Lands in Upper Canada

Clicking on the image below with enable you to zoom in on this advertisement for settlement, printed in 1835 in London, England.

Some excerpts from the advertisement include:

"The ordinary baggage of Emigrants consists of their wearing apparel, with such bedding, and utensils for cooking, as may be required on the voyage, and any articles of clothing, not intended to be used at sea, ought to be packed in water-tight cases or trunks, not exceeding eighty or ninety pounds in weight."

"The class of persons chiefly required in Upper Canada, and who, of course, will find it best suited to their purposes, are small Capitalists, Farmers, Mechanics, and Labourers."

Sources
Toronto Public Library Digital Archive 2014, "Lands in Upper Canada"

Mill Creek

The confluence of Mill Creek and the Grand River is where William Dickson and Absalom Shade first decided to begin the settlement that would eventually become Galt, and later Cambridge. For some reason Mill Creek is plainly visible in Google Maps... but disappears once it hits Main Street in the Satellite view. Is it there or isn't it?

It turns out that Mill Creek was in fact there in a very big way, and still is. It has simply been altered over time to suit the needs of those developing the area since the early nineteenth century. Today, the creek has simply been diverted underground to accommodate a more modern way of living - one that's not as dependant on the productivity of mills and water-powered factories, etc. The following two images are part of a series of six completed by PLANT Architect Inc. in Toronto, Ontario. I encourage you to visit their site to see all of the maps in sequence.

In an upcoming blog I'll be detailing the importance and inner working of various mills in the Galt area; so stay tuned! In the meantime, feel free to browse the Further Reading links provided.

Sources

PLANT Architect Inc. 2012, "Mill Creek Galt"

Google Maps, 2014, "Cambridge"

Further Reading

Grand River Conservation Authority, 2014, "Low Water Response: Mill Creek"

April Souwand and Derek Coleman, A Natural History of Cambridge, Ontario

The Township of North Dumfries, 2014, "History"

You Were Here

It is only natural that when presented with a map - any map - one will always look for a familiar place name or feature. Being able to place oneself somewhere within the map's borders makes it more relevant. It also makes it more exciting. I recently came across this map of Galt, produced in 1861, in which I can clearly see the property lines for my childhood home.

Tremaine's Map of the County of Waterloo, Canada West. Compiled & Drawn from
 Actual & Original Surveys by the Publishers. Geo. R. & G.M. Tremaine, Toronto, 1861.
 (City of Cambridge Archives)

Davidson Street!

What's in a Name? History

Many are familiar with the place names listed below, but are unaware that each denotes a very specific period in the history of the province of Ontario.

Pays d'en Haut (1500s-1763) From initial discovery to France's loss to the English in the Seven Years' War, Ontario was a wilderness region of New France referred to as "the upper country".

Quebec (1763-1791) After the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the British crown took over New France, named it Quebec, and included the large colony into it's already substantial North American holdings.

Upper Canada (1791-1841) The American Revolution, ending in 1883, encouraged thousands of loyalists to move north to Quebec (which remained a part of the Crown). With this new influx of settlers came a demand for English laws and government - as opposed to the French civil system still in operation in the colony. The Constitution Act of 1791 divided Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada, and provided Upper Canadians with their own Lieutenant Governor and legal system.

Canada West (1841-1867) Upper and Lower Canada were rejoined in 1841 as the Province of Canada in a political and cultural attempt to overpower the then dominant French population (as well as any potential rebels on both sides). Although the province was now unified, each region remained distinct as Canada West, and Canada East.

Ontario (1867- ) With Confederation came yet another separation as the Province of Canada was divided into roughly the Ontario and Quebec we know today. Ontario's borders were finally established to the north and west by 1912.

Maps depicting borders in 1774 and 1791

Maps depicting borders in 1867 and 1912

Name changes also apply to the smaller scale of villages and cities:

Shade's Mills (1816-1827) Named after Absalom Shade who was hired by founder William Dickson to manage and superintend the new settlement in Dumfries. Shade quickly established a saw and grist mill as well as a shop and home for himself and his family.

Galt (1827-1973) For many settlements, the establishment of a post office is a big deal. It's an opportunity to put your name on the map (and subsequently make it easier for everyone to find you and do business with you). Many settlements stick with the name they've started with, while others take this opportunity to change theirs to something else.* William Dickson decided to change the name of Shade's Mills to Galt after Scottish poet and friend, John Galt.

Cambridge (1973- ) In 1973 the city of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair amalgamated to become Cambridge.

*Some communities didn't have a choice in the matter once they realized that they share the same name as another settlement that already received a post office. You can't have two Burwick, Canada Wests: So the community just north of what is now Toronto changed their name to Woodbridge in 1855.

Sources
Dictionary of Canadian Biography, 2014 "Absalom Shade"
Archives of Ontario, 2011 "The Changing Shape of Ontario" (Economic Atlas of Ontario / Atlas Économique de l'OntarioW. G. Dean, Editor/ Directeur; G. J. Mathews, Cartographer/ CartographePrinted 1969 by University of Toronto Press for the Government of Ontario)
City of Vaughan, "A Brief History of Woodbridge"

Further Reading
Canadian Encyclopedia, "Seven Years' War"
Canadian Encyclopedia, "Durham Report"
Canadian Museum of History, 2014 "Virtual Museum of New France"

Galt and the Grand River Lands

After the Revolutionary War with the United States (1775-1783), the British Crown provided its Native allies with numerous land grants in its northern colonies. One such grant was provided to the Six Nations Indians (who had relocated from Ohio, and other Northern US states as refugees), and was comprised of the land six miles along each side of the Grand River from Lake Erie to Elora. (OHT)

Thomas Ridout's 1821 Survey of the former Six Nation Lands

On February 5, 1798, Colonel Brant, on behalf of the Six Nations, and acting as their legal attorney, sold to one Philip Stedman of the Niagara District, that portion of their lands known as Block number one, comprising 94,305 acres, and which, by an Act of Legislature of the Province, became known as the Township of Dumfries. The stipulated price was £8,841. (Young, 12) 

The township of Dumfries would later be home to the village of Galt. This sale was only one of six large transactions in 1798 in which the Indians sold off 352,707 acres for a total of £44,867. (Young, 13) This acreage included most of the Six Nations northern holdings along the Grand River, while they retained control over the southern portion. (See note below)

At the time, Mr. Stedman could do little with the land. The newly created province of Upper Canada (1791) had a population of only 20,000, and many residents were  located in the Kingston and Niagara areas. (Young, 14) Any plans that Stedman may have had are unknown, for after receiving the patent from the Crown for the land, he passed away. (Young, 14-15) With no heirs, the property was inherited by his sister, who along with her husband sold the deed to the Township in 1811 to the Hon. Thomas Clarke. (Young, 15)

Subsequent to his participation in the War of 1812 as a loyal British subject, the Hon. William Dickson decided that the time had come for him to purchase some land and open more of the province to settlement. After a conversation with Mr. Clarke in the summer of 1816, it was decided that Mr. Dickson would purchase, for the sum of £24,000, the entirety of the former Mr. Stedman’s lands along the Grand River. (Young, 17) Mr. Dickson immediately began his work advertising for settlement and assisting in developing Galt until his death in 1846.

*Here is what became of the other Six Nations properties sold in 1798. Waterloo County has been known as the Region of Waterloo since 1973. The Township of Dumfries was divided in half in 1852 with North Dumfries becoming a part of Waterloo County, and South Dumfries a part of Brant County.

Block No 1 – Township of Dumfries

Block No 2 – Waterloo Township, Waterloo County

Block No 3 – Pilkington Township in Wellington Country, and Woolwich Township in Waterloo County

Block No 4 – Nichol Township in Wellington County

Block No 5 – Moulton Township in Haldimand County

Block No 6 – Canborough Township in Haldimand County

Sources:

James Young's 1880, Reminiscences of the Early History of Galt and the Settlement of Dumfries
City of Cambridge, Cambridge Archives and Records Centre, 2014, "Honourable William Dickson"
A decent "Map of Southern Ontario Including Counties and Townships" can be found here
Ontario Heritage Trust (OHT) plaque dedicated to the Haldimand Grant of land to the Six Nations in 1784
The Waterloo Region Museum has a great collection of sites on the history of Waterloo, Wilmot, North Dumfries, and Woolwich Counties.

Further Reading:
Grand River Branch of the United Empire Loyalists, Website
Dictionary of Canadian Biography, "Clark (Clarke), Thomas"
Government of Ontario, 2014 "Six Nations of the Grand River"