawaga Indians under his command, and a few of the militia 
 in the vicinity might be assembled in the ca.se of an attack. The In- 
 dians were instructed to proceed as far as possible in the direction ot 
 Queenston, and waylay the column as it wound along the narrow 
 " Mountain Road." They allowed the Americans to advance quietly 
 until the entire column had passed, when they simultaneously opened 
 fire on both Hanks and rear. 'I'he Americans faced outwards at this 
 unexpected attack and fired at random into the thickets, where their 
 assailants were concealed. The artillery unlimbered and opened fire, 
 but with little effect, for the Indians moved rapidly from place to 
 place, and their jjiesence was only revealed by the flash and smoke 
 of firearms. l''itzgibbon, riding forward to reconnoitre, perceived the 
 American column in much disorder, and that their progress was quite 
 checked, and sent back his only subaltern to bring up the detachment 
 ol the 49th as ciuickly as possible. The militia from the adjacent 
 vicinity, who had been allowed to return home to harvest their hay, 
 began to assemble, attracted by the sounds of conflict, and joined the 
 Indians to the number of twenty or thirty. Their fire proved effect- 
 ive, while that of the worried Americans was vainly expended bn the 
 wayside stones and tiunks of trees. The column came to a halt and 
 a horseman rode rapidly down the road toward Queenston, gallantly 
 running the gauntlet of fire, and escaping unhurt. The lays of the 
 midsummer sun beat fiercely upon them, and the men began to droop 
 with the fatigue of marching and fighting. Their commander had 
 determined to remain where he was, until re-inforcements could ar- 
 rive. But a fresh body of enemies soon appeared in front, while the 
 efibrts of those he had hitherto contended with, appeared to double. 
 A second line of skirmishers advanced through the open fields,and took 
 post within gunshot, while the noise of firearms, mingled with shouts 
 and war-whoops in flanks and r.ar became deafening. The American 
 skirmishers were thrown back on the main bodv, which was crowded 
 
 f ' 
 
together in a hollow \vithin the limits <»f the [iresetit Inisy town of' 
 Thorold. Fitzgibbon perceived their confusion and promptly ad- 
 vanced with a flag of truce to summon the bewildered columri to sur- 
 render. Escape, he declared, was impossiljle, the Indians were be- 
 coming maddened by the sight of blood, and the force which now 
 assailed them Was but the vanguard of a much larger. He found 
 Colonel Bcjerstler suffering from a painful wound and very nervous, 
 and agitated, and after a very brief consultation with his subordinates, 
 he agreed to capitulate with his whole force. Twenty five Americans 
 had been killed in the engagement, and i\yc officers and seventy men 
 wounded. Twenty-three officers and five hundred and nineteen men 
 laid down their arms and became prisoners of war. Two fieldpieces 
 with their timbrels and the colours of the 14th United States Infantry 
 were also surrendered. The prisoners taken alone were three times 
 as numerous as the entire force under Fit/.gil)bon's command, but Maj. 
 DeHaren with two hundred men came up immediately after the ar- 
 ticles of surrender were signed, and rescued him from his captives. 
 But one man of the entire expedition, the dragoon sent back to Ft. 
 George to demand re-inforcements, escaped. For several days the 
 Americans were in doubt as to its fate. A detachment, which had 
 advanced to their assistance as far as Queenston, fell back precipi- 
 tately on the main body and the British occui)ied that place and 
 blockaded the Americans in their lines, (leneral Dearborn was re- 
 moved from the command of the American army in consequence of 
 his ill success, and his successor was strictly enjoined to act only in 
 the defensive. The British light troops immediately re-occupied the 
 frontier as far as I-ake Erie. On the night of July 4th, Col. Thomas 
 Clark of the Lincoln militia crossed the Niagara, surprised and de- 
 stroyed the American post at Schlosser, and brought away a field- 
 piece and a gunboat. Eigh' days after, Lieut.-Col. Cecil Bisshop 
 crossed the same river to Black Rock, a village nearly opposite Fort 
 Erie, surprised and routed a body of three hundred Americans, cap- 
 tured their blockhouse and batteries with seven pieces of cannon, and 
 carried away a great quantity of military stores. Being attacked, 
 however, in the act of re-embarking, by a body of regulars and In- 
 dians, this active young of^cer was mortally wounded and died a few 
 days later. The American army remained blockaded in their lines 
 at Niagara till October, when the right division of the Canadian army, 
 being defeated on the river Thames, and C.eneral Vincent being thus 
 threatened by an attack in the rear, he retired to Burlington Heights. 
 In December Gen. McClure, who then commanded the American 
 forces at Niagara determined to evacuate that fort, and retire across 
 the river to the State of New York, and as a preparatory measure set 
 fire to the town of Niagara after driving out the inhabitants into the 
 snow. The flames were perceived by Fieut.-Col. John Murray, who 
 was at the head of a British corps of observation of four hundred men 
 in the vicinity, and he advanced rapidly and occupied the works near 
 
I I 
 
 tKe town helorc tlic Americans had tinu- t(^ destroy them Pjcsidc 
 the town, many ol' the farmhouses in tlic vicinity had been burned, 
 and the next day the American batteries at I.ewiston opened fire on 
 the village of Queenston with hot shot, with the view of destroying that 
 village. The spirit of retaliation and revenge was thoroughly aroused. 
 On the 19th December, Murray crossed the river with five hundred 
 men,surprised and escaladcd I'ort Niagara, killed eighty of the garrison, 
 and made three hundred and fifty prisoners. Next day, Gen. Rial), 
 with a detachment of the Royal Scots, drove the Americans from their 
 batteries at I.ewiston and burned the villages of Voungstown, Lewis- 
 ton, and Manchester. Smaller parties desolated the country for twenty 
 miles around, applying the torch to every habitable house. Not sat- 
 isfied with this, (leneral Sir Clordon Drummond, who now commanded 
 the British forces on this frontier, advanced to I'ort Erie with the in- 
 tention of destroying the .\merican settlements at the foot of Lake 
 Erie. To oppose his landing, three thousand men, chiefly militia, 
 had been hastily assembled at Buffalo. On the night of the 29th De- 
 cember four hundred of the 8th and4ist Regiments were thrown across 
 the river unobserved below Black Rock, and were followed by one 
 hundred and seventy mililia and Indians, the whole being under the 
 command of Major-General Riall. A light company advanced swiftly 
 and surprised the guard posted at the bridge over the deep and wide 
 creek on the north side of Black Rock, and captured most of them be- 
 fore they had time to remove the planks, which werealready loosened. 
 Riall immediately occui)ied the position thus secured in force, and 
 waited for the dawn. Several feeble attacks during the night were 
 easily repulsed and at earliest daybreak the British advanced to the 
 assault of the batteries at Black Rock, which were seen to be occu- 
 pied by a numerous force. At the same moment four hundred of the 
 Royal Scots began to cross t! e river with the intention of landing 
 above the American batteries, while the British field artillery planted 
 on the Canadian shore, engaged them in front. The boats were 
 overloaded and the rapid current swept them down the river within 
 point blank range of the American guns. Forty-five of their number 
 were killed and wounded before the boats touched land. But they 
 pushed boldl) ashore and began to ascend the sleejj bluffs,crowned by 
 the American works, when they were hastily abandoned. Riall's de- 
 tachment had already dispersed the main body of the American army, 
 and gained the rear of their river-batteries. They made an attempt 
 to rally in the vicinity of Buffalo, three miles away, but were easily 
 dislodged and entirely routed. Twelve pieces of cannon, all their 
 camp equipage, and four vessels of the lake squadron fell into the 
 hands of the British who burned the villages of Black Rock and Buf- 
 falo and laid waste the surrounding country with an unsparing hand. 
 These operations closed the campaign of 1813. 
 
 Early in the following .'Vpril a fresh army of invasion began to 
 assemble at Buffalo. It was the intention of the American govern- 
 
 \\\ 
 
1 2 
 
 hieht to tonil)ose this tone almost c\( lu.sivcly of Veteran rcgulai 
 trooi)s, and with this object detachments were summoned from be- 
 yond the Alleghanies and even from the banks ot the Mississippi. 
 Three months were devoted to exercising the troops in i^attalion and 
 brigade movements in a camp of instruction. An excellent field- 
 train of nine pieces of artillery was e(|uip|)ed. \'ery precise informa- 
 tion respecting the strength and dis|)osition of the British forces on 
 the Niagara had been obtained l)y means ot spies and deserters, and 
 on the 3rd of July, (leneral Jacob IJrown crossed the Niagara with 
 three thousand regular troops, fifteen hundred militia,and five hundred 
 
 Indian.s, feeling sanguine of suc:cess. (leneral 
 
 Riall 
 
 had under hi.'' 
 
 command at this ])eriod about i,7<So regular troops, three hundred 
 embodied militia and three hundred Indians to garrison I'orts luie, 
 George, Missassauga, and Niagara, and guard an intervening frontier 
 of thirty-six miles. The American lake scjuadrons had obtained com- 
 mand of both lakes, and it then became an easy matter for them to 
 turn either flank of his extended line of defence. After garrisoning 
 the forts, ( leneral Jirown estimated that his antagonist would liave 
 less than a thousand men available for field-o])crations. At this 
 critical moment, Riall's force wAs further weakened by the departure 
 of the first battalion of the 8th, five hundred strong, which had been 
 ordered to Kingston. \Vhen they reached York, however, they were 
 ordered to return, and arrived at Niagara on the 4th of July. The 
 Americans crossed the Niagara unoi)i)osed in two divisions above and 
 below Fort P>ie, during the night, and surrounded that post. After a 
 faint show of resistance the place was surrendered with its garrison of 
 one hundred and twenty-five men upon the first summons. Upon 
 learning that the American army had crossed, Riall hastened to (Jhij)- 
 pawa, where the militia were assembled, and sent forward a small 
 corps of observation under Colonel Pearson. At Black Creek they 
 encountered the American army on their march down the river. A 
 sharp skirmish followed and Pearson's force was compelled to fall 
 slowly back to Chippawa. Nine hundred Priiish regulars, consisting 
 of portions of the Royal Scots and looth Regiments and a detach- 
 ment of Dragoons and Royal Artillery were heie assembled with six 
 hundred militia and Indians behind a weak line of intrenchm&nts. 'I'he 
 entire American army advanced and encamped in rear of Street's 
 creek, a small fordable stream about a mile distant. During the 
 night three hundred of the 8th arrived in Riall's camp by a forced 
 march from Niagara, and finding thac the Americans remained inac- 
 tive in their camp, as he supposed waiting for the arrival of reinforce- 
 ments, Riall rashly determined to attack their position. Three field- 
 pieces were sent forward to engage the enemy's guns, the militia and 
 Indians were instructed to gain the woods on the left of the American 
 position, the 8th fatigued by their long march were held in reserve, 
 while the Royals and locth advanced to the attack in columns of 
 companies. Scott's brigade of tlie American army at once crpssed 
 
 ^-•^ 
 
!3 
 
 Street's crock and formud line in front, Ripley's brigade forded the 
 stream on the eJgc of the woods and prolonged the line to the left, 
 while General Porter occupied the woods with his militia and Indians. 
 Encouraged by the hasty retreat of the British Indians, the American 
 militia rushed on heedlessly and fell into an ambush and were driven 
 back across the creek with the loss of a number of prisoners, by the 
 light companies of the Royals and Sth, supported by the Lincoln 
 militia. The British artillery succeeded in dismountihg one of the 
 American guns, but were soon overwhelmed by the fire of the 
 remainder and nearly silenced. The two weak British battalions ad- 
 vancing over the level, grassy plain which intervened between the two 
 armies were received by a scathing lire of musketry from the Ameri- 
 can infantry, while their artillery tore their ranks with murderous dis- 
 charges of canister. Lieut. -Cols, (lordon and the Marquis of Tweed- 
 dale fell desperately wounded at the head of their respective corps. 
 Fourteen out of the nineteen officers of the looth were shot down in 
 a few moments with two hundred of their men. The loss of the 
 Royal Scots was even more severe, amounting to eleven oflicers and 
 two hundred and ninety-seven men out of the seven companies that 
 went into action. Their ranks were broken and plunged in disorder 
 before they arrived within eighty yards of the American line. Observ- 
 ing the failure of his main attack, Riall advanced the Sth to cover 
 the retreat and withdrew his beaten troops from the field without 
 molestation from the victors, who seemed perfectly satisfied with the 
 success they had already gained. The British dragoons attached 
 drag-ropes to the guns and removed them from the ground, the 
 wounded were collected and removed with the exception of a dozen 
 of those most severely hurt, and Riall retired behind the Chippawa. 
 The entire British loss in this engagement was nearly six hundred 
 men in killed and wounded, and they were deserted by nearly all 
 their Indians in consequence of their repulse, while the loss of their 
 antagonists did not much exceed three hundred. Many of the 
 militia returned to thuii homes immediately after the battle, and Riall 
 found his force so much weakened that he determined to abandon 
 his strong position on the left bank of the Chi[)pawa, and the retreat 
 was begun two days after the battle. On the succeeding day, (leneral 
 Brown bridged the C'hip[)a,va and advanced leisurely as tar as Queens- 
 ton. The forts at the mouth of the Niagara, which had been nearly 
 denuded of troops to strengthen Riall's field force, were now strongly 
 garrisoned, and Riall retired with the remainder of his brigade in the 
 direction of Burlington Heights, accompanied by nearly the whole of 
 the effective militia of the district. Brown occupied his position at 
 Queenston, which he fortified, for a fortnight, watching anxiously for 
 the arrival of the squadron of Commodore Chauncey, which he ex- 
 pected to ro-operate in the reduction of the forts, and occasionally 
 sending a detachment to reconnoitre the British lines. The inhabi- 
 tants of the country evinced the most determined hostility. Foraging 
 
■ 
 
 111 
 
 14 
 
 parties were fired upon and stragglers cut off daily. Riall having 
 been reinforced, retraced his steps and remained watching the move- 
 ments of the American army at a distance of a few miles, l.ight 
 troops hovered on their flanks and rear and cut off supplies, and on 
 the 24th July, Brown retired behind the Chippawa. 
 
 Nearly the whole of the Indians had deserted him, but he had 
 been joined by the 1st U. S. Infantry, and detachments of other 
 corps, and he was still at the head of the force of nearly four thous- 
 and men, chiefly regulars. On learning that the Americans had re- 
 tired, Riall detached Col. Pearson with six hundred men of the 104th, 
 and Glengarry Light Infantry, both of these regiments having been 
 formed in British America, and the Lincoln militia to observe their 
 movements. Pearson began his march at midnight of the 24th, and 
 at seven next morning occupied a commanding position at Lundy's 
 Lane, three miles from the American camp. During the day, he 
 reconnoitred their position, and General Riall came up with a small 
 detachment and assumed command. On the morning of the same 
 day Sir Gordon Drummond had arrived at Niagara, and learning that 
 a body of Americans was posted at Lewiston, he sent a detachment of 
 the Royals and 41st, under Lieut. -Col. Tucker, to disperse them,while 
 he advanced with another detachment from the garrisons of the forts 
 as far as Queenston. Col. Tucker found the American camp at 
 Lewiston deserted and at once crossed the river to (^)ueenston. 
 Drummond sent back a portion of his troops to the mouth of the 
 river, and advanced with about eight hundred of the Royals, 8th, and 
 89th regiments to Riall's support. In the meantime. Brown had des- 
 patched (leneral Scott with sixteen hundred men and two guns to 
 drive the British from Lundy's Lane. A woman living in the vicin- 
 ity, when questioned, magnified Riall's force twofold, and Scott sent 
 back at once for reinforcements. Brown inmiediately advanced to 
 his support with his whole army. The sun was about half an hcur 
 high when the Americans began the attack, by pushing forward a de- 
 tachment to turn the British left, while the light troo])s threatened the 
 the front of the British position. Finding himself very greatly out- 
 numbered, Riall ordered a retreat, and the Glengarries were already 
 slowly giving ground when the advance of Drummond's force was 
 seen approaching along the Queenston road. Drunmiond immediate- 
 ly assumed command, countermanded the retreat, and sent an officer 
 to find the remainder of General Riail's brigade, and order them to 
 advance in all haste from their position at Fifteen Mile Creek, He 
 planted a battery of five fieldpieces on the brow of a slight eminence 
 in front of the Presbyterian church, at Lundy's Lane, in the centre of 
 his position, while the wings were slightly thrown forward. The road 
 known as Lundy's Lane ran along the rear of his position, bordered 
 on either side by thickset rows of peach and apple trees. His left 
 wing was in the air, for his force was too feeble to prolong it to the 
 Niagara River, less than a mile away. In the twilight, the Royals ad 
 
^5 
 
 vancing to gain their position, mistook the retiring Glengarries for the 
 enemy, and fired a volley which inflicted more loss than they had yet 
 sustained, and threw them into disorder. Taking advantage of his 
 superiority in numbers, Brown outflanked the British on the left, and 
 forced them from the Queenston road, and a detachment of his men 
 penetrated into their rear and captured (leneral Riall, who had been 
 seriously wounded, with nearly one hundred other prisoners. The 
 troops which had been driven back, formed, however, almost imme- 
 diately in rear of the centre, facing the Queenston road, and thus se- 
 curing the rear of the British line. Scott's brigade had, in the mean- 
 time, made repeated attacks upon the battery which formed the key 
 to the British position, and had been as often repulsed. The sun 
 had gone down and the moon had risen, but shed as yet a faint and 
 uncertain light upon the field. Brown had ascertained from his pris- 
 oners the great inferiority ot the Ikitish force which had been re- 
 duced to less than 1,300 men, and determined to renew the attack 
 upon the battery with his whole force. The ist regiment of U. S. In- 
 fantry, was ordered to menace it in front, under cover of the concen- 
 trated fire of the whole of the American field artillery, while Col. 
 John Miller, with a column of seven hundred men, attacked it in 
 flank. The direct attack was easily repelled, but while the attention 
 of the artillerists was thus diverted, Miller's column had stealthily ad- 
 vanced, unobserved in the smoke and darkness, within twenty yards 
 of the guns. A single volley prostrated most of the gunners, and the 
 battery was carried by a rush. 'I'he British infantry had been with- 
 drawn some distance in rear to be out of range of the artillery fire,but 
 now advanced to regain the lost position, and a desperate conflict en- 
 sued in and around the church. The contending ranks were often 
 intermingled, and the bayonet was freely used. The British guns 
 were turned upon them, and the American artillery swiftly advanced 
 and crowned the ridge. At close quarters the American musketry 
 did great execution, each of their cartridges being composed of one 
 bullet and three buckshot. Reinforcements were quickly brought up 
 by Brown, and the British attack was finally repulsed. They had 
 been driven from their position with the loss of all their cannon, and 
 one-third of the force that had gone into action had been already dis- 
 abled or captured. General Riall had been taken with several other 
 officers. Cols. Pearson, Robinson and Morrison were desperately 
 wounded. A bullet had passed through Drummond's neck, and his 
 horse fell dead beneath him. .\ less resolute man would have aban- 
 doned the contest in despair. Concealing or disregarding his injur- 
 ies, Drummond immediately mounted another horse and began to 
 rally his men for a second assault. The remainder of Riall's brigade 
 began to arrive upon the field, and the engagement was renewed by 
 the British with fresh vigour. They ascended the ridge, however, 
 only to be repelled by the murderous fire of the artillery. 
 The regiments on both sides fell into disorder in the dark- 
 
x6 
 
 ness and the rontcndini; armies struggled together in a 
 confused mass. The drivers were shot from the horses 
 attach^! to an American howitzer and they galloped with the 
 gun into the midst of the British, who took possession of it. A 
 momentary lull in the fight then occurred, chiefly from physical ex- 
 haustion on the part of the combatants. The British were wearied 
 by their long and sultry march of the day before, and many of them 
 were scarcely able to walk from sheer fatigue, but their undaunted 
 commander had determined not to abandon the contest until he had 
 recovered his lost position and his artillery, and gave directions for a 
 fresh attack. On the part of the Americans, (lenerals Brown and 
 Scott had both been wounded and carried from the field, and the 
 former had instructed (leneral Ripley, upon whom the command 
 devolved, to retire to their camp near Chippawa. While this move- 
 ment was being executed and the artillery was being withdrawn, a 
 British column headed by three companies of the 41st, under Ca[)t. 
 (.lew charged up the slope and regained the British guns with the 
 exception of one six-pounder, which had been already removed, and 
 captured one American piece. A desultory combat continued in 
 various parts of the field for some time longer and several feeble 
 attacks were made on the British position by bodies of American 
 troops, which, however, were easily repulsed, and at midnight the 
 combat entirely ceased, leaving the British in possession of the ground 
 they had originally occupied at the beginning of the action, having 
 recovered all their artillery but one piece and taken two American 
 guns and nearly three hundred prisoners. Both armies had suffered 
 severely and were in the greatest confusion. Only two platoons of 
 Scott's brigade could be collected, and Ripley returned to his cam]> 
 with only five hundre:i men, the remainder of the Americans having 
 been killed, taken, or dispersed. The British were (luite unable to 
 pursue from their losses and fatigue. The entire British force that 
 went into action numbered not cjuite 2,.Soo men, of whom 87S were re- 
 l)orted killed, wounded, or missing. P)rown's oftirial report slated the 
 loss of the American army at 858, but he was juiblicly accused by 
 fourteen of his officers of having understated it, and unofficial Ameri- 
 can accounts placed it at from 1,200 to 1,600. Brown acknowledged 
 that only one hundred and sevcniy-onc .Americans had been killed, 
 but the British fcjund two hund ed and ten bodies on the field, and 
 while he admitted the loss of only one hundred and ten missing, the 
 British captured above three hundred prisoners. Ripley was unable 
 to collect more than 1,500 men next day, and after a hasty and dis- 
 tant reconnoissance of the field, determined to retreat. The baggage 
 of the army was abandoned or destroyed and the bridge over the 
 Chippawa burnt, and by nightfall they had reached Fort Erie, 
 harassed considerably by parties of militia and Indians, who hung on 
 flank and rear. Drummond's force was too feeble to pursue them 
 vigorously, but on the 30th he determined to advance and invest 
 
17 
 
 >i^ 
 
 ri- 
 cd 
 'd, 
 
 le 
 lis- 
 
 le 
 ie, 
 on 
 ;m 
 est 
 
 their camp. The next day, British dragoons captured several boats 
 at the ferry near Fort Krie and made a number of prisoners. Ameri- 
 can engineers had been engaged in strengthening the works ever 
 since its capture. A strong stone (nitwork had been Ijuilt east of the 
 fort on the bank of the river and two heavy guns nujunted there. A 
 parapet seven feet in height, provided with a dil< h and abattis, had 
 been constructed connei ting this with the fort. ihe American army 
 was encamped south of the fort, their left resting on I-ake l*>ie and 
 their right on the fort, and having the river in their rear. 'They be- 
 gan at once to throw up a line of intrenchments in theirfront, covered 
 by two ditches and a line of abbatis. An earthwork bastion was con- 
 structed upon a sand mound on the bank of the lake called Snake 
 Hill and armed with six guns. The ditches were deepened and the 
 abbatis was rendered more impracticable than usual by being inter- 
 woven with thorns and briers. Twenty pieces of cannon were 
 mounted upon the entrenchments. Reinforcements from the United 
 States were hurried into the place and on the 4th of August, (ieneral 
 Edmund Claines arrived and assumed connnand. Drununond had 
 already completely invested their canij) by land, and on the night of 
 the 2nd of August, sent a body of troops across the Niagara to destroy 
 the x\merican batteries at Black Rock and thus interrupt their com- 
 munication with the other shore. Their approach was discovered 
 and after a trifling skirmish they were compelled to retire without 
 having effected their object. Foiled in this attempt, Drummor.d im 
 mediately broke ground before Fort F>rie on its north-eastern front, 
 and on the morning of the 7th of August opened fire from five or six 
 guns. On the morning of the 12th. a strong body of American rifle- 
 men under Major Morgan made a determined sortie to cutoff a work- 
 ing party but were repulsed with the loss of their leader and many 
 men by Major Iwans with the pickets of the 8th regiment. All this 
 time the Americans had been busily engaged in strengthening their 
 defences and provisioning and reinforcing their army, 'i'hree armed 
 schooners which had been employed in transporting troops were 
 moored in favorable positions to command the approaches to the 
 works with an enfilading fire. It was almost useless to hazard an as- 
 sault while they remained here. Boats were accordingly brought 
 overland from the Niagara, a distance of eight miles, and on the night 
 of the 1 2th August, Capt. Dobbs with a detachment of seventy-five 
 seamen embarked to attack them. The American vessels carried 
 four heavy guns, mounted on pivots, and their united crews numbered 
 one hundred and five persons. Drifting silently down with the cur- 
 rent, the British boats approached within twenty yards before they 
 were hailed, when they immediately replied, "provision boats" and 
 dashed alongside the two nearest vessels. In a few minutes they 
 were both captured, their sails set, the cables cut, and on the way 
 down the river, with a loss on the part of the British of only six men 
 killed and wounded. By the morning of the 13th August the British 
 
[8 
 
 siege batteries were completed, their heavy ordnance all mounted, and 
 n violent bombardment commenced which was maintained the whole 
 of that day and the next. Beyond killing and wounding forty-five of 
 the garrison, very little injury was inflicted upon the beseiged. Shortly 
 before sundown on the 14th a magazine in Fort Erie blew up with a 
 tremendous explosion, but as was subsetjuently ascertained vvithout 
 disabling a single gun or injuring a single man. This, however, was 
 unknown to the men in the trenches, and they leaped upon their 
 works and cheered loudly, and Drummond determined to venture an 
 assault that very night. The entire force at his disposal was now 
 about 3,500 men, and 2,000 of these were detailed for the assault. 
 The right column, under Lieut.-Col. Fischer, was to advance by way 
 of the lake shore and attack the Snake Hill battery, and consisted of 
 detachments of the 8th 89th, looth, and I)e VVatteville's regiment, 
 numbering about eight hundred men. The left column, composed of 
 the 103rd regiment, seven hundred strong, under Col. Scott, was 
 directed to attack the intrenchiiients between the water-battery 
 and Fort Erie, while Lieut.-Col. Drummond, nephew of the 
 General, led the flank companies of the 41st and looth, ninety 
 marines and fifty seamen, four hundred men in, all against Fort 
 Erie itself. Gaines had anticipated an attack that night, and 
 made elaborate preparations for repelling it. He had nearly 
 three thousand men under his command. One-third of the 
 garrison were kept constantly on guard, and the remainder slept on 
 their arms, the guns were loaded to the muzzle with gr^pe and canis- 
 ter, and dark lanterns and linstocks kept continually burning. Num- 
 bers of spare loaded musk its and boarding pikes were arranged along 
 the ramparf--, and piles of shot, handgrenades, and bags of musket 
 balls and langridge placed beside each gun. At nightfall Gaineswent 
 the rounds and warned his men that an assault would be made that 
 night. The night was dark and threatened rain Midnight passed 
 rjuietly, but at 2 o'clock a body of men was heard stealthily approach- 
 ing Snake Hill. In an instant the battery there was illuminated with 
 the blaze of artillery and musketry, and the leading files of Fischer's 
 column were seen endeavoring to force their way through the tangled 
 abbatis fifty yards in front. It proved impenetrable, and they were 
 shot down aunost to a man. Finding it impossible to advance further 
 m this direction, Captain Powell, who led the forlorn hope dashed 
 boldly into the water, followed by about fifty men of the 8th, and 
 succeeded in gaining the rear of the battery. De Watteville's Regiment, 
 however, paused on the water's edge and failed to support them, and 
 being rapidly cut down by the murderous fire from the battery, to 
 which they were unable to return a shot, for the flints had been re- 
 moved from their muskets with the object of compelling them to rely 
 entirely on the bayonet, finally broke and retired in disorder. Gen- 
 eral Ripley, who commanded the Americans on this flank, rapidly 
 brought up reinforcements, and the gallant party that had gained the 
 
interior of the intrenrhments, were overpowered, and nil killed or 
 taken. Then came the steady tramp of the column on the left, and 
 the suppressed voices of the British officers could he distinctly heard 
 in the American lines, as they encouraged their men to keep together 
 and trust to their bayonets. Every gun that would bear was rramnitd 
 to the muzzle with grape, and turned on the approaching mass. 
 Hand-grenades were hurled, and live shells flung upon their hcads,and 
 seven hundred muskets discharged their contents into the column. 
 With unsurpassed bravery they pressed on and flung themselv.'s into 
 the ditch, and scrambled up the ramparts to die on the summit. The 
 attack was renewed again and again with the same result, and after 
 Col. Scott and nearly every officer had been killed or wounded, and 
 more than half the column was disabled, the attempt was finally 
 abandoned. Drummond in the centre was, in the first instance,more 
 successful. Leadmg his men at a run to the verge of the ditch, the 
 scaling ladders were planted successfully, and the head of the column 
 surged into the fort. Drummond killed the commander of the bat- 
 tery with his own hand, and bayonet and cutlass made short work of 
 his men. The captured guns were rai)idly turned on the interior. 
 In the desperate hand-to-hand struggle that f(^llowed, Drummond was 
 shot through the heart. Major Gle'v, the next in command, was des- 
 perately wounded, and the command devolved on Captain Bullock, 
 who carried the mess-house, a strong stone buildmg, with a rush, and 
 killed every man in it. The American guns in other portions of the 
 works swept the approaches to the fort with a deadly enfilading fire, 
 and rendered the advance of reinforcements impossible, and every 
 American corps on that flank attacked tl determined handful of men 
 who had gained a foot-hold in their works, in turn, and were repelled. 
 Finally, when the firing had nearly ceased, and they were mustering 
 their forces for a last, desperate effort, a large quantity of cartridges 
 stored in the mess-house was ignited by a random shot, and the ex 
 plosion hurled that buildmg and a portion of the adjoinmg bastion 
 into the air, and nearly every man that had entered the fort perished. 
 Every officer m the column but three was- killed or wounded, and of 
 one hundred and sixty men of the 41st, but fifty answered to their 
 names ne\l day. The British loss in this gallant, but unsuccessfiil 
 assault, exceeded nine hundred, while that of the besieged was less 
 than one hundred, nearly all by bayonet or sabre wounds. Drum 
 mond's force was so much diminished that he was obliged to await 
 the arrival of reinforcements before resuming offensive operations. 
 The bombardment of the American lines was, however, continued, 
 and the losses of the besieged were severe. The working parties 
 were daily diminished by nearly one-tenth in this manner, but fresh 
 drafts of men were constantly arriving from Buffalo, and the strength 
 of the garrison was not materially weakened. Gaines was indefatig- 
 able in his efforts to increase the strength of his defences, and an ad- 
 ditional number of heavy guns were brought across the river and 
 
tr 
 
 20 
 
 mounted on the works. A week after the assault, Drummonrrs armv 
 was joined by the first battalions of the 6th and R^nd regiments,whi< h 
 srarrely more than restored it to its former strcnytli, and new batteries 
 were be^nn and the approaches driven \vithin five himdred yards of 
 fort I'>ie. The Hriti>h general was, however, ahnost immediately 
 rtbliged to detath six companies of the 41st to l'\)it (leorge, and the 
 whole of the lo^^rd re^^iment to Miirlington, as those places were 
 threatened with an attac k by the American lletl 011 Lake Ontario. 
 He still persisted in maintaininj.; the investment, although his effective 
 force scarcely cxc ce<led the garrison in numbers, and he was unable 
 to do more than blockade their lines. On the 2<Sth of .Vugust, Oen- 
 eral Gaines was severely wounded by the explosion of a shell, and the 
 <ommandof the garrison was resumed by ('ien<;ral Hrown, who had 
 nearly recovered from his wounds, and was engaged in assembling a 
 relieving army at Buffalo. Large bodies of militia were colle< ted and 
 disciplined near the froiitiei, and the .\mcriran s(|uadr()n arrived from 
 T-ake Huron with five hundred regular tro(jps, and anchored off Kori 
 Erie, '"'her detachments soon after arrived from Sacketts Harbour 
 and Batavia. Heavy rains filled the trenches and ravines, and con- 
 verted the low lands surrounding the .\meri( an lines into almost an 
 impassable morass. I-'ever prevailed in the British camp, and its rav- 
 ages increased dail\. Dnmimond began to cofitemplate the aban- 
 donment of the siege, but maintained his position in the hope of be 
 ing joined tiy reinforcements which were known to be (jn their way. 
 but were detained bv the threatening movements of the .\merican 
 squadron, which had ol)lained connnand of Lake Ontario. The be- 
 sieged were encouraged by his enforced inac tivity, and began to 
 reconnoitre his works, and pushed forward their outposts into the 
 woods near the lake. On the evening of the ^)th of September, their 
 advance picket, consisting of an cfficer and twenty-one men, were sur- 
 prised, and entirely killed or taken by a detachment of the 6th and 
 Glengarries under C'a])tain Powell, and the remainder driven in with 
 considerable loss, and their (jpcrations were afterwards marked with 
 greater < aution. Brown had by this time, however, succeeded in as- 
 sembling five thousand men near Buffalo, who were carefully exercised ; 
 the garrison of the intrenched camp at Kort Kric numbered two thou- 
 .sand five hundred t^iore, and he determined to assume the offensive. 
 His spies kept him well informed of the numbers, composition, and 
 movements of the British army. Their camp was pitched in a field 
 surrounded by woods quite two miles in rear of the siege-batteries, 
 and their force was divided into three brigades, which relieved each 
 other in the performance of duty in the trenches. It was ascertained 
 that on the evening of the 16th September and the following day, the 
 British batteries would be occupied by the Regiment De Watteville, 
 supported by a part of the 8th. It was well known that the former 
 corps w»35 chiefly composed of prisoners of war of various nationalities 
 who had volunteered for service in America, and vagrants from the 
 
al 
 
 ies 
 he 
 
 liulks.and fhcir n)is< uikIik t IkuIIk-oii ronspiriiousalicadN on several o*" 
 ca.sions, noiahly in the assault ot the 14th ot Auj^ust. This, then, was 
 Ihown's opportunity, and he made his pre[)arations for a sortie on 
 the 17th September, with a «le^'ree of sagacity and skill which 
 did him iiiliniti- credit. A larj^e working party was detailed to 
 cut n |>ath through the underbrush leading by a « ircuitous route from 
 Snake Hill around the right llank of the I'.ritish works, and they per 
 formed then task with such secre( y that they advanc ed within a few 
 \ardsofthe batteries without bi-ing discovered. Ihe militia from 
 Huffalo were brought o\er (juietly, and on the niorning of the 17th 
 September, IJrown disc losed his plan of attack to his ofticers. (Jen. 
 I'orter, with two thousand men in two <-oliunns, was to advance 
 through the woods a'ul turn the right llank of the Mritish intrcn<h- 
 nients, while (leneral .Miller, with one thousand regulars, was to ad- 
 vance secretly and o<« upy a ravine about three hundn-d yards in front 
 of their batterie.s, where he was to remain » oncealed until I'orter be- 
 gan the attack, when he was to sally out and attack them in front. 
 Another body of nearly one thousand men was iield in reserve near 
 the fort under (leneral Riple). The v.\aiher pr(»vetl e.xtremely pro- 
 piticjus. Ihe sky was overcast and a dense fog hung iiver the siir 
 face of the ground, effectually concealing their movements. About 
 noon i'orters column left their < amp and arrived at the |)oint of 
 attack two hours later. Their ai)proa(h was not discovered until they 
 
 had gained the rear of the British batterv c)n the extreme 
 
 right 
 
 of their line and were within a few yards of the works. The covering 
 party was surj'iised, and alter a feeble resistance of a few minutes 
 duration, nearly three iumdred men of the Regiment De U'atteville 
 laid down their arms and became prisoners of war. When the firing 
 in front announced that Porter had begun the attack, .Miller's column 
 sprang t'rom their c one ealmenl in the ravine and advanc ed swiftly to 
 the assault of batter) Nimiber Two. The cJeladiment of the 8lh 
 which held this pt)int were on the aleit, and being composed of better 
 material than the De ^Vatteville's offered a stubborn resistance, but 
 being attacked at once in front, llank, and rear by the whole force of 
 the Americans, were finall\ overpowered and nearly all killed or 
 taken. Hut they had not fought in vain. The alarm had already 
 reac:hed the camj) and the supports were already in sight when pro- 
 longed cheers from the assailants annoiniced their success. Seven 
 companies of the S^nd and three (omi)anies of the Oih, led by Majors 
 I'roc tor and Taylor, dashed at the battery while the .Xmericans were 
 yet disordered by their triumph and drove them out before they had 
 time to spike the gims or damage the works. The; intrenchments on 
 the right were at the same time regained by the Royals, the 89th, and 
 Glengarries advancing by another road and theunited force pushed the 
 Americans steadily back towards their cam]). Ripley was sent for- 
 ward with the reserve to their assistance by Brown, and a desperate 
 struggle at close quarters ensued, in which the bayonet was freely 
 
22 
 
 N 
 
 used. Gen. Davis, Cols. Wood and Gibson were killed, and Generals 
 Porter and Rii)loy and many other eminent otficers wounded on the 
 part of the Americans, and they finally gave way m great disorder and 
 were pursued within range of the guns of their works, leaving two 
 hundred i)risoners behind them, The damage done to the siege 
 batteries was not serious, but severe loss had been inflicted upon the 
 covering party and supi)orts. Nearly four hundred of the British had 
 been taken prisoners, and their total loss exceeded six hundred men, 
 including Cols. Gordon, Fischer, and Pearson wounded. Gen. 
 Brown stated his total loss at five hundred and eighteen, but there is 
 little dr>ubt that it was much larger. The number of prisoners taken 
 by the British considerably exceeded the entire nuiT>ber of missing 
 admitted by the American commander, and more than one regiment 
 of the New York militia was practically annihilated. The severity of 
 his loss on this occasion confirmed Drummond in his determination 
 to abandon the siege, especially as he had ascertained that Gen. Izard 
 with several thousand regulars was advancing from Sackett's Harbor 
 with the intention of throwing himself in the rear of the British army. 
 Accordingly on the night of the 21st September, he broke up his en- 
 campment and retired leisurely and unpursued behind the Chippawa. • 
 Izard did not arrive at Lewiston until the 5th October, and finding 
 that the British were prepared to dispute his passage of the river at 
 that point, he ascended the stream to Black Rock and joined Brown 
 in the vicinity of Fort Erie and assumed command of the whole force 
 on the Niagara. A few days later, he advanced towards Chippawa at 
 the head of eight thousand men and reconnoitred Drummond's posi- 
 tion. On the evening of the i8th October a detachment of one 
 thousand men under General Bissel was despatched by him to destroy 
 Cook's Mills on Lyon's Oeek, in the Township of Crowland, and 
 threaten the right of the British position. They were attacked next 
 day at this place by five hundred of the Glengarry Light Infantry and 
 and 104th, and after a sharp skirmish in which the British lost nine- 
 teen men and the Americans sixty-seven, both parties retired to their 
 respective camps. Izard soon afterward abandoned his design of 
 forcing the British position and retired to Fort Erie. The intrenched 
 camp at that place was dismantled, the stone citadel blown up, and 
 the American army finally recrossed the river -and abandoned their 
 foothold in Canada on the 5th of November, 1814. The military 
 operations on this frontier during the war ended with evacuation of 
 Fort Erie and a treaty of peace between the two countries was signed 
 on the 24th December of the same year. The gallantry and fidelity 
 of the (Canadian militia under trying circumstances had been con- 
 spicuous on many occasions during thirty months of warfare, and 
 they had rendered noble service to the Empire, but the struggle had 
 found the settlers in the Niagara District fairly prosperous in a modest 
 way and left them practically ruined. Their farms had been n'iglected 
 and laid waste, their cattle carried away or slaughtered, nearly all 
 
ill 
 
 23 
 
 their dwellings ])liindered, and many ot them burned. I'he mills, 
 schoolti, cliurches, and other public buildings had been entirely des- 
 troyed, the bridges were everywhere demolished, and the roads 
 rendered impassable. A number of American settlers had tied to the 
 United States at the beginning of the contest, others had abandoned 
 their liomes and removed into the interior, many liad been killed, or 
 died of privation and disease, the remainder were reduced to a state 
 of abject poverty and distress. The commerce of the distrid 
 had been absolutely destroyed and the pursuits and occui)ations of 
 the inhabitants so seriously interrupted that thty fouiid it difificult to 
 resume them. 
 
 The process of reconstruction was necessarily slow. Restrictions 
 were placed upon intercourse with the United State:;, and emigration 
 from that country was entirely prohibited. In 18 18, three years after 
 the close of the war, Gourlay estimated the population of the town- 
 ships com[)osing the present County of Welland at 5,988, occupying 
 939 houses. Theie were five churches and twenty-three schools. 
 This was evidence of a creditable degree of progress in the work of 
 restoration. The state of agriculture was very backward, and the 
 dwellings were chiefly built of rough-hewn logs. Education was 
 much neglected, and twenty yearr later, it was estimated that not 
 more than one person in thirty of the entire population of Upper 
 Canada could read or write. A very large proportion of the mem 
 bers o^ the early Canadian parliaments were unable even to sign their 
 na:,"ies. Large tracts of valuable land had been acquired by speculators 
 by grant or purchase, a^d the settlement of the country was very much 
 retarded by their reluctance to sell except at e.xcessive prices. Many 
 of these men were officials of the government, and by their in- 
 fluence a statute had been passed exempting lands owned by non 
 residents from taxation, and enabling them to profit by the labors of 
 the colonists without sharing in their burdens. Still the progress of 
 the country was continuous, although slow. Twenty uneventful 
 years of peace and moderate prosperity followed, and the pojnilation 
 and wealth of the district more than doubled. During the years of 
 1 83 1 and 1832 the immigration into Canada attained its greatest 
 magnitude, but few of those who arrived, settled in the Niagara Dis- 
 trict, being chiefly attracted by free grants of lands to other portions 
 of the Province. The few who came, however, i)rought the germs of 
 the Asiatic cholera with them, and many persons, among whom were 
 several prominent citizens, died of that disease. 
 
 The summer of the year 1819 was unusually dry and hot, and 
 was rendered memorable by extensive forest fires, which ravaged 
 many portions of the Niagara District, consuming stacks and fields of 
 grain and a number of houses and outbuildings. The next ten years 
 witnessed the inception and completion of the Welland Canal. The 
 project of connecting the two great lakes by an artificial waterway had 
 haunted the minds of intelligent men who were familiar with the 
 
i 
 
 -J4 
 
 intervening country, for many years, but, although he was hot ♦^lie 
 originator of the scheme, it was undoubtedly due to the energy and 
 perseverance of Mr, \\'illiam Hamilton Merritt that it became an 
 established fact. \Vhen a very young man, he had served as a volun- 
 teer cavalry officer in the war of 1812. and his duties made him 
 unusually familiar with the nature of the country through which the 
 canal subse(iucntl\ passed, and he became thoroughly convinced of 
 the practicability of the plan. As early as i8t8 he made a hasty jjrc- 
 liminary survey of the route which he favored, and, having succeeded 
 in interesting Sir Peregrine Maitland, then Administrator of the Clov- 
 ernment of Upper Canada, who had fixed his residence in the Town 
 ship of Stamford, a few miles distant, an api)roi)riation of ^^2,000 was 
 obtained from the I.egislaUire, to be e.\i)ended in surveys. The route 
 tavored by the entrineer. however, commenc<.'d at a point on the 
 Grand River, and terminated at Burlington Hay, and was fifty miles in 
 length, and, the money having been expended, the matter was allowed 
 to drop for several years. The successful progress of the P>ie Canal, 
 which threatened to divert the whole of the commerce of the upper 
 lakes into the hands of the Americans, revived his interest in the sub- 
 ject, and early in 1823 a subscrijjtion fund was opened fjr the pur- 
 pose of making new surveys. A charter for a canal around the 
 Niagara l\alls, through the State of New York, had already been 
 granted by the Legislature of that State, and an engineer was engaged 
 in surveying a route, and it became evident that if a canal was ever to 
 be made through Canadian territory, it was imjierative to take prompt 
 action, and a considerable sum was readily subscribed. Mr. Merritt's 
 original scheme was sim])ly to connect the River Welland, at a point 
 ten miles from its mouth, with the 'I'welve Mile Creek emjjtying into 
 Lake Ontario. The survey was made, and on the 19th January, 1824, 
 the Welland Canal Company was incori)orated, with a capital of 
 ^40,000. In two months ^' I 2,00c of stock were subscribed. An 
 equal amount was soon afterwards taken in New York, and on the 
 30th November the first sod of the canal was removed, Although 
 operations were much retarded by the d'tficulty experienced in pro- 
 curing money, the work {proceeded steadily from that time until the 
 actual completion of the canal. Mr. Merritt was unwearied in his 
 exertions on behalf of the enterprise, and he was warmly seconded by 
 Sir Peregrine Maitland and others. Liberal assistance was also granted 
 by the Legislature of the Province. In 1826, 13,000 acres of land, in 
 the Township of Waintleet, lying on both sides of the feeder leading 
 from the Grand River, were granted to the Company by that body, 
 and in the following year they obtained a grant of ^^25,000 from the 
 Legislature of Lower Canada. The Imiierial Government also appro- 
 priated ^,'16,000 for the same purpose in 1826, and the Legislature 
 of Upper Canada authorized the Government to take ^40,000 of 
 block in the enterjjrise. About 600 laborers were usually employed 
 on the works, and rapid progress was made. During 1827 it was 
 
determined to extend the Canal to the Grand River, and the work wa"; 
 pushed vigorously forward. Sir Curniiehael Smith was soon after- 
 wards appointed by the Imperial Government to inspect the canal, 
 and he reported very favorably upon the enterprise and recommended 
 the establishment of a naval station at Port Maitland, and the con 
 struction of two forts for the i)rotection of the canal among the Short 
 Hills in the Townshii) of I'elham, for which he selected sites. The 
 work was now driven forward with such vigor, that on the 30th of 
 Nove)iiber 1829, exactly five years from the day the first sod was 
 turned, the two schooners Ann and fane, of Toronto, and Z. 7/ 
 Boughtony of Youngstown, N. \'., passed from Lake Ontario to Lake 
 Erie. Much, however, remained to be done to complete the canal in 
 a proper manner. Much of the work had been executed in an ex- 
 tremely unsatisfactory way, and the action of frost and rain caused 
 fre([uent landslips in the deeper cuttings, which obstructed navigation. 
 I'or several years the canal was not inaptly characterized as "a job at 
 both ends and a failure in the middle." Nearly half a million of 
 pounds sterling had already been expended, and the company lacked 
 funds to carry on the work, and the unsettled conditionof the country 
 put an end to further operations for a time. Finally, in 1842, the 
 Government of ( 'anada purchased the stock held by the remaining 
 shareholders, and assumed entire control of the canal, and the work 
 of improvement and enlargement began, 
 
 I'or many years a few i)rominent families, who were connected by 
 fre(iuent kitermarriages, had monoi)olized the most lucrative posts in 
 connection with the Government of the I'rovince, and exerted such a 
 poteni'.pl influence in the Executive ( 'ouncil, that they practically 
 controlicd the entire patronage of the country, and filled all the subor- 
 dinate official posts with their relatives and adherents. In many in- 
 stances, their power had been exercised in an extremely arbitrary and 
 despotic manner against their political opponents. By grants or pur- 
 chase from the crown the members of this party, which became jioji- 
 ularly known as the " Famil) Compact,'" had gradually possessed 
 themselves of vast tracts of the best located and most valuable wild 
 lands, while they had entire control of the chartered banks. Their 
 arbitrary and selfish conduct alienated the majority of the people, and 
 the elections of 1835 gave the "Reform" party a decided majority in 
 the Assembly, although the "Family Compact" still maintained tht r 
 preponderance in the Executive Council. The Reform leaders, how 
 ever, soon became embroiled in a controversy with the newly arrived 
 Governor, Sir Francis Head, who had succeeded in convincing him- 
 self that their ultimate object was independence. The Governor 
 appealed from the Assembly to the people and issued a manifesto, in 
 which he appealed to the loyalty of the inhabitants, and denounced 
 his "Radical" opponents as seditious and revolutionary in feeling. In 
 the election which followed, nearly all the principal leaders of the 
 Reform party lost their elections, and it was placed in a decided 
 
lf 
 
 26 
 
 tttinority in the Assembly. It soon became evident that an extreme 
 section of this party, smarting under their defeat, really aimed at 
 the establishment of an independent Republic, and Mr. William Lyon 
 Mackenzie actually raised the standard of rebellion on the 4th of De- 
 cember, 1837, at Montgomery's tavern in the vicinity of Toronto. 
 The time and place were well chosen. All the regular troops had 
 been sent out of the Province, and four thousand stand of arms were 
 aeposited in the Town Hall in that city guarded only by a few vol- 
 unteers. The event proved that the great majority of the people of 
 the Province were unalterably foyal, and that the .sympathisers with 
 the rebellion were comparatively few. The militia mustered with 
 unsurpassed alacrity, Mackenzie's followers were (juickiy dispersed 
 and he was obliged to fly for his life, while ten thousand volunteers 
 hurried to the defence of the capital. 
 
 Making his way in disguise lo the County of Lincoln, Mackenzie 
 finally arrived on the banks of the Niagara at McAffee's farm in the 
 Township of Bertie, and was ferried across the river to Buffalo, narrowly 
 escaping capture by Col. Kerby, who was patroling the bank with a 
 troop of volunteer dragoons. A Committee, for the purpose of assist- 
 ing the revolutionary party in Canada, had already been formed in 
 Buffalo on the 5th December, composed of thirteen prominent citi- 
 zens, and arrangements had been made for a mass-meeting on the 
 evening of the nth, the very day that Mackenzie arrived in the city. 
 The meeting proved to be the largest that had ever assembled in the 
 place, and when Dr. Chapin announced from the platform, that the 
 leader of the Canadian rebellion was then concealed in . is house, 
 the enthusiasm of the audience was unbounded. A guard of young 
 men was immediately formed to protect Mr. Mackenzie during his 
 stay in the city, and it was announced that he would address a public 
 meeting on the following evening. The theatre was crammed, and 
 the adjoining streets crowded with persons, who were unable to obtain 
 admittance, while Mackenzie dwelt for two hours on his wrongs and 
 grievances. Mr. Thomas J. Sutherland next addressed the meeting, 
 and declared his intention of proceeding to invade Canada and called 
 for volunteers and contributions of arms and provisions. A body of 
 sympathizers was immediately assembled at Whitehaven on Grand 
 Island and Rensselaer Van Rensselaer, of Albany, a member of one 
 of the most wealthy and influential families in the State of New York, 
 was selected as the leader of the expedition against Canada. On the 
 13th December, Van Rensselaer, accompanied by Mr. Mackenzie and 
 twenty-five followers landed on Navy Island, in the Niagara river, 
 about two miles above the Falls, then quite uninhabited and densely 
 wooded, and forming part of the Township of Willoughby. They 
 began to built huts and erect entrenchments, and were rapidly joined 
 by other sympathizers, and within a week their numbers were swelled 
 to upwaids of five hundred. Large quantities of cannon and small 
 arms, belonging to the United States and the State of New York lay in 
 the arsenals in the various towns near the Canadian frontier. Posses- 
 
27 
 
 sion of thesd was obtained by Mr. Mackenzie's adiierents under vari- 
 ous pretences, and they were removed to Navy Island and the vicin- 
 ity. Thirteen pieces of artillery were transported to the camp on 
 Navy Island and mounted in battery to play on the Canadian shore. 
 A provincial government was organized with Mr. Mackenzie at 
 its head, and a reward of ;;^5oo was offered for the body of Sir 
 P'rancis Head, dead or alive. A bounty of three hundred acres of 
 the Crown Lands in Canada and one hundred dollars in money, 
 (;^2o), was offered to each volunteer who joined their ranks. 
 '' Patriot " committees and lodges of " Hunters," as they were called, 
 were formed in every considerable town in Western New York. 
 Prominent American citizens traversed the country in every direction 
 soliciting contributions of arms, money, and provisions for the ])rose 
 cution of the proposed "deer hunts" in Canada. An American 
 ofificer in charge of public stores permitted a piece of artillery to be 
 removed from the arsenal and conveyed to Navy Island on being as- 
 sured that it was to be used for the purpose of shooting wild ducks. 
 Recruiting parties and armed bodies of sympathizers with the Cana- 
 dian insurgents publicly paraded the streets of American cities with 
 banners and bands of music. The United States Marshal, Mr. 
 Garrow, wrote to his government that three-fourths of the inhabitants 
 of Rochester were actively promoting the movement against C'anada, , 
 and seven-eighths of the people of Buffalo were in active sympathy 
 with the filibustier? on Navy Island. It was confidently asserted by 
 sympathizers that the American government did not wish to suppress 
 the movement, and it was afterwards testified on oath that the doors 
 of the arsenals were opened by the officials in charge and they were 
 told to help themselves to the arms. A considerable force of Cana- 
 dian militia had already been assembled near the village of Chippawa, 
 under Col. Cameron, and was a tew days later joined by Col. Allan 
 McNab, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, with a body of five 
 hundred men. McNab assumed command, and his force was soon 
 increased to 2,500 men by the arrival of other detachments of militia 
 who hurried to the frontier. There was not a single regular soldier 
 of any description in the entire Province of Upper Canada, with the 
 exception of a few artillery and engineer officers engaged in strength- 
 ening the fortifications at Toronto and Kingston. McNab was com- 
 pelled to combine in his single person the functions of adjutant, 
 quartermaster, and engineer, as well as general of the forces collected 
 under his command, which were almost totally undisciplined. The 
 filibustiers cut a road entirely around Navy Island, erected formid- 
 able entrenchments, obstructed the water approaches on the western 
 side of the island, and commenced the construction of a citadel. An 
 artillery fire was opened on the Canadian shore, many houses were 
 damaged by bullets, and three men killed while passing along the 
 river road. Parties encamped on Grand Island, which forms part of 
 the State of New York, fired upon unoffending inhabitants in Canada, 
 
28 
 
 and marauders landed at unprotected points and plundered house:? 
 and murdered Capt. Usher, a Loyahst residnig in the Township of 
 Willoughby, who had been active against them. \'an Rensselaer's 
 force had by this time increased to upwards of one thousand, and 
 l)reparations were made for a descent in force upon the (Canadian 
 mainland. A small steamer named the ('aroline was chartered for 
 the purpose of carrying:; troops and artillery, several hundred men 
 were employed in cutting her out of the ice in the harbor of liufAilo, 
 and a number of wealthy Americans entered mto a bond to indent 
 nify her owner in case of her destruction, and although all these 
 circumstances and the purjiosc for which she was intended were pub 
 licly known, the lollector of the port granted the vessel a clearance 
 without hesitation. 'I'his took place on the 28th December, and the 
 next day the Caroline was seen plving between Schlosser and Navy 
 Island and landing bodies of armed men. Sir l-'rancis Head had 
 arrived on the frontier a few dnys before, and McNab applied to him 
 tor permission to attempt her destruction. Lieuts. Klmsley, M( Nab, 
 himself, and others had on different occasions jiassed (juite around 
 Navy Islai-Kl under Cm' of the ariillerv planted there and recon 
 noitred the defences. A llotilla of small vessels and rowboats had 
 already been partially organized by Commander Andrew Drew, a 
 British naval oftlcer on the retired list, and he declared himself ready 
 to head an exj>edition to cutout the (!aroline, which it was antici 
 pated, would remain over night at the island. Head readily gave his 
 assent, and Drew called for voluntcc';\ saying lie wanted "a few 
 fellows with cutlasses who were ready to follow him to the devil."" 
 Sixty men were selected from the large number who volunteered for 
 this service and enfbarked in seven boats under command of ('apt. 
 Drew, Lieuts. McCormick, Klmsley, Jiier, {la\)t. J no. Cordon, of the 
 steamer Britannia, and Messrs. Hector and Battersby. The current 
 l)roved too strong for the two latter boats and they returned, but the 
 remainder, manned by forty-five jjcrsons, proceeded, and when 
 they arrived near Xavy Island discovered that the Caroline 
 lay at the wharf at Schlosser. Drew ordered his men to rest 
 for a moment, and then said to the commanders of the other boats : 
 " The steamer is our object ; follow me." When they arrived within 
 twenty yards of the vessel, a sentinel on d^eck hailed the boats a:id de- 
 manded the countersign. 1 )rew replied, " I will give it to you when 
 I get on board," and ordered his men to juill alongside. The sentry 
 immediately fired and gave the alarm. Drew scrambled up the side 
 of the vessel on the starboard bow with his cutlass in his teeth, but 
 such was the eagerness of his men to follow, that they impeded each 
 other's movements, and he remained alone on the deck for several 
 minutes and was immediately assaulted by five of the crew of the Car- 
 oline. One of these men fired a mu.sket close to his face, but was 
 immediately killed by a blow of Drew's cutlass, another man was at 
 once cut down by the same intrepid ofificer, and the remaining three 
 
29 
 
 driven headlong from the vessel to the wharf. Lieut. McCormick 
 hoarded on the starboard quarter while this conflict was going on, and 
 failing to recognize a [)arty of men who were coming towards him 
 from the how ot the boat, inquired whether they were friends, when 
 one of them immediately fired a shcjt and wounded him in the left 
 arm. McCormick at once cut him down, when several others fired 
 and wounded him in four differeiu places, but he disabled another of 
 his antagoni.its before he sank to the deck, exhausted by loss of blood. 
 By this time the remainder of the boarders reached the deck, and in a 
 few instants gained entire possession of the vessel and drove the sur- 
 vivors of the crew on shore. A party was sent on shore to cut the 
 moorings, but it was found that the vessel was attached to the wharf 
 by chains, and considerable de'ay ensued. A large body of men who 
 occupied a tavern in the vicinity of the wharf, assembled apparently 
 with the intention of recovering the vessel, and began firing. Lieut. 
 Llmsley then advanced with sixteen men, armed with cutlasses only, 
 and took up a })osition across the road, and held their assailants in 
 check until the moormgs ot the vessel were unfastened. The Caro- 
 line was got under way, but finding that the current would prevent her 
 being < arried to the Canadian shore, she was set on fire and cut adrift. 
 .\fter passing through the rapids, wrapped in flames, she grounded on 
 a small islet near the brmk of the cataract, where she subsequently 
 went to fjicces. Resides Lieut. McCormick, several others were 
 slightly wounded on the part of the British, while twelve persons out 
 of thirty-three on board the Caroline were rejKjrted killed, or missing, 
 and a number wounded. 
 
 This event caused extreme excitement and indignation on the 
 part of the people of the United States, and brought that country to • 
 the verge of war with Creat Britain. ^Vm. L. Marcy, Governor of the 
 State of New York, called the attention of the Legislature to it in a 
 special message, and recommended a force of militia being called out 
 for the defence of the frontier, in the course of which he alluded to 
 the '"assassination of citizens of the United States on the soil of New 
 York." The .American Secretary of \\ar, in a communication to the 
 British Minister, at Washington, spoke of the affair as an •' extraordi 
 nary outrage,'' and an "insult to the flag." It was, however, gcner 
 ally felt by both parties, that the British were quite justified by the 
 ( ircumstanccs in making an atla<k on the C'aroline, and after a good 
 deal of angry correspondence between the diplomatists on behalf of 
 their respective governments, the matter was allowed to drop. 
 
 After the destruction of the Caroline, the force under McNab's 
 command was swelled by the arrival of fresh bodies ot militia to up- 
 wards of 5,000 men. A considerable body of Mohawk warriors came 
 in from Grand River, and he was joined by a number of negroes, 
 chiefly fugitive slaves from the South, who desired permission to head 
 the attack on Navy Island. Artillery and engineer officers arrived, 
 but the necessary delay caused by the difficulty sustained in trans- 
 
i 
 
 r 
 
 3© 
 
 porting artillery and stores, delayed the proposed expedition against 
 the island. 'I'he filibustiers had also been considerably reinforced, 
 and a body of their men was encamped on Grand Island. Scarcely 
 one man in ten of this force was a British subject, and the majority 
 were rascals and vagabonds allured by the hope of plunder, and as a 
 Buffalo newspaper declared, " men who would cut any man's throat 
 for a dollar." However, they were well armed and equipped, and no less 
 than twenty-four cannon mounted in batteries. A force of 1,500 or 
 2,000 New York militia assembled along the Niagara, could with dif- 
 ficulty be restrained from joining the insurgents. Dissensions, how- 
 ever, soon arose among the latter, Van Rensselaer proved incompe- 
 tent, and intemperate in his habits, and on the 13th January, 1838, 
 Navy Island was finally evacuated by them after having been m their 
 possession exactly one month. For some months afterwards, a cer- 
 tain number of Canadian militia were maintained under arms on the 
 frontier in anticipation of another attack, but these were finally dis- 
 banded in the early part of the year 1838, and allowed to go to their 
 homes. 
 
 In June 1838, another attempt at invasion was made by the Am- 
 erican sympathisers with the Canadian insurgents, by way of the Nia- 
 gara. The Township of Pelham was chiefly inhabited by pronounced 
 opponents of the " Family Compact," and known as the stronghold of 
 radicalism in the county, and it was supposed that the invaders would 
 receive their sympathy, if not their active assistance. A portion of the 
 township was still well wooded, and hilly, and sparsely populated, and 
 here it was determined to raise the standard of rebellion. Benjamin 
 Wait, a native of the United States, but a naturalized British, subject, 
 was the principal organizer of the expedition, and he was joined by a 
 number of other refugees of similar origin. He succeeded in gather- 
 ing a considerable body of filibustiers in the vicinity of Buffalo, and 
 prepared a list of five hundred and twenty-six persons by whom they 
 expected to be joined. Several detachments of men were sent secret- 
 ly across the Niagara, with instructions to assemble at Winchester's 
 Farm, in the region known as the " Short Hills," in the Township of 
 Pelham. They succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the volunteers, 
 who were patrolling the bank of the river, and reached their rendez- 
 vous in safety. They occupied a commanding eminence here, which 
 they rudely fortified, and spent eight days in efforts to beat up recruits 
 and in collecting provisions before their presence became actually 
 known to the officers commanding on the frontier. Their movements 
 were all accomplished by night, with the utmost caution and secrecy. 
 Winchester and several of his immediate neighbors were active sympa- 
 thisers, and the exact location of their camp could be ascertained with 
 difficulty. Reports magnified their numbers to one thousand or twelve 
 hundred, when it is scarcely probably that they exceeded three hun- 
 dred at any time. Their attempts to subvert the loyalty of the mass 
 of the inhabitants proved quite unsuccessful, and they were joined 
 
3T 
 
 only by a few American settlers, and a number ot dissolute characters 
 who were animated by hopes ot" plunder. A few days later "Colonel" 
 James Morrow, an American who was said to have some military ex- 
 perience, arrived, and assumed command, with Wait acting as next in 
 rank. A detachment of lancers advanced about the same time from 
 Niagara, to observe their movements, and an outpost was pushed for- 
 ward, and occupied St. Tohn's village, about three miles from their po- 
 sition among the "Short Hills." Having ascertained the strength ot 
 this isolated party and that they were quite unsupported, Morrow 
 advanced with his whole force and surrounded the village on the night 
 of June 1 8th. Fourteen of the lancers were quartered in " Overholt's 
 Tavern," a small wooden building, which they defended obstinately 
 until it was riddled with bullets, and preparations were made to set it 
 on fire, when they surrendered. A number of the insurgents had been 
 severely wounded in the assault.and the remainder were so infuriated by 
 the obstinate defence of this small party, that they determined to hang 
 them on thfe spot, and were only prevented by the resolute opposition 
 of their leader. Morrow, who risked his own life to save those of the 
 prisoners. The rapid advance of the remainder of the lancers, and a 
 volunteer troop of cavalry from St. Catharines, the next day, compelled 
 them to release their prisoners, and abandon their camp, and disperse 
 in every direction. Many of them succeeded in escaping to the 
 United States. A number were killed in the pursuit, and Morrow, 
 Wait, and fifty others were captured, and the former was executed at 
 Niagara, although a strong effort was made by his former prisoners to 
 save his hfe. 
 
 Apprehensions of a renewal of this attempt continued to exist for 
 several months, and the frontier was kept in a state of constant alarm 
 by the movements of small parties of filibustiers in the State of New- 
 York for nearly a year afterwards, but no actual attempt at invasion 
 or insurrection occurred. The progress of the district was seriously 
 retarded by these unfortunate events. Many innocent and loyal in- 
 habitants were arrested and thrown into prison on susi)icion at the 
 instance of their jirivate enemies. Every man distrusted his neighbor, 
 and many persons sold their property for whatever they could obtain 
 and emigrated to the Uiiited States. Those who remained, appeared 
 gloomy and discouraged. The Toronto Examiner stated that the 
 Province of Upper Canada had lost one-fifth of its population by 
 emigration. 
 
 However, brighter days were not far distant, and the revival of 
 prosperity was rapid and general. The work of improvement on the 
 Welland Canal furnished employment to several hundred men. 
 Numerous railways were projected, and in 1839, the Erie and Ontario 
 Company completed a line of horse-railway from Queenston to 
 Chippawa, through the Township of Stamford, being the first railway 
 in Upper Canada. The success of the Welland Canal in diverting 
 traffic and the steepness of the grades combined to make it an un- 
 
surccssful enterprise, and after a few years it reased to be operated. 
 More ambitious and more successful projects however were already 
 on foot. The Niagara was successfully bridged below the falls and 
 the Great Western railway extending from this Suspension Kridge 
 through the townships of Stamford and Thorold westward to l-ondon 
 was opened in 1854. About the same time the Buffalo and Lake 
 Huron railway was completed from I'Vjrt Erie, traversing the town 
 ships of Bertie, Humberstone, and Wainfleet, parallel to and at no 
 great distance from Lake Erie. Subsequent years witnessed the < om- 
 pletion of the Welland railway, following the line of the canal from 
 north to south through the townships of Thorold, Crowland, and 
 Humberstone, the Erie and Niagara, f)arallel with the Niagara river, 
 through Stamford, Willoughby and Hertie, the Canada Southern and 
 the Great Western Air Line traversing the northern portions of Wain 
 fleet, Humberstone, and Bertie, and most recent times have seen the 
 completion of branches of these latter roads, leading through the 
 townships of Crowland, Thorold, and Stamford to the Suspension 
 Bridge, until at the present moment the County of Welland is inter 
 sected in almost every conceivable direction by railways, and the 
 shriek of the locomotive is constantly heard in every (juarter. It is 
 also connected with the State of New York by lour bridges, the 
 International Bridge in the 'I'ownship of Bertie, near Fort Erie, and 
 the Cantilever Bridge and Upper and Lower Suspension Bridges at 
 Niagara Falls, all of which take rank among the most remarkable 
 engineering triumphs of the age. Remarkable facilities arc thus 
 afforded to all parts, of the county for shipping products of all kinds 
 to any part of the world at at a very moderate expense, beyond almost 
 any other part of Ontario. 
 
 In 1841 the first Municipal Council for the Municipal District of 
 Niagara was chosen and was composed of twenty-eight members, who 
 elected David Thorburn, of Queensttm, their Warden (presiding of 
 ficer.) In 1850, the Townships of Bertie, Crowland, Humberstone. 
 Pelham, Stamford, Wainfleet, and Willoughby, and the incorporated 
 villages of Chippawa and Thorold were erected into a separate 
 Municipal District by the title of the County of Welland with the 
 privilege of sending one representative to the Parliament of Canada. 
 Immediate steps were taken for the erection of County Buildings at an 
 ultimate expense of nearly $100,000 (^20,000) and for the drainage 
 and reclamation of a tract of 13,000 acres of marsh lands, situated 
 in the Townships of Wainfleet and Humberstone, which were ac 
 quired from the crown by purchase in 1854 at the rate of one dollar 
 per acre. The unincorporated village of Merrittsville, situated at the 
 point where the canal crosses the River Welland, was selected as the 
 county-seat, and its name changed to Welland. Considerable villages 
 had sprung up on the line of the canal, at Port Colborne, the Lake 
 Erie entrance, and at Thorold on the brow of the "Mountain," and 
 the latter had alreadj* been for some time incorporated. But as the 
 
33 
 
 of 
 
 10 
 
 of 
 
 tnc. 
 
 ;m 
 
 ac 
 llav 
 the 
 the 
 ages 
 ake 
 and 
 the 
 
 villages on the canal grew and prospered, those on the Niagara on the 
 old line of comtnunication between the lakes, Chippawa and Queens- 
 ton, declined correspondingly. The material progress of the C'ounty, 
 however, on the whole was great. The area of cultivated land was 
 largely increased, schools and churches were everywhere established. 
 The larger varieties of wild animals had be( onie nearly extinct. In 
 1856 a final payment of jQ\2 was made as a bounty of wolf-scalps, 
 and wild deer were scarcely ever seen even in the most unfre- 
 quented parts of the County, in 1857 the Village of Fort Erie was 
 incorporated within the Township of Bertie, and in the following year 
 the Village of Elgin at the Canadian end of the Suspension Bridge, in 
 the Township of Stamford, was incorporated as the Town of Clifton. 
 The Village ot Welland was also incorporated in the course of the 
 year 1858, and twenty years later was erected into a town. In 1870 
 the Village of Port Colborne was incorporated, and in i88i the \'il 
 lage of Drummondville, situated on the Lundy's Lane battlefield, was 
 incorporated by the title of the Village of Niagara halls. 
 
 The conclusion of a treaty of reciprocity with the United States 
 in 1854 was the beginning of an era of marked prosperity for the 
 County, which, although interrupted to some extent by the commer- 
 cial crisis of 1857, continued during the whole period of the Civil 
 War in that country. There was an abnormal demand for horses and 
 cattle, and all products of the farm, of which the inhai)itants of the 
 County of Welland were not slow to take advantage. During this 
 period the county increased rapidly in wealth and population although 
 considerable numbers of young men were induced by the love of ad- 
 venture, or the high bounties offered for recruits, to enter the Federal 
 army, and a number lost their lives fighting in this alien cause. 
 
 During the course of the civil war, the Fenian organization in the 
 United States had flourished, and its membership greatly increased. 
 A great number of trained soldiers were thrown out of employment by 
 the disbandment of the rival armies,manyof whom were already enrolled 
 as Fenians, and many others, adventurous spirits, who were ready to 
 engage in any cause. The Fenian leaders determined to direct their 
 first attack against Canada, chiefly animated in this design l)y the hope 
 of bringing about a war between the United Slates and (ireat Britain. 
 The city of Buffalo, at the foot of Lake Erie, was selected as the 
 principal base of operations, and the destruction of the \\'elland 
 Canal as the object of their first expedition. There were many 
 resident Fenians in Buffalo, and bodies of " Irish Rifles, " as they 
 were styled, had drilled openly there during the winter of iS65-6'6. 
 A large number of men could easily be concentrated there without 
 attracting much attention, and boats could be obtained for 
 transporting them into Canada without exciting the suspicions of the 
 officials of the American government. There were no regular or 
 militia forces within thirty miles of Fort Erie, and no opposition need 
 be anticipated to their passage of the river at that point. During the 
 
ii 
 
 34 
 
 .last week in May r866, bodies of men were observed moving 
 northward along the various railroads in the United States leading 
 toward the great lakes. These men, on being cjuestioned as to their 
 destination, uniformly replied that they wtre on their way to California 
 to work in the mines. Many of these parties united at Buffalo about 
 the 31st of May, and assembled that night at the various P'enian 
 headcjuarters in different parts of the city, many of them already 
 completely armed and equipped for war. ,\bout nudnight they 
 separated, but, instead of dispersing, they marched in small detach- 
 ments by various streets to the suburb of Lower Black Rock, where 
 a number of (anal boats and a steain-tug were ready to receive them 
 and tran.sport them across the river. A number of heavy waggons 
 loaded with arms and military stores were also awaiting their arrival. 
 Most of the men, who composed the force thus assembled for the 
 invasion of Canada, were veteran soldiers, and the passage of the 
 river was accomplished with the utmost rapidity and good order. 
 About one thousand men were landed by daylight under commandof 
 Clolonel John O'Neil, an officer who had seen co'isiderable service in 
 the Federal army during the civil war, at a point about two miles 
 below Fort Erie. That village was immediately occupied, and a 
 requisition for provisions made upon the inhabitants. A small 
 scouting party was pushed forward about six miles along the line of 
 the Grand Trunk Railroad to destroy the bridges, while the main 
 body moved down the river to Frenchman's Creek, where they 
 encamped. Foraging parties were sent out m every direction to seize 
 horses and cattle. They found most of the neighboring farmhouses 
 deserted by the inhabitants, who had removed nearly all their 
 domestic animals. A sufficient number of horses were obtained, 
 however, to mount the field officers, and a party of men detailed to 
 act as sconis. By this time the United States steamer Michigan had 
 entered the river and prevented the crossing of another body of 
 Fenians, which had assembled at Black Rock. Small unarrried 
 |)arties, however, continued to cross during the day on the ferry-boat, 
 which continued to make its regular trips between Black Rock and 
 Fort Erie. O'Neil remained (|uietly in his camp at Frenchman's 
 Creek, until about nine o'clock that evening, when he gave orders for 
 the destruction of two thousand stand of spare muskets, which he 
 had brought with him in the expectation of being joined by reinforce- 
 ments, and began his march in the direction of Chippawa. Upon 
 arriving at Black Creek, he again halted and encamped for the night 
 on the right bank of that stream near its mouth. At three o'clock 
 next mornmg his scouts brought information that four hundred British 
 regulars and a battery of Royal Artillery had arrived at Chippawa the 
 evening before, while eight hundred and fifty Canadian volunteers 
 were on the point of leaving Port Colborne at midnigh% on their way 
 to Fort Erie, by rail. O'Neil promptly determined to attack the latter 
 body before they could be joined by the regulars and artillery at 
 
35 
 
 Chippawa, and after allowing his men to breakfast, marched southward 
 to intercept them near the point where their advance would be 
 interrupted by the destruction of the railway bridge over Sauerwein's 
 Creek. 
 
 General George Napier, wh(j commanded the Hruish fore es in 
 Ontario, was informed of the Fenian invasion at I'ort l^rie early on 
 the morning of the same day, and four hundred of the " (^)ueen's 
 Own " volunteers of Toronto were at once desp;it(hed by steamer and 
 railway to I'ort Colborne, under Colonel J. S. Dennis. Colonel 
 Peacock, with two hundred men of the i6th Foot and two hundred 
 of the 47th, and a battery of Royal artillery under Lieut.-< !ol. Hoste, 
 was soon afterwards instructed to j)roceed to St. Catharines and lake 
 command of the entire force on the Niagara frontier, besides the 
 forces already mentioned, there were available for active service in that 
 quarter four hundred volunteers under Lieut. -Col. Currie at St, 
 Catharines, and four hundred more under Lieut. -Col. Hooker at 
 Dunnville. Upon arriving at St. ('atharines. Peacock was informed 
 that the Fenians were marching upon Chi[)j)awa, and that their scouts 
 were already reported within a few miles of that place, and being 
 anxious to preserve the bridges over the Welland river, he pushed on 
 immediately to that place, where he arrived at nightfall with the 
 regulars and the battery. He at once ordered the volunteers at St. 
 Catharines to join him there, and sent Cai)t. Akers, R. E., across the 
 country to Port Colborne to instruct Lieut. -Col. Dennis to meet him 
 at Stevensville, nme miles from I'ort Frie, at 10 o'clock the next 
 morning with the force under his command. 
 
 In the meantime, Lieut.-Col. Booker had arrived at Poit Colborne 
 with the volunteers stationed at Dunnville, and being the senior 
 officer assumed command. Learning that the Fenians were still 
 encamped near Fort Erie at dark, and reported not to exceed eight 
 hundred men, and having nine hundred men under his command, he 
 determined to advance at once and attack them in the., camp. Capt. 
 Akers on arriving at Port Colborne found the troops there already 
 under arms and embarked on the cars in readiness for an advance on 
 Fort Erie, and gave his assent at once to Booker's proposed plan of 
 operations. Dennis and Akers, taking with them the ^Velland Canal 
 Field Battery, fifty-seven otificers and men, Capt. Richard King, acting 
 as infantry, and twenty-five men of the 1 )unnville Naval Company, 
 Capt. Lachlan McCallum, then embarked on the steamer Robb and 
 proceeded to F'ort Erie to patrol the Niagara and cut off the retreat 
 of the Fenians. Booker, however, received a dispatch from Lieiit.- 
 Col. Peacock stating that he must adhere to his original plan and 
 meet him at Stevensville, and at dawn he took his departure from 
 Port Colborne, intending to proceed by rail to Ridgeway and thence 
 march northward to Stevensville. The men had been cooped up in 
 the railway carriages nearly the whole night and deprived of sleep 
 and had very little food, and were fatigued and impatient. They 
 
ir 
 
 III 
 
 arrived safely at Ridgeway, where they left the cars and began the 
 march for Stevensville, only four miles distant, at about 7 o'clock on 
 the morning of the 2nd of June. IJooker's force now numbered about 
 eight hundred and forty men, composed of the 2nd or "Queen's 
 Own Rifles" of Toronto, the 13th Battalion of Hamilton, and the 
 York and Caledonia rifle companies. Very few of the men had ever 
 seen a shot fired in anger. At the same time, O'Neil, with about 
 ei^ht hundred men, was advancing upon Ridgeway from the north 
 with the intention of intercepting them in their march. The forces 
 were nearly ecjuul in point of numbers, but the Fenians were chiefly 
 veteran soldiers, accustomed to bush fighting and ready for action, 
 while the Canadian volunteers were inexperienced, and exhausted by 
 want of rest and food, and did not expect to meet the enemy for 
 several hours. 'Ihey had not advanced, however, beyond a mile from 
 the railway along the Ridge road when parties of armed men were 
 seen lurking behind the fences and in the woods in front, and shots 
 were fired. Three <X)mpanies of the " (J(ueen's Own " extended and 
 forced back the Fenian skirmishing line (juite half a mile with little 
 loss. They rallied, however, behind a rude barricade of rails and a 
 low stone wall in the vicinity of a brick house and outbuildings on 
 the brow of the ridge of limestone, along which the road wound in a 
 south easterly iirection. The left of the Fenians rested on a tract of 
 woods, their right on an orchard and farmhouse on the edge ol the 
 ridge, while their reserve was j)osted in another orchard about three 
 hundred yards in the rear. After a smart action of .some minutes 
 duration, the Fenians were forced from their position and thrown back 
 on their reserve, and the volunteers advanced across the road, which 
 ran eastward towards I'ort Frie, inmiediately in rear of the Fenian 
 position. Vhr companies of the " (Queen's Own '" which had been 
 extended, with the exception of three companies on the flanks, had 
 been relieved by the 13th during the advance and were then formed 
 in close column on the Ridge road, four hundred yards in rear o^ the 
 fighting line. 'i'he University and Highland companies on the 
 extreme right had i)ressed forward a considerable distance into a 
 woods on the extreme right, and were separated from the remainder 
 of the .skirmish line by a large interval. O'Neil, finding his men fall- 
 ing back, rode forward to encourage them, accompanied by a number 
 of other mounted officers, and some of the advanced skirmishers 
 began to run to the rear, calling out to their comrades that cavalry were 
 coming. Ur)on hearing this cry, Booker hastily gave the comnvand 
 to prepare for cavalry, the bugle sounded the call, the " Queen's 
 Own " formed a scjuare on the road, the skirmishers ran in and 
 attempted to form rallying squares in the field ind finally fell back on 
 the main body in great confusion. The I"inians advanced and 
 poured in their fire with considerable effect, 'iiie ''Queen's Own ' 
 then attempted to deploy, but fell into confusion and the two bat- 
 talions became mingled together and began to retire, at first in good 
 
.> / 
 
 ch 
 
 he 
 
 he 
 
 a 
 
 ood 
 
 fifdef, l)ul filially in much IkisIc and riisordcr. I'lic ("oinpanics oil 
 the right were so far in advance that their retreat was nearly cut <.f1" 
 and they lost heavily in retiring. I'he retreat was continued to I'ort 
 Colborne, the detachment having lost nine killed and thirty-one 
 wounded in the action, but the benians did not pursue l)cy()nd Ridge 
 way. The loss of the l*'enians was nearly as great, and O'Neil 
 immediately decided to return to Kort Krie, about seven miles away. 
 
 In the meaniime, Dennis had arrived at l''orl l'>ie with his 
 detachment in the /\\)/>/> steamer, and found the I'enian (amp 
 deserted, and proceeded down the river as far as l>la<k C!reek. The 
 company of artillery was landed at I'ort l'>ie, and the surrounding 
 country scoured in all directions, and nearly sixty stragglers ( aptured 
 and secured on board the vessel. I'inding that (!ol. l?ooker did not 
 appear, Dennis determined to return to I'ort ("o'.borne, leaving the 
 artil'ery company to occupy l''orl ICrie. Before this design c:ould be 
 accomplished, he learned that the Fenians were again approaching, 
 and he landed with seventy men to oppose them. This small force 
 was scarcely formed in line in the principal street, near the river, 
 when the enemy api)eared in considerable numbers on the crest of 
 the high ridge in rear of the village, and began firing upon them. 
 One of the first shots that were fired wounded (j)l. liailc)', the second 
 in command among the Fenians, who was conspicuous on a white 
 horse, but his followers immediatel)' charged down the heights with 
 loud cheers, and easily drove the small party which opp(jsed them to 
 the brink of the water. Col. Denn-s and (Captain McCallum, with 
 about twenty men, retreated down the river, and ('aptain King, with 
 the remainder, sought; shelter on the wharf behind j)iles of cord-wood 
 and in the post-ofifice building, on the opposite lidc of the street, 
 where they were immediately surrounded l)y five hundred i'enians. 
 Here they obstinately defended themselves for a (juarter of an hour 
 until all their officers were wounded, and the building riddled with 
 bullets. In an unsuccessful attempt to force the doors, several of the 
 Fenians were wounded by bayonet thrusts, two of whom subse(|uently 
 died. Captain King, after being struck to the ground by a shot which 
 deprived him of his leg, emptied his revolver at the enemy who were 
 rushing in upon him, and flung himself into the river where he 
 narrowly escaped being drowned. The remainder of his company 
 then surrendered, having five of their number wounded. On the part 
 of the Fenians seven were killed or mortally iiurt, and nearly thirty 
 wounded. 
 
 As soon as the A'oM had landed the volunteers, she got under 
 way and drifted down the stream, when having picked up Captain 
 McCallum and fifteen others, who had escaped with him, she 
 ascended the stream, running the gauntlet of the Fenian musketry as 
 she passed the village, and proceeded to Port Colborne with the 
 prisoners. 
 
 While these events were taking place at Fort Erie, Col. Peacock, 
 
.^8 
 
 who had been joined early in the morning by t.ieut.-Col. Villiers, with 
 one hundred and fifty of the 47th, and eight hundred volunteers, 
 advanced from Chippawa towards Stevensville, where he arrived about 
 noon. The day was very warm, and many men fell out Irom 
 exhaustion. .A-fter marching ten miles, the column was obliged to 
 halt to allow the men to recover from their fatigue. About four 
 o'clock, having learned the result o"" the action near Ridgeway, and 
 the subsequent retreat of the Fenia.i.s, the march was resumed in the 
 direction of Fort Erie. Darkness having overtaken them while .still 
 two miles from that village, they encamped for the night in the fields 
 by the roadside. Their approach was observed by the Fenian 
 videttes, and O'Neil determined to recross the river as rapidly as 
 possible. During the night a tug, towing a large scow, came over 
 from Buffalo, and the whole force, with exception of a few stragglers 
 and outlying j)ickets, embarked, and got under way. When they 
 entered United States' waters they were detained by the steamer 
 Michigan, but released a few days later. Their conduct during the 
 invasion had been almost blameless. Horses and provisions were 
 freely appropriated, but they committed very tew outrages, and gener- 
 ally treated the inhabitants and their prisoners with uncommon 
 politeness. The next day Fort Eric was occupied by three thousand 
 five hundred British regulars and volunteers, advancing from various 
 directions. A few stragglers were shot, and a number of others cap- 
 tured, but the majority of the Fenians were beyond their reach. 
 
 In 1867, the townships of Wainfleet and Pelham were detached 
 from the electoral district of VVelland, and incorporated in the new 
 district of Monck for parliamentary purposes, while they still remaineQ 
 a portion of the County of W^elland for all other purposes. 
 
 In 1870, the county was again threatened with a Fenian invasion,, 
 and the frontier was occupied by large bodies of militia, but a crossing 
 was not attempted, and up to the present time the peace of the. 
 county has not again been disturbed. These attempts on the frontier 
 led to the formation of an infantry battalion of volunteers in the 
 County of Welland, (the 44th) which consists of eight companies 
 having their headcjuarters at Drummondville, Thorold, Chippawa, Fort 
 Erie, Welland, Niagara Falls, Stevensville, and Fenwick, respectively. 
 It numbers thirty-two otificers and three hundred and thirty-six men, 
 and with the Welland troop of cavalry, three officers and thirty-five 
 »nen, and the right division of the Welland Canal Field Battery, three 
 officers and thirty-seven men, constitutes the volunteer military force 
 of the county. The recent annals of the county have been compara- 
 tively uneventful. There has been a steady, though not a rapid 
 increase in wealth and population. There is a ready market for the 
 products of the soil in all parts of the county, and although there are 
 few very wealthy residents, there are few who are very poor. There 
 are at present three high schools and ninety-two district public 
 schools within the limits of the ('ounty of Welland, besides a county 
 
1^ 
 
 rtioclel-s<*hool, situated in the town of Welland, hnving a total annual 
 attendance ot' not less than six thousand |)U[)ils. The total annual 
 expenditure for educational purposes exceeds $60,000 •(^'12,340.) 
 
 In the year 1882, the remainder of the marsh lands owned hy 
 the county, were finally dis[)osed of Nearly $67,000 had been 
 expended in drainage and surveys, about $7,000 in litigation and 
 legal expenses, while the original cost of the tract was about $13,700. 
 making an aggregate expenditure by the county, on that account, o( 
 $87,700. Vhe total receipts from the sale of lands amounted to 
 $112,547, leaving an apparent profit to the county of $24,874, 
 or;i^5.io2. The ex|)enses of administration during the |)eriod that 
 they were in the possession of the county, were large, and would consid- 
 erably diminish this apparent profit. The totnl expenditure by the 
 county for all purposes during the six yeais 1879-1884, was $193,178, 
 of which $60,808 was fur the administration of criminal justice, 
 $41,174 for education. $19,335 on pul)lic bui dings, $14,735 '^" 
 bridges. $12,858 m support of the insane and destitute, and $15,200 
 in salaries. In addition to this, the various municipalities comi)osing 
 the county annuall\- expend for all purposes about $130,000, of which 
 about $46,000 is for scliools, and about $20,000 for roads and bridges. 
 The rate of taxation varies in townships, from a mill and a ([uarter to 
 four mills on the dollar, in incorporated villages tVom ten to fifteen 
 mills on the dollar, and in towns, from twelve to twen y mills on the 
 dollar. 
 
 The County of NVelland presents an excellent field for settlement 
 for persons with small ca; i.l. Improved farms may be purchased in 
 all parts of the county for from thirty to eighty dollars pt. acre. The 
 soil is productive and easily tilled. The flicilities for shipping all 
 kinds of produce are unrivalled, i'he public schools are numerous and 
 excellent. The rate of taxation is low, and the expense of living is 
 moderate. Building materials and fuel are still cheap. The proxim- 
 ity of the large City of Buffalo creates a ready market for cattle, poultry, 
 and the products of the dairy and garden. Manufacturers can obtain 
 abundant water-power in many parts of the county, which still remains 
 unutilized. 
 
 The vicinity of Niagara Falls is too well-known to require any 
 description here. The banks of the Niagara above the Falls, and the 
 shores of Lake Erie abound in picturescjue scenery, and are much 
 frequented by American artists. The interior of the county is slightly 
 undulating, and a jjortion of the township of Pelham is (piite hilly. 
 The soil is usually an alluvial, or clay-loam, var)ing from two to thirty 
 feet in depth, with clay subsoil. Water is easily obtamed by digging 
 or boring at a depth of from ten to thirty feet, and there are numer- 
 ous small streams flowing mto the Niagara River.or Lake F>ie. About 
 one tenth of the total area is still in woodland. The proportion of 
 irreclaimable swamp or waste is very small. Lands in nearly every 
 part of the county can be easily drained at small expense. A consid 
 
40 
 
 Gt-ablc portion of the townships of Stamford, Pelham, and Bertie, li^ 
 specially adai)ted to market-gardening, while the entire county has 
 been noted for the excellence ot its fruit since its earliest settlement. 
 The apple, pear, cherry, plum, and (}uince thrive everywhere, and the 
 peach is grown with great success in certain localities. The county 
 contains upwards of 240,000 acres, four-fifths of which are under 
 cultivation, and has at present writing a population exceeding twenty- 
 eight thousand. 
 
 Nearly one-third of the inhabitants of the county are of German 
 origin, but many of them are now thoroughly Anglicised in language 
 and in feeling. There are, however, many native Germans living in 
 the townships or Bertie, Humberstone, and Willoughby, nearly all of 
 whom have become naturalized British subjects. Nearly the whole 
 of the remaining j)oi)ulation are British either by birth or origin. 
 There are, however, a few Italians, a few Swedes, and a considerable 
 number of negroes, either fugitives themselves, or the descendants of 
 fugitive slaves from the United States. The Methodists form the 
 most numerous religious sect in the county, the members of the 
 Church of England rank next, after these come the Roman Catholics 
 and Presbyterians in nearly equal proportions. 
 
 ■ r 
 
41 
 
 The Township of Bertie. 
 
 This township is bounded on the north by the township of 
 VVilloughby, on the east by the Niagara river, on the south by I.ake 
 Erie, and on the west by the township of Humberstone. Its extreme 
 length from east to west is about ten miles, by about seven miles in 
 extreme breadth, and it contains nearly 36,000 acres. The surface 
 is very slightly undulating. A considerable height of land knoA^n as 
 the Limestone Ridge traverses the township in a south-westerly 
 direction from the Niagara river to Lake Erie, and divides it into two 
 nearly equal parts. A road winds along the summit of this ridge and 
 affords an agreeable drive. The land throughciut the township is laid 
 out in blocks containing two lots of one hundred acres each, with a 
 road running quite around each block. The township is traversed by 
 a number of small streams, the principal of which are Black Creek, 
 Miller's Creek, and Frenchman's Creek, falling into the Niagara river, 
 and the Two-mile and Six-mile creeks falling into Lake Erie. 
 Mounds of blown sand, varying in height from ten to fifty feet, fringe 
 the shore of Lake Erie, and are in most eases overgrown with shrubs 
 and trees, interlaced with wild grapevines and bittersweet. This 
 coast is annually visited by numbers of artists who frequently spend 
 much of the summer camping beside the lake. Point Abino, at the 
 south-western angle of the township, projects nearly a mile into Lake 
 Erie, and affords a tolerably safe anchorage for vessels of light 
 draught. It is chiefly composed of sand hills, some of which rise 
 nearly one hundred feet above the level of the lake, and abounds in 
 wild picturesque scenery. Thirty years ago this place was somewhat 
 celebrated as a ..ivorite rendezvous for professional pugilists from the 
 United States, being at that time almost uninhabited, and secluded 
 ,from observation. Many encounters took place here between noted 
 champions of the ring, among others a very furious contest between 
 Heenan and Morrissey, afterwards a member of the United 
 States Congress. The sand is valuable for building purposes, 
 and large quantities are annually shipped to Buffalo. There are 
 several valuable quarries of limestone and freestone in this township, 
 which are practically inexhaustible, and from one of which considerable 
 quantities of stone are shipped to the United States. A variety of 
 clay which is well adapted for brickmaking, is found in many parts of 
 the township, and is extensively used. Much of the soil is a light 
 clay-loam, mingled with vegetable mould, but in some parts a sandy - 
 loam predominates. It varies in depth from eighteen inchei to 
 
4'2 
 
 <<!v:'ral feet. About six thousand acres are still in wood-land. Oak, 
 ash, elm, beech, miple, hickory, and tamarack are most plentiful, but 
 there are m iny oth-^r varieties of wood indigenous to the soil. All 
 the hardy varieties of fruit are grown with success, and in certain 
 locilities, the pjach is found to thrive. The staple crops are winter 
 wheat, outs, peas, beans, barley, maize, buckwheat, potatoes, beets, 
 turnips, timothy, various kinds ot clover, millet, and the different 
 v.irieties of garden vegetables. Large quantities of hay and straw, 
 find their way every winter to the Buffalo market. There are three 
 considerable cheese-factories in the township managed on the co-oper- 
 ative plan. Large (juantities of butter, eggs, and [)Oultry are 
 purchased by hucksters from the United States, who traverse every 
 part of the township. Grapes, gooseberries, currants, raspberries and, 
 blackberries thrive everywhere and yield abundantly. Great quanti- 
 ties of strawberries are grown in various localities, and are sold at 
 from four to ten cents per quart (2d to 5d). Improved farms may 
 be purchased at from thirty to eighty dollars per acre, and rent at 
 from two to four dollars per acre. 
 
 There are three considerable unincorporated villages situated in 
 this township, Ridgeway, Stevensville, and Victoria, and it contains 
 six post-offices, thirteen churches, and fourteen public schools. Tho 
 village of Ridgeway is situated on the line of the Buffalo and Lake 
 Huron branch of the Grand Trunk Railway, about one mile from 
 Lake Erie and seven from Niagara river. It contains about one 
 hundred and fifty houses, with a population of nearly eight hundred. 
 There are three taverns, about twenty shops, a foundry, three planing- 
 mills, a grist-mill, a post-office, a town hall, a public school, and three 
 churches. It is a neat and pleasant village, prettily situated on high 
 ground. Stevensville lies about four miles due north of Ridgeway, 
 and contains about six hundred inhabitants. It is a station on the 
 Canada Southern Railway, and also on the Loop Line branch of the 
 Great Western. It contains two taverns, a dozen shops of various 
 kinds, a grist-mill, a saw-mill, a planing-mill, two churches, a public 
 school, and a post-office. The village of Victoria is situated on the 
 bank of the Niagara river at the Canadian end ot the International 
 Bridge, and has nearly seven hundred inhabitants. It contains the 
 car-shops of the Grand Trunk and Canada Southern railways, five 
 taverns, nearly a dozen shops, a grist-mill, a grain-elevator, a post- 
 office, and a Methodist church. It is connected with North Buffalo 
 by a ferry and by means of a car running across the bridge at 
 intervals. 
 
 In addition to the villages already mentioned, there is a consid- 
 erable hamlet at Amigari, adjoining the village of P'ort Erie, and 
 another named New Germany, one mile north of Stevensville. The 
 several lines of railway which traverse the township in nearly every 
 conceivable direction, furnish employment for a large number of men, 
 especially in the vicinity of the International Bridge, and there is in 
 
4.1 
 
 (^dnSequende a lafgd and increasing demand for the products of tfi^ 
 farm and garden within the limits of the municipality itself. C'onsid- 
 erable attention has been recently bestowed upon the cultivation of 
 small fruits with most gratifying success, and in the future grape-grow- 
 ing, especially, appears destined to attain large |)roportions in this 
 township. 
 
 The total population of the 'ro\vnshi[) of liertie is nearly four 
 thousand, and it contains real and i)ersonal property of the value of 
 nearly $3,000,000. In 1885 there were 1,400 horses, 1,700 hogs, 
 3.100 horned cattle, and 3,255 sheej) within its limits. There were 
 in the same year 971 acres of orchard and 4,100 acres sown with 
 winter wheat. It is the most populous and the wealthiest munici- 
 l)ality in the County of Welland. The Buffalo and Lake Huron 
 branch of the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada traverses the southern 
 part of the township, not far from Lake Erie, and has three stations 
 within its limits, the Loop Line branch of the same railway and the 
 Canada Southern railroad run side by sic^e through the northern 
 portion, and each have three stations m it. The Erie and Niagara 
 branch of the Canada Southern follows the course of the river in a 
 south-easterly direction through the eastern part of the township, and 
 has two stations in it. It is evident that the railway facilities can 
 scarcely be improved. Lines of telegraph follow all the railroads, 
 and there is another line along the principal road leading from Fort 
 Erie to Port Colborne, and there are two telephone lines runnini^ 
 through the township in different directions. ;_^, 
 
 -J vr ( . ;> • • k ■ 
 
 
 •*. ! 
 
 m 
 
44 
 
 The Village of Chippawa. 
 
 The incorporated village of Chippawa is situated on the banks 
 of the Welland river at its junction with the Niagara, about two miles 
 above the Falls. The French built a stockade at this place before 
 the conquest, and during the war of the American Revolution, a block 
 house was constructed, which was subsequently known as Fort Wel- 
 land. Its situation at the head of the portage on the left bank of the 
 river, caused it to become a place of some importance at an early 
 period, and a small settlement soon sprung up around the stockade, 
 which was usually occupied by a dozen regular soldiers. ' In the 
 spring ot 1814, a long line of breastworks and intrenchments were con- 
 structed by the first battalion of the 8th regiment on the left bank of 
 the Welland at this place, but they were abandoned by General Riall 
 two days after being repulsed in his attack on the American position, 
 near Street's creek, on the 5th of July, and the bridge over the stream 
 was destroyed. Colonel Allan McNab, when observing the move- 
 ments of the r^els encamped on Navy Island in December, 1837, 
 made this place his headquarters, and the rebels attempted ineffectu- 
 ally to destroy it by a bombardment. As long as the portage around 
 the Falls was used in transporting goods between Lakes Ontario and 
 Erie, Chippawa grew and prospered and bid fair to become one of the 
 principal centres of trade in the Niagara district, but the completion 
 of the Erie and Welland Canals, and the construction of railways, 
 sealed its fate. From that time the decline was sure, though gradual. 
 
 It was incorporated about the year 1850, that part of the village 
 lying on the right bank of the Welland, having hitherto formed part of 
 the township of Willoughby, and that on the left bank, part of the 
 township of Stamford, and contains upwards of two hundred acres. 
 It is a station on the Erie and Niagara branch of the Canada South- 
 ern railway, and is also a port of entry. It contains a grist-mill, a 
 distillery, a tannery, a post-office, three taverns, fifteen shops, a public 
 school, three churches, and a town-hall, and has a population of 
 upwards of seven hundred. It is pleasantly situated within an easy 
 walk of the great falls, and forms an agreeable place for summer resi- 
 dence. A fine view of the rapids of the Niagara above the falls can 
 be obtained from the vicinity of the village, and there is an excellent 
 macadamized road leading to the town of Niagara Falls. 
 
4t 
 
 The Township of Crowland. 
 
 The township of Crowland is bounded on the east by the town 
 ship of Willoughby, on the south by the township of Humberstone, 
 and on the east, north-east, and north by the river Welland, which 
 separates it from the townships of Thorold and Stamford, and is 
 navigable for vessels of light draught as far as the town of Welland, 
 in the south-eastern angle of the township. It contains 19,200 acres, 
 of which upwards of 15,000 are under cultivation. The soil is gener- 
 ally a light clayey or sandy loam, and is very productive. White, blue, 
 and red clay are found in some localities, and bog ore has been dis- 
 covered. There are saline springs of considerable purity in various 
 parts of this municipality. There are still about four thousand acres 
 of woodland distributed very evenly over the whole of the township. 
 The predominant varieties of timber are the white, red, and 
 swamp oak, the sugar and red maple, beech, ironwood, linden, 
 sycamore, and butternut. The first settlers came here Irom the 
 United States in 1788, but the first road was not surveyed until iSoi. 
 Two years later the first town-meeting was held and a census was 
 taken, and it was ascertained that two hundred and sixteen persons 
 were then living in the township. Wild land could at that time be 
 purchased for eighteen pence an acre. By 181 7, notwithstanding 
 the ravages of war, the population had increased to nearly six hundred 
 and land was valued at twenty shillings an acre. In 1848, the value 
 of land was estimated at four pounds an acre, and improved farms 
 are now worth from j^j los. to ^15 an acre. The township con- 
 tains three churches, seven public schools, and a post-office, and has 
 a population of upwards of twelve hundred, exclusive of the town of 
 Welland, which formerly formed part of this municipality. The small 
 village or hamlet of Crowland or Cook's Mills is situated near the 
 centre of the township on Lyon's Oeek, which flows in a north- 
 easterly direction through this municipality and finally unites with the 
 river Welland near its mouth. This place contains two taverns, 
 several shops, a saw-n->ill, a post-office, and a town-hall, and has about 
 two hundred inhabitants. A branch of the Canada Southern rail- 
 way traverses the township diagonally in a north-easterly direction 
 and has one station within its limits. The value of real and personal 
 property in Crowland in 1885 exceeded $700,000, and there were 
 800 horses, 1,200 sheep, and 1,300 head of horned cattle in the town- 
 ship in that year. The staple crops are the same as in the adjoining 
 townships, and there are many well cultivated farms in all parts of the 
 municipality, and the inhabitants are generally thrifty and progressive. 
 
^SBBH 
 
 4(< 
 
 The Village of Fort Erie. 
 
 ri 
 
 ' -'The incorporated village of Fort Erie is situated on the left 
 bank of the Niagara river, at the point where it issues from Lake Erie. 
 It is hounded on the east by the Niagara, on the south by Lake Erie, 
 and on the west and north by the township of Bertie, of which it 
 originally formed a part. The Algon(iuin name of this place was 
 ( Iraah-gah-geh, signifying "the jilace of the hats," a tradition saying 
 that in the early years of the eighteenth century an engagement took 
 place in the river between the French and Indians, in which a number 
 of the former were killed, and their hats floating on shore gave a name 
 to the place. In prehistoric times, there was evidently a large Indian 
 settlement in the vicinity, large ([uantities of stone axes, arrowheads, 
 celts, and fragments of pottery being found in the sand mounds, and dis- 
 tinct evidences still remaining of their being fabricated on the spot, from 
 materials that must have been brought from a distance. About the 
 year 1750, the French built a small wooden stockade, and established 
 a garrison which they maintained here till after Fort Niagara was cap- 
 tured by Sir Wm. Johnson, when it was abandoned and destroyed. 
 The place was immediately occupied by the British, who rebuilt the 
 stockade and constructed a dock. iJuring the period of Pontiac's 
 war, it was occupied by a detachment of the 60th rifles, or Royal 
 Americans, under command of a subaltern, but it was not attacked. 
 It continued to be held as a military i)ost during the American Revo- 
 lution, and until the end of the century, being usually occupied by a 
 garrison of about twenty men. About the year 1800, a terry was 
 established between the village of Black Rock in the State of New 
 York, and a point on the Canadian shore, about two miles below the 
 site of the fort, and by this route many of the early settlers found 
 their way into Canada from the United States. In the year 1808, 
 war being imminent between the United States and Creat Britain, the 
 construction of a stone fort intended to mount ten guns, was begun 
 on a height elevated about twenty feet above the level of the lake,and 
 commanding the mouth of the river. When the river-front was nearly 
 completed, and a stone mess-house finished in the interior, work was 
 discontinued, and the fort remained in an unfinished condition until 
 the war of 181 2 began. Earthworks were thrown up at different 
 points on tiie range of heights a few hundred yards from the water's 
 edge, with a view of contesting the passage of the river, but no effort 
 was made to strengthen the fort by the British during the first year of 
 hostilities. Artillery skirmishes were of frequent occurrence, and the 
 
47 
 
 Americans made an attempt to cross, which signally failed, and has 
 already been described {ante p. 17.) On the 27th May, 1813, when 
 General Vincent found himself obliged to abandon Fort George, he 
 sent an express to Col. John Warren, a militia officer, then in com- 
 mand at Fort Erie, with instructions to abandon that post and join 
 him with the force under his orders. Col. Warren immediately 
 opened a furious abandonment on the American batteries at Black 
 Rock, with a view of masking his design, which he continued until 
 dark, when the works were dismantled, the barracks burnt, ,.nd the 
 cannon disabled or thrown into the river, and he effected his retreat 
 without molestation. Col. Preston, the officer who commanded at 
 Black Rock, took possession of the place next day, and it was occu- 
 pied by the Americans until July of the same year. During the 
 autumn of 1813, it several times changed hands, but Gen. Drummond 
 finally occupied it in force in December, and began the work of 
 building barracks and repairing the fortifications with the intention of 
 establishing a permanent garrison there. On the 3rd of July, 18 14, 
 the fort was pusillanimously surrendered with its garrison of one hun- 
 dred and twenty-five men by its commandant, Major l{uck, of the 8th 
 regiment, to the American army under Gen. Bro. n, almost without 
 fi ring a shot, in the face of the remonstances of his subordinate officers. 
 The subsequent siege of Fort Erie and its evacuation and destruction 
 by the Americans has already been described at some length 
 {ante p. 7.) At this period, the village consisted of a cluster of twenty 
 houses in the vicinity of the fort. By 1857, the population had 
 increased sufficiently to enable the village to become incorporated. 
 Its growth since then, however, has been slow. The construction of 
 the International Bridge in 1873, at a point about a mile outside the 
 village limits, and the consequent removal of the Grand Trunk, and 
 Erie and Niagara Railways, seriously checked its progress. There 
 are about nine hundred acres included within the limits of the cor- 
 poration, which extends upwards of two and a-half miles along the 
 river and lake, and has a population of about nine hundred persons. 
 Tne village contiins a machine shop, grist-mill, a post-office, a green- 
 house, three meat-markets, four taverns, ten shops of various 
 descriptions, four churches, a Temperance-hall, and a drill-shed. It 
 is connected by a commodious steam-ferry with the Black Rock 
 suburb of the city of Buffalo. The picturesque ruins of Fort Erie in 
 the southern part of the village, and the adjacent groves on the shore 
 of the lake are annually visited by many persons. A summer ferry 
 has recently been established between Buffalo harbour and this poin', 
 and it is stated that in the months of July, August, and September 
 1885, it carried not less than 50,000 passengers. A magnificent water 
 privilege in this village still remains unutilized, and there are many 
 noble building-sites along the crest of the range of heights that face 
 the Niagara. Large quantities of fish are annually taken in the river 
 and lake and exported to Buffalo. A poultry-yard of considerable 
 
 Ir^J^ 
 
 I 
 
I 
 
 48 
 
 magnitude has been recently established, and promises to be very 
 successful. Much of the land in the village is particularly well 
 adapted to market-gardening, benig a rich alluvial loam, and vegeta- 
 bles and all hardy, and many subtropical plants attain an . immense 
 size in the open air. There is a ready and remunerative market for 
 all kinds of garden produce in the vicinity. 
 
 This village promises in future to become a favorite summer 
 residence for wealthy inhabitants of the city of Buffalo, situated 
 directly opposite on the eastern bank of the Niagara. A considerable 
 number have already purchased lands in the vicinity, and some have 
 erected houses. Many working-men employed in Buffalo have also 
 found Fort Erie a convenient and mexpensive place of residence. 
 
 ». , 
 
 ^0 
 
 .. . :} i ' 
 
 m 
 
49 
 
 Thh Township of Humbhrstonk 
 
 The townsliip ot Humhirsionc, like llio various other townships 
 f)f the ("ounly of \\'(.'Ilaml, (xciipics an extremely advantageous 
 geographical position. It is [)ounded on the north by the townshij) 
 of Oowland. on the south by l,akc Krie, on the eMst by the township 
 of Bertie, and on the we-st by the township of ^Vain^eet. The 
 surface of this township is level, being diversified only by the sand-hills 
 bordering on the shore of Lake ICrie, and the gentle swells and undula- 
 tions peculiar lo this and the adjoining townships. It is about seven 
 and a half miles long and six mik-s wide, and contains about 30,000 
 acres. 
 
 It was first settled in the year 1785, when land in the townshi)j 
 could be purchased for ten cents an acre. The earh settlers suffered 
 many hardshii)S. Provisions had frequently to i)e carried on the 
 back from Niagara and (!hippawa by Indian trails along the Xir"^ara 
 River and lake shore. Heech boughs and leaves were som. limes 
 cooked for food, and during one year in |)articular the settlers were 
 obliged to dig up i)um[)kin seeds after they had been planted and eat 
 them to keep themselves from starving. 
 
 Families made their own cloth and garmeiUs of Hux and wool. 
 J'armers made their (jwn plows and harrows. Pitchforks and other 
 implements were manufactured out of wood by the settlers them- 
 selves. In fact they made ncarlv everything they used. Among the 
 first settlers were I (jhn Near, who settled on Lot No. 2 in the isi 
 Concession. Daniel Knisley, Michael Sherk, John Steele, and George 
 Zavit/. Their numeious progeny still own and occupy a large portion 
 of the lands of this township, and are nearly all prosperous and thrifty 
 farmers. In 1817. the township contained seventy-the inhabited 
 houses, one grist and one saw-mill, and land had risen in value to 
 two and a half dollars an acre. In the jjresentyear, t886, it contains 
 a population of ^,700. exclusive of Port Colborne, an incorporatetl 
 village, originally forming part ot this township. There are now nine 
 English and two German public schools, and ten churchc^. Culti- 
 vated land is worth from twenty to eighty dollars per acre. 
 
 A ridge of high land on the southern side of the township runs 
 nearly east and west, parallel lo the shore ot Lake I'.rie, and within a 
 mile or two of the lake. 'I'he lands on one side of the ridge slope to 
 the north, on the other south towards the lake, until the picturesque 
 hills which border on the lake shore are reached. These iiills are 
 well timbered, and are fringed >viih tbresi iroc^ at their base, comj)ris- 
 
! 
 
 It 
 
 It 
 
 ing oak, ash, hemlock, cedar, linden, butternut, walnut, beech, and 
 whole groves of sugar maple. In summer these hills and valleys ring 
 with the melodies of the sonu birds, with whom they are a favorite 
 haunt. They are also tenanted with various kinds of game, such as 
 woodcock, partridges, ([uails, wild pigeons, snipe, squirrels, and rabbits. 
 Foxes, raccoon and other fur-bearing animals in limited quantities 
 also find shelter here. 
 
 The lake abounds with fish of nearly all the varieties four.d in 
 fresh water. Many of the inhabitants ot the cities and large towns 
 spend their summer vacation camping out along the lake shore among 
 these beautiful hills, enjoying the pure lake-air, and fishing and hunting. 
 
 The Fort Erie and Stonebridge road runs along the top of this 
 ridge. The road is macadamized and graveled nea»'ly its entire 
 length, and as it is the direct highway to the city of Buffalo it always 
 presents an animated a])pearance. A drive along it in summer 
 is always enjoyable. Even in the hottest days a cool and refreshing 
 breeze from the the lake generally prevails. Comfortable houses, 
 barns, and other farm buildings are everywhere to be seen. Numerous 
 fine orchards border it on either side. Many shade trees also 
 adorn both sides of the road in many places. Horses, herds of cattle 
 and sheep, grazing in the fields in quiet security, give an air of pros- 
 perity, plenty, and comfort that is unsurpassed in many older countries. 
 
 Petersburgh or Humberstone, sometimes also called Stonebridge, 
 is situated about one mile north of Port Colborne in the south-we.st- 
 erly corner of the township. It has a population of about seven 
 hundred inhabitants. The Welland Canal passes through the centre 
 of this village. It is an important station on the Welland railway. 
 It contains three churches, one public school, one Lutheran school, 
 a townshijj-hall, a Temperance hall, five hotels, a macliine shop, a 
 foundry, a saw-mill, a planing-mill and sash and door factory, two 
 cabinet-shops, three wagon and carriage factories, eight shops, one 
 organ -factory, two harness manufactories, four blacksmith shons, and 
 being surrounded by a good farming country, is in a very prosperous 
 condition. 
 
 A beautiful ridge of land runs in a north-easterly direction from 
 ':he village. A road traverses this ridge, called the Chippawa road, 
 and i? good nearly the whole vear round. Comfortable houses and farm 
 buildings arc seen on nearly every farm, surrounded by excellent 
 gardens and numerous fine orchards. Herds of fine cattle and sheep 
 may be seen pasturing in the adjacent fields in summer, and a drive 
 over this road in the month of September, 18S5, presented a picture 
 of prosf)erity and domestic comfort. There is also an undulating 
 strip of land extending along the eastern side of the township, which is 
 very fertile and [jroductive, being well adapted to agriculture and 
 horticulture, and evidences of thrift and prosperity exist among all the 
 farmers of this locality. 
 
 In the south western lornt-r v( the township. lUere are somevery 
 
a I 
 
 IS 
 
 fine farms, well adapted to raising grain and fruits. There is a lofty, 
 ronical hill situated in this part of the township, called the " Sugar 
 T.oaf," ui)wards of one hundred feet in height, having an ohservatory 
 built on the summit, from \vhi<h a fine view of the lake and 
 surrounding ( ountry may ho obtained. It has lately become a popular 
 summer resort. In addition to ( amping parties, and those living in 
 cottages, a great many boaiders arc accommodated at the neighboring 
 farmhouses during the summer months, and it is a favorite resort for 
 pir-nic parties. 
 
 The ( entral and eastern [)arts of the township, lying between th'- 
 ridges on the north and south side are very level. 'I'he soil is of an 
 excellent quality, being more or less alluvial, varying in (|uality from 
 black-muck to da)- loam, and produces heavy cropN of grain, hay and 
 roots. 
 
 'Vh< north-western portion of the township is considerably lower 
 than the remainder, and contains extensive marshes 'i'hese lands 
 form the source of Lyon's creek, which empties into the Welland 
 river, and thence into the Niagara, about two miles above the Kails. 
 Immense (juantitics of whortleberries and cranberries grow in this 
 marsh. There are about 3,000 acres of marsh in this township, of 
 which there are about Soo acres valuable for i)cat, which, no doubt, 
 will be, some day, manufactured and used for fuel. 
 
 Humberstone contains 5,671 acres of woodland, which consists 
 [)rincipally of the following varieties of trees, viz. : — ma[)le, oak, ash, 
 birch, linden, whitewood, beech, wild cherry, poplar, red and white 
 cedar, hemlock, hickory, butternut, walnut, pine, tamarack, elm, 
 spruce, butternut. This woodland is very evenly distributed all 
 over the townshiji, nearly every farm having sufficient for building- 
 timber and fuel. 
 
 The princi[)al products are wheal, rye, (5uts, barley, maize, flax, 
 beans, peas, buckwheat, timothy, various kinds of clover, potatoes, 
 beets, turnips, carrots, mangel wurt/els, all kinds of garden produce, 
 beef, pork, mutton, all kinds cf poultry, butter, cheese, eggs, apples, 
 pears, peaches, plums, rpiinces, cherries, grapes, currants, strawberries, 
 and other small fruits. There is a ready inarket for a large quantity 
 of this produce. Much of it finds its way to Buffalo, a large cit\ 
 about twelve miles distant across the Niagara River, in the State of 
 New York. The remainder is purchased by local dealers in nearl\ 
 every town and village, and shipped to various parts of the world. 
 
 Shipping sand from this township to Buffalo promises soon to 
 become an important industry. It is taken from the hills along the 
 lake shore and shijjped across the lake in can5i-boats, towed by steam 
 tugs, and is sokl on the market there for from one to one and a half 
 dollars per cubic yard. 
 
 There are three limestone (piarries in Humberstone. One 
 about a mile west of Port Colborne, another about a mile east, and 
 the third at the castc/n end of the township, about six miles east of 
 
5« 
 
 Port Colborne. These quarries are capable of furnishing an almost 
 iitexhaustible sui)j)ly of while lime of the very best quality, and build- 
 ing stone of any dimensions required. 
 
 The geological formation here consists of limestone and flint 
 rock, covered by an erratic deposit of sand, gravel, and loam, varying 
 in color, and in dejith from one to thirty feet. Plenty of the very best 
 of water can be had anywhere in this townshij) by digging wells 
 averaging from twenty to twenty-five feet in dei)th. The climate is 
 pleasant, healthy, and mvigoratmg. 
 
 The facilities for traveling and shipping freight are excellent. In 
 this township there is on western side the Welland railway, with three 
 stations. The Canada Southern railway extends through the north- 
 eastern portion, and has one station in Humberstone. The ]>oo|) 
 I-ine of the (Jreat Western railway, now amalgamated with the (Irand 
 T'nink, extends through the northern portion of the township, with 
 two stations in the municipality. U'he Buffalo and T-ake Huron 
 branch of the (irand Trunk railway traverses the southern side of the 
 township ; it also has two stations within its limits. The Welland 
 Canal also passes through the western portion of the township, afford- 
 ing every facility for shipment. There are good opportunities for 
 manufacturers of various kinds desiring to locate here, especially for 
 manufacturers of woolen goods, hardware, cutlery, glassware, &c. 
 The po[)ulation is at present ])rincipally engaged in agricultural 
 jnirsuits. 
 
?^ 
 
 Thf. Tov^n of NiAiiARA Falls. 
 
 The incorijorated town of Niagara Falls extends northward along 
 the bank of the Niagara river from a point immediately above the 
 cataract for upwards a mile, and is bounded on the north, west, and 
 south by the township of Stamford, of which it originally formed a 
 part. It contains about one thousand acres, and has a pojuilation of 
 above three thousand inhabitants. In the year 1.S46, this was selecteed 
 as the most favorable point for bridging the Niagara, with the inten- 
 tion of connecting the Great \N'estern jailway of ('anada with the rail- 
 road system of the United States, the channel of the river being here 
 comparatively narrow. A joint-stock company was accordingly 
 formed for that ]nir])ose, the stock being divuled nearl\ ecjually 
 l)etween residents of Canada and the United States. The tirst meet- 
 ing of the directors was held on the ()th of June, i<S46, and it was 
 determined in the first instance to l^uild a carriage and foot-bridge 
 only, which was completed on the 16th of .August, 1S52, at an 
 cxpen.se of $50,000. Mr. Roebling. the exgineer, was then instructed 
 to build a railroad bridge a short distance further down the river, 
 which was successfully accomplished, and on the 9th March, 1.S55, 
 the first locomotive passed over. The total cost of this bridge was 
 $500,000 (^Too,ooo). The railroad portion of it is now leased to 
 the Grand Trunk com|)anv for $50,000 per annum, and the stock 
 stands at a jiremium of twelve per cent. 
 
 In th' course of the year 1853, the population of the vie inity 
 had so much increased that a village was incorporated in the 
 immediate neighborhood of the two Suspension bridges by the name 
 of Elgin, in honor of the then Governor-General of Ganada, who had 
 recently taken up his residence at Drummondville. In 1856, the 
 l)eople of this village being desirous of extending their boundaries in 
 order to include the cataract and Table Rock, took advantage of a 
 large excursion which swelled the population of the village on the day 
 the census was taken, and became incorporated as the town of Clifton 
 on the 19th day of June in that year. In the year i8,Si, the name of 
 the town was changed to that of Niagara I'alls by special act of 
 parliament at the in.stance of the corjioration. 1 )uring the same year, 
 the town sejiarated from the county of Weliand for a term of five 
 years, owing to a disagreement with the county offic ials respecting 
 assessments, contributing, however, a certain p'-oportion annually to 
 the revenue of the county for judicial and other i)urposes. In the 
 year 1884, the Cantilever bridge was com|)leted and the Canada 
 
54 
 
 % 
 
 Southern railway entered the town. This bridge is located about 
 four hundred feet above the wire Suspension bridge. The distance 
 from cliff to cliff is at this point 860 feet, and the length of the bridge 
 is 910 feet from centre to centre, composed of two cantilevers of 395 
 feet 2 inches each, and an intermediate span of 1 19 feel 9 inches in 
 length. The towers are built of bracctl wrought iron and are 130 
 feet 9'- inches in length, Tand rests on pier> of niasDn work 39 feet 
 high and S inches in thickness. In addition to is. own weight, the 
 bridge can supjjort without strain, a fVcight train on each of its two 
 tracks at the same time, weighing one ton pii lineal foot, and each 
 drawn by a yfi-ton locomotive. The width (jt each track exceeds 
 thirt)-two feet, and the distance from the surface of the bridge to the 
 water of the river below is more than two hundred feet. The Canada 
 Southern railway, now leased by the Michigan (Central, traverses the 
 southern part of the Township of Stamt'ord, the (Irand Trunk, the 
 northern, and the l^rie and Xiagara, the eastern, and the town of 
 Niagara Falls is an im[)ortant staiit)n on all these roads. The value 
 of the j)roperty, real and personal, located in this town, is probably 
 not much less than .$3,000,000, and land is rapidly increasing in 
 worth. It is a very import ml railroad centre, hundreds of trains 
 arriving and departing daily. It is also an important jjort of entry. 
 
 "I'he town contains at present four churches, two public schools, 
 a commercial college, a newspaper office, three railway stations, with 
 e.xtensive car-shops and warehouses, many handsome hotels, and 
 upwards of fifty sho])s of various descriptions. The post-ofitice and 
 custom house are very handsome buildings. There is an e.xcellent 
 public market, well supplied with every description of nreat and vege- 
 tables, and a comnujdious town-hall. The town is growing rapidly, 
 upwards of seventy new buildings having been erected in the summer 
 of 1885 alone. 
 
 I 
 
55 
 
 ■ The Village of Niagara Falls, 
 
 <^^nnT^if '"/'"■''^'"u-^^ village formerly was part of the township of 
 Mamford from wh.ch it wa. separated in the year r88 \nd is 
 >eau , ully situated on the high 'groimd near whid the ba?t l of 
 Kundy's Lane was fought in the year ,814. It is lx,u ded on th^ 
 c-ast by the town of Niagara Falls, a narrow st of t 'rriton 
 ron.posmg part ot that corporation intervening betweU t ,nd ^hl 
 -Niagara river nc-ar the Cataract, and on all other sides b the tow sh p 
 <>t btamford, and contams about two hundred and forty acres Tt is 
 n many respects a nmdel village, and is mu<h fVequen ed I y summe 
 
 hadet?ees t^oK ^ "" "'" '''""'' "'''' ^'"-'^ -^th thriftv, young 
 r?^^ r^^' / .'^''^'■>" ''°"'" '^ surrounded by a small -arden or 
 
 nruch the soil is specially adapted, and evidences of prosperity and 
 comfort are manifest everywhere. The original name of this village 
 was Drummondyille, in honor of Sir Gordon iMii n ond who 
 commanded the British forces in the battle of Lundv's anebut it 
 was altered to the present one at the time of incorpora fon 
 w.thin ten minutes walk of Niagara Falls, and forms an e Sl'e place 
 o residence for those who desire to live inexpensively in he vie nit 
 of the great cataract. There is an excellent 'high school .^timted in 
 the village, a commodious public-school, surrounded b^rotrnds 
 which are tastefully laid out, and adorned with shrubs and ow?r? and 
 .naintained in perfect order. Three teacher, are employed and the 
 average attendance of pupils is not less than one hJnS ed and fifu 
 I 'le village contams three taverns, twenty shops of various kinds^a 
 l.rewery, a post office, and four churches, and is orowirrH dk I/, 
 present population is not much less than' one thoC 'and a houd 
 Its bounds are contracted, it ,)ron)ises some day to be a place of 
 considerable miportance. ^ 
 
 ->s^ 
 
Sf' 
 
 Thf, Township of Pelham. 
 
 "4 
 
 
 ill 
 
 ill 
 
 This muni<i[)alily is lioiindcd on the east by the township of 
 Thorold, on the south by the W'elland ii\er, whieh separates it Iron) 
 the townsliip ot' ^N'aintleet, and on the west and north bv various 
 nuinieipahties belonging to the ('ounty of l-incohi, and it eontains 
 29,o<S7 acres, nearly all of whicli are arable. The original settlement 
 began in the year i 790, and the early settlers were chiefly Quakers 
 from Pennsylvania and other ])orti()ns of the United States. On 
 the first of July 1792, a large tract of elevated land in this township 
 was devastated by a furious tornado, which felled nearly every tree 
 which came within its range. ^\'il(l lanrj was originally valued at 
 fifteen j^ence an acre. Uy the year iS i 7, the population had increased 
 to seven hundred and seventy-six persons, and the value of land to 
 forty shillings an acre. The great majority of the inhabitants were 
 Quakers and Mennonites, and were noted for their thrift and industry. 
 It contained one (^)uaker churc h, five schools, three grist-mills, and 
 five saw-mills at that period. In i>S5o, the population numbered 
 2,253, and the value of wild land had risen to three pounds an acre 
 and that of im|)roved farms to six pounds an acre. The number of 
 horses contained in the township at that time was returned as being 
 four hundred and ninety-two, and the number of horned cattle as 
 nine hundred and eighty-eight, while the rateable property was assessed 
 at ^3^5-227 13s. lod. 
 
 The surface of this township is much more diversified than any 
 other in the county of W'elland, the southern portion near the 
 Welland river being comparatively level, the central part gently undu- 
 lating, and the northern (|uite hilly, and in part traversed by that 
 range of rocky heights, known as the " Mountain,"' which extend from 
 the Niagara at Queenston to Burlington Kaj- on Lake Ontario. The 
 southern part of the townshij) is watered by a number of small 
 streams, tributaries of the Welland, while the hilly district in the north 
 is the souri e of the Twelve Mile Creek and other streams flowing into 
 Lake Ontario. There is also a marked diversity in the i[uality of the 
 soil in various parts of the municipality. In the vicinit) of Fonthill 
 and including much of the eastern half of the central portion of the 
 townshi|). there are seven thousand of the most productive and easily 
 tilled lands in Canada, being com|)osed entirely of a fertile sandy-loam. 
 Clay, clay-loam, and sandy-loam predominate in different parts of the 
 remainder. Nearly twentv-three thousand acres are cleared of timber, 
 the remainder aie still in woDdlaiiil, (Jiiefly composctl ut i.hchtiuit. 
 
57 
 
 jiiiu', oiik. I)i.'(.'<'li, iii;i|ili.\ and Uhuk and wliitc ash, and i^ distrihulod 
 Lijually o\lM" all ])arts ot the townslii]). \cail\ 5000 acres of winter 
 wlieat were sown in 1S.S4. and the prothict eonsideralily exceeded 
 130,000 bushels. I'hc average yield of this cereal exceeds twenty- 
 three jjushels an acre, and crops of fiftv and even sixtv bushels to an 
 ac're, in certain fa^■ore(l localities, have been fn-iiiientlv recorded. Ilie 
 average yield of oats exceeds lifiy bushels to the acre, of inai/.e, 
 forty-tive, and of |H)tatocs, two hundred, but the latter crop fre(|uently 
 reaches four hundred bushels to the acre. Turnips havi- l)een known 
 to yield 1,900 bushels to the acre. The ])rice of fanning land in 
 different parts, ranges from twenty to upwards of one hundred dollars 
 an acre. 
 
 'There are three considerable unincorporated \illages in this 
 township, Konthill, Ridgeville, and Kenwick, ea( h having nearly three 
 hundred inhabitants, and in fact the "Canboro" Road." which extends 
 through the central ])art of the municipality in an easteily direction 
 between Fonthill and Tenwick, presents the appearance of a 
 continuous village for upwards of six miles, the sides of the road 
 being lined with comfortable houses, embowered in orchards and 
 gardens. A portion of the village of St. Johns is also included in the 
 northeastern angle of this township, the remainder of the village lying 
 in the township of Thorold. Pelham contains two woolen mills, 
 three saw-mills, one flour mill, one cheese factory, four waggon- 
 factories, five post-offices, seven churches, and ten public schools. 
 'The range of heights in the northeastern portion of the township 
 contains almost inexhaustible (juantities of limestone and firestonc, and 
 there are four quarries and six limekilns in operation. The nurseries 
 of Messrs. Stone (S: Wellington near T'onthill contain upwards of four 
 hundred acres and are favorably known all over Canada, and in man\ 
 |)arts of the United States. A very good class of horses is bred in 
 this townshij), and many are annually exported to the Unitetl States 
 and Manitoba. .Much attention is also devoted to sheep-raising, 
 principally of the Leicester, Cotswold, and Southdown grades, and 
 the wool-product is large and of very good (luality. In 1885, there 
 were 1,200 horses, 175c sheep, and 2,200 head of horned cattle in 
 this municipality. The population of the township exceeds three 
 thousand, and the value of real and personal property is upwards of 
 $2,000,000. It is inhabited by a very thrifty, industrious, and 
 prosperous class of people, many of whom are in extremely 
 comfortable circumstances. 
 
5"^ 
 
 1 
 
 Ti-iH Viu.AOK uv Port Colbornr, 
 
 I Ll 
 
 Port Colborno is .situated in the county of Welland, on Lake 
 Krie, at the junction ot the Buffalo and (loderich branch of the 
 Clrand Trunk raihvay with tlie Welland railway. The distance frouj 
 Welland -the county town, is eight miles ; from Buffalo, N. V., twenty 
 miles : from riamillon. sixty miles. It is a floinishing place, and a 
 port of entry. Its [jopulation is 1,500, and it was incorporated in 
 1870. The Welland canal here strikes Lake Krie, by which route 
 large (juantities of grain are exported from the United Slates to 
 I'lurope. A large elevator is situated at this point, capable of trans- 
 ferring 6,000 bushels of grain an hour from vessels to the cars. 
 (Considerably tner half a million Inishels of grain passed through the 
 elevator during the season ot navigation in ICSS5. Port Colborne 
 harbor is regarded as one of the best on the lake, and within the last 
 lew years it has been deepened at an enormous cost, so as to admit 
 vessels drawing seventeen feet of water. On either side tne entrance 
 to the harbor is an extension pier. ui)cn which are built two well- 
 ctjuipped light-houses. A steam fog horn is also established on the 
 pier, capable of l)eing heard a distance of twelve miles. 
 
 Educational matters receivt; the attention which they deserve, 
 there being a large and etirtcient public school, in which are employed 
 one master and two assistant.s, and a Roman Catholic separate school, 
 employing one master. The public school l)uilding is a large two 
 storey brick edifice, surrounded by spacious grounds, which are well 
 shaded by the emblematic tree of Canada, the maple. The people 
 of Port Colborne arc justly proud of their public school building, 
 which, for beauty of design and the completeness of its etiuipiiunis, 
 is second to none in the count). 
 
 In religious matters it is (piile abreast of the limes. It contains 
 Anglican, Prcst)ylerian, Methodist, Baptist and Roman ( Catholic 
 churches, all of which are handsome structures. 
 
 I'rom a business stand|)oii t, it comjjares favorably with an\ 
 village of its si/e in the pro\ ince. Its places of business are numerous, 
 and many of them quite extensive, and include fifteen mercaiuile 
 establishments, two drug shops, two wagon shops, tour blacksmith 
 shops, seven hotels, one butcher shoj), one bakery, ore establishment 
 for the manufacture of apiary sup|>lics, one turniture shop, two book- 
 stores, one brewery, one grist-mill, one sash and door factory, one 
 lumber yard, —all of which have a fairly good trade. 
 
It has facilitits for shipping ihnt few pla( cs u\ its m/,: possess, if. 
 railway and water communirations f^iving it casv access to the centres 
 ()t trade, and should the company now drilling a well in the verv 
 heart of the village, in search of gas, procure it in siiftlcieni quantities 
 for manufacturing purposes, the business of the place would he ureativ 
 enhanced thereby. 
 
 As a summer resort it is rapidly gaining favor. Hundreds of 
 peoi)Ie from cities of our own Provinces, and some of the frontier 
 cities of the neighboring Republic, spend the heated season camninn 
 on the delightful shores of Lake Krie, in and around the villige 
 
6o 
 
 The Township of Stamford. 
 
 
 
 This townshij) is bounded on tlic east by the Niagara river, on 
 the south by the river W elland, \vhi<li divides it from the townships of 
 Crowland and \ViIlout;hby, on the west by the township and town of 
 Thorold, and on the north l)v the rountv of I-incohi. At the period 
 of its first settlement, it was called Mount Dorchester in honor of 
 Ciuy Carleton, ICarl of Dorchester, or township number two. and 
 received its present name from Lieut. -(iov. Simcoe, in 1792. It was 
 originally settled in 17X4 by about ten families who had adhered to 
 the Ikitish cause during the ,\meriran revolution. .\ I'resliyterian 
 church was built by subscrii)tion in 1791, and another c hiuch was 
 built in 1795 in the same manner, for the joint use of all denomina- 
 tions. There was at that time one resident Presbyterian clergyman, 
 supported by voluntary contributions, and several itinerant Nfetho- 
 dist clergymen, who preached once a fortnight, and occasionally 
 divine service was perft)rmed by an Episcopalian minister. The last 
 mentioned church was burnt b) the Americans during the war of 
 I. Si 2, together with many houses and barns, and the entire township 
 was re))eatedly ravaged by their foraging ])arties. 
 
 The soil i)rinci|)ally consists of clay and sandy loams, and has 
 everywhere been found well-adapted to the growth of wheat and other 
 cereals, and also for the production of all kinds of fruit, .\pples, 
 cherries, plums, peaches, grapes, strawberries, and other small fruits 
 are everywhere brought to great ])erfection, as well as vegetables of 
 every description. 
 
 This township (or parish) contains about 22,000 acres, 1,800 of 
 which are under cultivation, and extends along the Niagara river for 
 more than seven miles, including within its boundaries the sublimest 
 cataract in the known world, (the Falls of Niagara), as well as the 
 celebrated Whirlpool, which is formed by an abrupt turn of the river 
 around a steej) bluff of sohd rock. The water is here agitated to such 
 a degree that massive sticks of timber, and even trees, are whirled 
 rapidly round and rcimd and are finally erected almost on one end, 
 and disappear beneath the foaming waters. .Stamford extends nearly 
 two miles to the northward of the Whirlpool as far as the Heights of 
 Queenston, from whence a highway known as the Portage road runs 
 southward, passing through the villages of Stamford and Niagara 
 I"'alls to Chippawa,at the mouth of the river Welland. Lundy's Lane 
 (so named from one of the early settlers) is situated near the centre 
 of the township, beginning at the Niagara river, thence diverging 
 
6t 
 
 westward and passing over an t'lninenc e of ground on which the 
 battle was fought on the 25th July, 1.S14, between the British and 
 American armies. It is now lined on either side by comfortable 
 houses, surrounded by gardens filled with fruit of various kinds. The 
 soil here is sandy and very productive. Mr. Hopkins has twenty 
 acres jilanted with fruits from which he annually realizes about 
 $3,000 (^600). Mr. Harrison I'ew and others have been eriually 
 successful, frecjuently realizing $600 or $800 (^124 or ^164 i6.s.) 
 from less than two acres of land. Adjoining the village of Niagara 
 Falls lies the graj)ery of Walter Ker, Esq., who, in 1885, gathered 
 from two ac-es of land, nineteen tons of grapes, from which he real- 
 ized $900 or ^,186. Mr. Peter Wright sold twenty six tons of grapes 
 during 1883 af a price varying from $50 to $75 per ton, or ^10 6s. 
 to ;^i5 8s. Table fri:it is sent to market in fjaskets containing about 
 twenty pounds each, and covered with gauze ; wine-grapes are shipped 
 m hogsheads ; strawberries, ras|)berries, <:urrants, ike, in crates con 
 taining fifty-four cjuart baskets; peaches are placed in baskets contain 
 ing about two quarts and covered in the same manner as grapes. 
 The fruit is taken to the railway stations every morning about eight 
 o'clock and forwarded to Toronto, London, Hamilton, and Montreal. 
 .About Cne tons of fruit daily are shi|)ped in this manner from one 
 nuhva)- station in the \icinity. I'he fruit arrives in Toronto at about 
 no(jn, and is delivered to agents, who usually dispose of it withi'i ;i 
 few hours, and make weekly returns of the sales to the projjrietors. 
 The village of Stamford is situated on ihe Portage road, three miles 
 to the northward of l.undy's Lane. This was one of the earliest 
 settlements in the townshij). It contains three churches, three schools, 
 and a post-office, and ever\ villager has a garden filled with fruit and 
 vegetables. Mr. Robert Mitchell, a successful contractor and farmer, 
 resides here. His estate is known as Dufferin Farm, and contains 181 
 acres, 160 of which are under cultivation. He has thirty-two acres 
 planted with jjcaches, besides several acres devoted to the culture of 
 grapes and strawberries. In 1884, he threshed 3,000 bushels of grain, 
 and annually exports horses and bullocks to F.ngland. Mr. Calvin 
 Fmmet's farm, adjoining this village, consists of 218 acres, of whicli 
 r 70 are under cultivation. In 1885 he obtained 2.370 bushels of 
 winter wheat from seventy acres, and 5,000 bushels of turnips from 
 six acres. He annually exports fifty bullocks to Ensjland, weighing 
 about 1,400 pounds each. Mr. Dianiving's tanning factor}- is situated 
 near this village, t'rom whicl'i were shipped in 1885, 16,000 cans of 
 strawberries, 6,000 of pears, 6.000 of raspberries, 35,000 of maize, 
 25,000 of tomatoes, 13,000 of apples, and 15,000 of peas. 
 
 .\ macadamized road extends through the townshij) from the 
 Niagara river, a little to the southward of the village of Stamford, to 
 the town of Thorold and city of St. Catharines. This road is 
 extensively travelled, and is bordered by many farms in a high state 
 (>f cultivation. Mr, Ralj)h Kalar obtained, in 1885, 250 bushels of 
 
'i 
 
 n 
 
 63 
 
 wheat from ten acres, 720 bushels of oats from twelve acres, thirty 
 tons of hay from twelve acres, 700 bushels of mangolds from one acre, 
 eight Ions of grajtcs from thrci- a( res, i 25 ^'U^ht'l^ <>f aj^ples from six 
 acres, and sold 15,000 (|uarts of milk, from twelve cows, at four cents 
 a r|uart (2d.) Mr. j. H, Kalar obtained from twenty-two cow.s, 55,000 
 rjuarts of milk, in the same period, .Mr. J. Monroe obtained 860 
 bushels of winter wheat from twenty-eight acres, 300 bushels of t)arley 
 froiT) six acres, .^00 bushels of oats from six acres, 2,500 bushels of 
 potatoes from ten acres, 2,800 bushels of turnips from four acres, and 
 exported thirteen bullocks of m average weight of 1,400 lbs. Mr. 
 Soule obtained 7,^0 bushels of wheat from twenty-five acres, 500 
 bushels of oats from nine acres, go bushels of |)eas from three acres, 
 I, ,^60 bushels of wheat from five acres, 2,800 bushels of turnips from 
 four acres. Mr. John Law obtained 1,900 bushels of mangolds from 
 a .single acre. Mr. William J'arker obtained 215 bushels of barlex 
 from three and one-half acres. Many similar proofs of the fertility of 
 the soil could easily be adduced. Messrs. Hugh Mitchell and J. K. 
 Crawford are extensive breeders of Durham cattle. More thai two 
 hundred lat bullocks are annually exported to England from this 
 township. In 1885, there were 1,637 acres .sown with winter wheat, 
 and upwards of 80,000 bushels of grain threshed ; there were in the 
 same year nine hundred acres in orchard, and two hundred acres 
 planted with grapes. The population in 1885 exceeeded 1,900, and 
 the value of real and personal property was upwards of $1,500,000. 
 
 — ^Vlv-V 
 
 <<>- 
 
63 
 
 Thk Town oi- Thorold. 
 
 The town of Thorold is an incorporated town, situated in the 
 township of the same name, settled in i 769, at which time, and for 
 years afterwards, the place was known as "Stump Town." This 
 appelation was given, no doubt, from the fact, that the few settlers 
 had to hew out of the dense forest a place to locate. The many 
 stumps surrounding this, their new home, suggested the title. 
 
 However, as the place became populated, and the hamlet assumed 
 the proportions of a village, this early name was dropped, and the 
 present one substituted, coming from hearts, which wished to 
 ficrpetuate in their new home some of the names of the mother land. 
 
 The settlement became incorporated as a village in 1850, and as 
 a town in 1875. 
 
 The old \Velland Canal intersects the town and divides it into 
 about equal proportions, known as the East and West Sides. The 
 new Welland Canal separates the eastern portion into two other 
 divisions. Both these water highways provide unsurpassed water 
 power for milling and manufacturing, which has been taken advantage 
 of by enterprising men, who have built mills and factories, and 
 conducted thetn successfully for years. The town possesses four 
 large flour mills, three of which are classed among the best in Canada. 
 These are rim on the Patent Roller proces.s, and have an aggregate 
 rapacity of Soo barrels per day, and the product is exported 
 principally to Europe and Newfoundland. The splendid woolen mills 
 of the Thorold Woolen and Cotton Manufacturing Co. gives employ- 
 ment to a large number of hands in the manufacture of hosiery and 
 woolen goods of all kinds. The Thorold Felt Goods Co., an incorpo- 
 ration for the manufacture of strong woolen felt for boots, horse 
 blankets, paddings and linings of all kinds, where warmth and 
 durability are required, also serves as a factor in the prosperity of the 
 town. The Ontario Silver Co., which has a fine commodious estab- 
 lishmer t, keeps at work a goodly number of artizans in the 
 manutacture of silverware, nickel-plating, etc. In addition to these, 
 there are foundries, machine shops, saw-mills, cabinet shops, and 
 cement mills, all of which are doing a fair trade and contributing to 
 the growth of the town. Thorold also possesses very fine and almost 
 inexhaustible quarries, from which are obtained stone for building 
 purposes, water-lime and cement. The latter commodity is manufac- 
 tured by Battle & Sons, who have a very wide and good reputation 
 for their lemcnt. The town contains Episcopal. Presbyterian, 
 
■I" 
 
 
 64 
 
 Methodist, and Catholic Chinches. High, Pnbhr, and Separate schools, 
 with about 600 pupils, a Mechanics Institute, with a library of 4000 
 volumes, four [)ublic halls, two banks, a weekly newspaper, a street 
 railway,and telephone c onnections with all the citiesandprincipal towns 
 in Ontario. The Crand Trunk Railway runs through the corporation, 
 and the new line of railway now under construction from Niagara 
 Falls to Toronto, will also pass in and through the town, thereby giving 
 greater accommodation to shippers and ilic public generally. Thorold 
 is beautifully situated on the top of the range of " Moimtains," which 
 run from the Niagara river to the city of Hamilton, and commands a 
 magnificent view of the valley lying between the "Mountain" and 
 Lake Ontario. It has a population of 3000, and the assessed value of 
 the property is $640,000. 
 
 f 
 
 ~^-« 
 
 « t 
 
65 
 
 The Township of Thorold, 
 
 This township is bounded on the east by the township of Stam- 
 ford ; on the south by the river Welland, which separates it from 
 the townships of Crowland and VVainfleet; on the east by the township 
 of Pelham, and on the north by the county of Lincoln. It contains 
 up .\'ards of twenty-five thousand acres, of which above twenty-three 
 thousand are under cultivation. The first settlement began in the 
 year 1787, when several families emigrated into the township from the 
 United States. Wild land at that time could be purchased for seven 
 pence an acre. In 1817, the population of the township, which then 
 included the settlement which has since become the town of Thorold, 
 and a part of the territory now occupied by the town of Welland, was 
 estimated at eight hundred and thirty, and there was one Quaker 
 church, but no schools. A small settlement had already been formed 
 near St. Johns, where there was a g»-ist-mill and a saw-mill, but Ihe 
 remaindei of the townshij) was sparsely settled. The Welland canal 
 traverses the township from north to south, passing through the 
 villages of Port Robinson and Alianburg and affording excellent 
 facilities for shipment by water. The Welland railway also passes 
 through the municipality, nearly parallel to the canal, while a branch 
 air-line diverges eastward from Alianburg junction to Niagara 
 Fall?. The Grand Trunk railway, as has been already noticed on a 
 former page, passes through the town of Thorold, and the Toronto 
 and Niagara railway, now in process of construction, will add 
 inaterially to the shipping facilities of this township. The greater 
 part of the village of St. Johns is situated in the north-westt^rn part of 
 this municipality. It is picturesquely located on high ground, on the 
 banks of the Twelve- Mile creek. It contains a [^rist-mill, a woolen- 
 mill, a post-office, a public school, three churches, and several shops, 
 and has nearly two hundred inhabitants. Alianburg is a station on 
 the Welland railway, and contains two taverns, a number of shops, 
 two churches, a post-office, and a public school, and hai about the 
 same number of inhabitants. Port Robinson is a station on the 
 ^Velland railway, anc 1 port of entry. The Welland river passes 
 
 through the village, which contains two taverns, 
 docks, a post-office, three churches, a public 
 general stores and shops of various kinds, and 
 more than four hundred. 
 
 The population of this township considerably exceeds two 
 thousand persons. The surface of the country is nearly level, .Qf 
 
 two mills, two dry- 
 school, and several 
 has a population of 
 
f 
 
 f 
 
 k 
 
 I 
 
 66 
 
 gently undulating. The soil is generally a clayey or sandy loam, 
 mingled in some parts with gravel or alluvium. In 1885 there were 
 807 acres in this municipality in orchard or garden, and 2,211 sown 
 with w'.p^er wheat. There were in the same year 816 horses, 1,268 
 sheep-, and 1,847 horned cattle owned in the township, and the 
 aggregate value of real and personal property was not much less than 
 $1,500,000. The land throughout the township is usually very pro- 
 ductive, and much of it is in a high state of cultivation. 
 
The Township of Wainfleet. 
 
 This municipality is bounded on the east by the township of 
 Humberstone, on the south by I-ake Erie, on the west by the county 
 of Haldimand, and on the north bv the river Welland, which separates 
 it from the township of Gainsborough, in the county of Lincoln, and 
 the townships of Pelham and I'horold. It is irregular in shape, its 
 southern front on Lake Erie being about nine miles in length, while 
 its northern boundary extends along the Welland river for nearly 
 twenty miles, while its average breadth is nearly eight miles. It 
 is the largest municipality in the county, containing nearly 51,000 
 acres. The original settlement did not coir.mence until 1800, when 
 a few families from New Jersey settled in the southern part of the 
 township near the shore of Lake Erie In 181 7, it contained seventy- 
 two inhabiied houses, and had an estimated population of four 
 hundred and sixty persons. There was one saw-mill in the township 
 at that time, but no churches, schools, or grist-mills. Very little land 
 was cleared, and the greater part of the township was an almost 
 impenetrable marsh, the haunt of wolves, deer, and other wild animals. 
 
 The Welland canal feeder from the Grand river passes diagonally 
 in a northeasterly direction through the entire length of the township, 
 affording unrivalled facilities for shipment by water, and aiding 
 materially in the settlement of the adjacent country. The Buffalo 
 and Lake Huron branch of the Clrand Trunk railway traverses the 
 southern portion of the township, parallel to and about a mile distant 
 from Lake Erie, and has one station in it. The Loop Line Sranch of 
 the Great Western railway, now amalt^amated with the Grand Trunk, 
 and the main line of the Canada Southern pass longitudinally through 
 the northern part of the municipality, and each has two stations 
 within its limits. The northern portion of the township is watered by 
 the Forks, Little Forks, and Oswego creeks, tributaries of the Welland. 
 The surface of the countr\ usually is very flat, but in some parts 
 gently modulating. The soil, near the shore of Lake Erie and in the 
 extreme western and northwestern portions of the township, is 
 commonly a clay-loam, but in the marshy distri'.ts it is composed of 
 "black muck," or alluvium of unsurpassed fertility. Much of this 
 original marsh has already been drained and converted into some of the 
 most productive farming land in Canada,buttherestill remain 5,4 i3acres 
 of swamp, very little of which is irreclaimable. 'I'hirty-five thousand 
 acres are now under cultivation and there are ten thousand acres of 
 woodland, much of which is well timbered with pine, tamarack, oak, 
 
f.KS 
 
 
 beech, and maple, and is very valuable. In 1885, there were 4,083 
 acres sown with winter wheat, and the product of that year exceeded 
 one hundred thousand bushels. The average yield of wheat in all 
 parts of this township exceeds twenty bushels to the acre; that of 
 oats will exceed thirty, and maize (shelled) forty, while the yield of 
 potatoesvaries from one hundred to four hundred bushels to the acre. 
 There is a large deposit of valuable lime-stone in the municipality, 
 and there are two stone (]uarries and one large lime-kiln in operation. 
 There are five post-offices, five rnilwiiy stations, three saw-mills, one 
 flour-mill, two cheese factories, seven churches, and twelve public 
 schools in this township, and the population is nearly three thousand. 
 Lumbering is still carried on to a considerable extend in favorable 
 seasons, and large quantities of cordwood are annually shipped to the 
 neighboring towns by the canal feeder, which furnishes cheap and 
 expeditious communication between the heart of the township and the 
 centres of trade. Marshville, situated on the "feeder " near the centre 
 of the township, is the only village in the municipality. It contains 
 a tavern, a flour mill, a post-office, a township hall, a public school, 
 an Episcopalian church, and several shops. The general fertility of 
 the soil and easy communication with the outside world will combine 
 to make this township in the future one of the most populous and 
 prosperous in the county. Horse-breeding and cattle-raising promise 
 to attain large proportions, and the township is inhabited by a thrifty 
 and industrious class of settlers, chiefly of Irish or Scotch extraction. 
 
6/if 
 
 
 The Town of Welland. 
 
 The town of Welland, which is composed of parts of the town- 
 ships of Crowland and Thorold, and situated uf)on the Welland or 
 Chipjjawa river, was settled as early as 1788 hy the " United luiipire 
 Loyalists," who, about the year 1830, obtained patents from the Crown 
 for the lands they orcu])ied. At this early diite it was a wilderness, 
 with only bridle paths leading to and from the different settlements. 
 What was then known as the Chippawa creek wound its silvery way, 
 
 '"O'erhung with swingiiiij hriiiiclies 
 Of tlie i<iant forest treos," 
 
 its banksand the surrounding country covered with towering pines, giant 
 oaks, broad spreading elms and maples, soon attracted the atten- 
 tion of settlers, and what was a wilderness soon became well cultivated 
 farms, and the settlement a centre of trade. 
 
 In the year 1824, the late Hon. VVm. Hamilton Merritt projected 
 the old Welland canal, and on Nov. 30th of that year the first sod was 
 turned by the late (ieorge Keefer, P2sq., and soon "the sharp rattle of 
 the axes hewing and carving their way through the old woods, the 
 unceasing hammering of picks on the banks, the crash of falling trees, 
 mingled occasionally with loud explosions of gunpowder, broke the 
 ancient silence of the forest," and on the 27th of November, 1829, the 
 first vessels passed through the canal, which was destined to carry a 
 la^-ge share of the wealth and commerce of the west. At Welland the 
 waters of the canal were carried across the Chippawa river by what 
 was known as the old wooden aqueduct, and for a number of years 
 the settlement was te med the "Aqueduct,"' and rapidly grew in 
 importance, the canal affording water-power for mills, factories, &c. 
 
 In the year 1842, the Government took possession of the canal, 
 and finding that the old canal did not meet the requirements of the 
 country, commenced its enlargement, a fine stone aqueduct taking 
 the place of the old wooden structure at Welland. 'i'he settlement 
 had now become an important village, and was named Merrittsville 
 in honor of the Hon. VVm. Hamilton Merritt 
 
 In 1856 the united counties of Lincoln and Welland were 
 separated by proclamation, and shortly after Merrittsville was chosen 
 the capital of the county. 
 
 It was at this time that the village commenced to improve 
 rapidly ; its prosperity has never departed, and at the present time 
 (Jan., 1886), it has a population of nearly three thousand people. 
 
 In this town are situated the court house and jail, registry office, 
 
70 
 
 i; 
 
 I 
 
 surrogate office, tountv high school, <.(junty iwodel school tor tht 
 training of tiMchcrs. three common schools, seven churches, belonging 
 to different denominations, commodious public halls, a Mechanics" 
 Institute, with a good library; hnndsonu- private residences, a number 
 of fine brick stores and hotels, several large mills and manufactories 
 of various kinds, such as roller flour mills, iron works, boiler 
 works, et(-. The High School. Orient Hall, i\\v\ the Methodist 
 Church are particularly handsome edifices. There are many tasteful 
 private residences in the outskirts of the town. There arc also two 
 extensive prmting offices in the town of Welland, that of Mr. J. J. 
 Sidey, who is editor and proprietor of the "Tribmie," a weekly news- 
 paper, r.iberal in politics; and that of Messrs. Sawle tS: Snartt, who 
 publish the ''Telegraph " (Conservative), and "Der Deutscher Tele- 
 graph,'' and the "Enterprise." Roth of these offices do an extensive 
 business. There is an efficient fire department, and the river and 
 canal are s|)anned b\ massive iron swing bridges. The canal is 
 carried over the river by a new massive stone aqueduct, large enough 
 to carry the commerce of the entire west. 
 
 As a centre of trade. Welland offers many advantages, and is 
 unsurpassed by very lew towns or cities in Canada, situated as it is 
 upon the greatest ship canal in America, with unlimited and unex- 
 celled water power for manufacturing purposes ; having two great 
 systems of railways passing through it — the Grand Trunk of Canada 
 and the Canada Southern, — every facility is offered the travelling 
 public and shippers, for quick transit at low rates. It is surrounded 
 with rich agricultural lands and large fruit farms, which produce 
 largely, and find a ready market. The largest fruit nursery in Canada 
 is situated within a few miles, and has Welland for its post-office. 
 
 The County Agricultural Society hold their meetings here, and 
 have a large fair ground, with ample buildings upon it. 
 
 Welland, thus well situated, with liberal inducements offered to 
 manufacturers, will no doubt become a large commercial town, and 
 probably within a few years become one of the principal manufacturing 
 cities of Canada. 
 
 
 
 ^^f^Pf' 
 
■ 
 
 71 
 
 The Township of Wh.loughby. 
 
 to 
 
 11'' 
 'ft 
 
 This municipality is bounded on the east by the Niagara river, 
 on the south by the township of Bertie, on the west by the township 
 of Crowland, and on the north by the river Welland, separating it from 
 the township of Stamford. It is the smallest township in the county, 
 containing only 18,738 acres, of which 3,575 are still in woodland. 
 The original settlement began m 1784, when about ten families of 
 " United Empire Loyalists " took up their residence on lands granted 
 to them by the Crown, under the supervision of the officer command 
 ing the garrison at Niagara. The township was subsequently surveyed 
 in the year 1787, when wild land could be purchased for a shilling an 
 acre. The early settlers invariably made their homes near the 
 Niagara river, along the bank of which a road wound following the 
 curves of the stream, from Chippawa to Fort Erie. During the war 
 of 1812, these settlements were repeatedly ravaged by the invaders, 
 many houses destroyed, and the inhabitants impoverished. The 
 large and impenetrable tamarack swamp which traversed the township 
 longitudinally in a northeasterly direction near the centre, and 
 divided it into two long, narrow halves, rendered the settlement of 
 the country in the interior slow and difficult, and, in 181 7, we find 
 that Willoughby, including the principal part of the present village of 
 Chippawa, contained only sixty-three inhabited houses vith a 
 probable permanent population of a little more than t.iree 
 hundred persons, and there was no church and but one 
 school. A small settlement was soon afterwards forned 
 in the northwest angle of the township, from which a 
 narrow road followed the windings of Lyons' creek to the 
 village of Chippawa, and for many years, formed the only means of 
 communication between the riverfront and the interior of the town 
 ship. About 1830, a number of German families-emigrated into the 
 township, and being thrifty and industrious, soon acquired small 
 farms and created comfortable homes. During McKenne's rebellion, 
 the township was threatened by invasion, and marauding parties from 
 Navy and Grand Island frequently landed and plundered houses near 
 the river. Travellers were fired at, and as the road along the river 
 formed the only highway in the township, leading from north to south, 
 traffic of all kinds almost ceased. Several persons were injured and 
 a few killed, and many houses damaged by the bombardment from 
 Navy Island. The progress of the country was seriously retarded by 
 these unfortunate events. In 1850. the population of the township, 
 
I 
 
 i 
 
 ' 7« 
 
 still including Chippawa, numbered nine hundred and fiftv, and there 
 was as yet but a single road traversing the "tamarack swamp." Land 
 was valued at twenty-five shillings an acre. Since that date, the 
 progress of the municipality in wealth and comfort, has been very sat- 
 isfactory. Roads have been opened and improved, the greater part 
 of the swamp has been drained and converted into fields of unsur- 
 passed fertility, churches have been built, and schools founded. The 
 area of undrained marsh has been reduced to three hundred and sixty 
 acres, and it is probable that in the course of a very few years much 
 of this will be reclaimed. 
 
 VViJloughby extends along the west shore of the Niagara river for 
 upwards of seven miles. The land near the river is level, and the 
 prospect from tlie road, which winds along the bank, and is usually 
 elevated several feet above the water, is extremely agreeable, 
 especially in an early summer morning when the sun is rising over the 
 trees on the islands in the river. The river-side is bordered by com- 
 fortable homes seated among orchards and v,-ell-cu'tivated gardens, and 
 boat-houses line the shore. The soil is principally a rich loam, 
 although clay predominates in some parts ot the township. The 
 Lyons' creek with its principal tributary, the Tee creek, traverses the 
 western and northern sides of the township, winding along from the 
 southwest angle till it falls into the Welland near the village of Chip- 
 pawa, in the northeastern corner of the municipality. Ussher's or 
 Street's creek takes its rise in a swamp in the northwest angle, and 
 meanders in a northwesterly direction through the centre of the town- 
 ship, until it falls into the Niagara abo'Jita mile south of the village of 
 Chippawa. On the plain near the mouth of this creek, and between 
 it and the village of Chippawa, an engagement was fought on July 5th, 
 1814, between the British army under General Riall, and the Ameri- 
 • an army under General Brown, which is known as the battle of 
 Chippawa. Black Creek, which has its origin in the township of 
 Bertie, falls into the Niagara in the southeastern part of this township. 
 Navy Island, in the Niagara river, is included in Willoughby. It lies 
 nearly half a mile from the western shore of the river, and contains 
 about three hundred acres, one hundred and fifty of which are in 
 orchard. .Apples, peiirs, plums, peaches, and grapes are cultivated 
 with gratifying success, and many tons of fruit annually exported. 
 
 In 1885, there were 1887 acres sown with winter wheat m 
 ^Villoughby. and 'nearly 50,000 bushels threshed. Mr. Geo. Weaver 
 obtained 320 bushels from eight acres, Mr. Joseph Snider 2 74 bushels 
 from eight acres, Mr. Peter Shisler 630 bushels from eighteen acres. 
 Other cereals are equally successful, and root-crops are not less 
 productive. Mr. Snider obtained 720 bushels of oats from fifteen 
 acres, Mr. Shisler 700 bushels of turnips from one acre, and 500 
 bushels of mangolds from three-quarters of an acre, Mr. Ives, 700 
 bushels of potatoes from three acres. Mr. A. McGeorge and others 
 annually export a number of fat c^ttl?. There are 234 acres of 
 
: 73 
 
 orchard in the township, and in 1885, it contained 62'> horses , ,A« 
 
 t^ok:^'^uT'' r^"'^"' '-^"^ '^'' ^ population c^ceeZg '00 
 persons. I has six churches, six public schools, one roller arist n HI 
 
 two saw Mi.lls, one planing-mili, several waggon-factSries LK^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 shcps, and genera stores Mr \v v -r ' "^-^^^ries, oiacksmith 
 
 village of cippawa r,he \t^nnncl\f;cr ™ot<?o?Th'.7'' "?' '^ 
 .-oun.y, and does an extensive trade Tl ^ U'eHnnd r ver I' h f" """ 
 the northern bot,ntlaryof the township is na ^il^e tCn^.Ve 2^3' 
 as well as the Nmgara, which forms ils eastern limi The FH e^nd 
 
 STor^hr^o:i,:x^r™ttrt7rs^^