The United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry – Tracing Back Loyalists and Scottish Roots
On a beautiful spring day, I loaded up my black Labrador puppy and headed south-east from Ottawa, towards the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. The 2020 Coronavirus outbreak may have wreaked my summer plans but I was hellbent on getting some fresh air outside the house. My road trip ended up being a great day out in the spring sun! After a long Canadian winter it was just what I needed!
Table of Contents
- History and Geography
- The Itinerary
- San Raphael National Historic Site of Canada
- Williamstown
- South Lancaster
- Conclusion
History and Geography
During the early British colonial period, Central Canada was was split between Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec). While Lower Canada was mostly composed of french catholic settlers, Upper Canada was filled with Protestant English settlers. Naturally this created a certain level of discord nevertheless Canada repelled American invasion during both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Both these wars helped shape Canada’s geography and history of the young country.
The United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry are located in south-eastern Ontario, near the St-Lawrence River as well as the Quebec border to the east. The area was first settled during the loyalist migration. Loyalist were British subjects that had remained loyal to the British Empire during the revolutionary war and as such were banished. A recreation of a typical Loyalist village can be found at not far at Upper Canada Village but is covered in a separate post. The Loyalists that settled here were from upstate New York and the holdings they were given to them as a reward for their service to the crown. “Loyalist Country” as it it often called was key in defending the country during the war of 1812, an American invasion of the Canadian territories. As you will see later in this post, the racial makeup of this area is an interesting one ,with a host of Gaelic people, French Canadians and Native Americans mixing together.
The Itinerary
- San Raphael National Historic Site
- Williamstown
- South Lancaster
San Raphael National Historic Site of Canada
My first stop was the now ruined San Raphael Church. A fire blew though the building in the 1970’s tearing down its belltower and gutting the church. The fire was a tragedy as the building is the considered to be the oldest roman catholic churches in Upper Canada.
The Church
Catholic Church… Wait, is Upper Canada not mostly Protestant? Yes that is true, but the Parish of San Raphael was populated by a rare minority, Catholic Scottish Highlanders. These impoverished people had been displaced from their ancestral lands and immigrated from Glasgow after years of faithful military service to the crown in Ireland under their leader Bishop Alexander Macdonell, who arranged for them a better life in Canada (500 Scotts, many of them Macdonell’s settled in the Glengarry Emigration of 1786). At the time of his arrival the parish had but three priests (and 3 churches) and was hardly populated. A force of nature the bishop took the reins for 25 years and encouraged more of his entourage of fighting Scottmen to immigrate to Canada. Arriving in 1804 he increased the priesthood to 48 individuals and in 1821 completed the crown jewel of his empire, the San Raphael Church. By the 1840’s this was the most important catholic-anglophone parish in Canada, yet as the country developed the region gradually lost its importance. The Scots and the Loyalist communities quickly intermingled and under Bishop Alexander Macdonell himself fought American troops in the war of 1812.
A testament to the importance was that a prime minister of the British “Province of Canada” and the first Premier of Ontario John Sandfield Macdonald was born here.
Roaming around the church graveyard you will see a host of Scottish names but also many Irish ones. The parish would see a diversification it its Gaelic population when a large number of Irish Catholics escaping the Irish Famine (1846-1851).
Finally the real reason to visit is to explore the church itself. The ruins are open to the public. Even if the church roof was consumed by the fire, the thick walls still stand as a testament to their ancient strength. You can find the church bell, all that remains of the Bell tower destroyed in the fire. The building is beautiful and is often used as a venue for weddings.
The Bishop’s House (College of Iona)
Across the road from the famous church, on a large track of land you will find the Bishop’s House. A tree lined gravel road will lead you to the old stone building in question. It once was an institution called the College of Iona, before it was moved to Kingston. Established and funded by a roman-catholic Scott, Alexander Macdonell (the same one who constructed the church) in 1826, it is considered the oldest seminary in Canada. It also housed teachers and hosted classes in the goal of educating boys for secular as well as religious vacations.
Williamstown
The typical Loyalist settlement, Williamstown is home to two large properties that are National Historic Sites of Canada.
Sir John Johnson National Historic Site of Canada
Sir John Johnson, now that’s a name that even a Canadian history buff may not recognize. He was a prominent United Empire Loyalist from New York State that was given the task of distributing land and organizing the settlement of Loyalists after the American Revolution. Later he stetted on wWilliamstown and organized the settlement of Highland Scots in the district. His house is located on a small hill overlooking the raisin river and is considered to be of architectural importance.
The house itself was built from 1784-1792 in French-Canadian style. Johnson built a mill on the property in Williamstown to encourage Loyalist Settlement and to provide them with high quality lumber for their housing needs. The house was expanded upon in th2 19th century, including the addition of a Gothic wing with a large porch. The land around the house contains many historical markers, much like an open air museum and tours are run of the inside of the house by Parks Canada. In the front of the building, by the porch side you will find a majestic 200 year old oak tree that was a sapling when the Loyalists first arrived here. The mill itself is gone, demolished years after a flood in 1914, but is commemorated by an informative sign. On the other side of the Raisin river you can still see its stone foundation. You will also find a cannon used during the North-West Rebellion (a successor conflict to the Red River Rebellion of Louis Riel) and a stone ice house.
Glengarry, Nor’Westers & Loyalist Museum
The story of the Loyalist intermingling with the Highlanders community is highly linked to the fur trade. After the fall of New France, the Scottish community of Montreal revived the fur trade. To administer their activities they formed the North Western company in 1779. They recruited recruited Upper Canada, particularly Glengarry which was not far from Montreal. Prominent among the North West Company were Sir Alexander Mackenzie, The Frobisher Brothers, Simon McTavish, David Thompson and Simon Fraser. The company united with the Hudson Bay Company in 1812. Mackenzie is an interesting figure, one of the Great British Explorers of North America, he is linked to St. Andrews Church in the next section. Another man with important ties to Glengarry is David Thompson, owner of the White House National Historic Site. The museum details the history of both Loyalists and Nor’Westers Scots in Upper Canada.
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
The center of the Highland community, St Andrew’s, now a United congregation, was constructed in 1812 but its roots stretch back to 1787.
The stone church is one of the pretties in Ontario. Its bell was gifted by Sir Alexander Mackenzie himself in 1806 and many parts of the church grounds were reserved for prominent North Western company members. When you enter the cemetery you will be greeted with a plaque with the immortal words:
Tread Softly, stranger
Reverently draw near,
The vanguard of a nation slumbers here.
Inside the cemetary you will find memorials to prominant Nor’Westerners and Loyalists such as Duncan Cameron
Another plaque commemorates the immigration of the McMillan clan sits nearby. To be honest, I wouldn’t worry too much about the history and instead just go around looking at the graves. Take in the names and you will see the importance of the Scottish people to the Glengarry community. Once grave in particular made me laugh. It was a hand with a finger pointing up at the sky. You may have also noticed from your visit to San Raphael’s that many Scottish graves are adorned with a weeping willow, a popular motif during the 19th century.
Bethune-Thompson House / White house National Historic Site of Canada
This home belonged to a prominent loyalist settler called Peter Ferguson. It was constructed in the 1780’s and expanded in 1805. The building offers a great view of early loyalist architecture as the cabin is one oldest surviving buildings in Ontario. The smaller southern portion is the older of the two and was built in a french Canadian Building style called “poteaux sur le sol” (Posts on the ground). This technique involved using vertically placed square logs to link top and bottom places, this is visible in the second picture of the slideshow. The larger portion of the house was built by a Reverend called John Bethune, the first Presbyterian Minister of Canada – a preacher at St. Andrews. This extension used another French Canadian building technique called “colombage pieroté” – a timber Frame filled with masonry rubble. The third owner of the house was a man called David Thompson, mentioned briefly at the Loyalist museum. An explorer and cartographer, he would be the one to map out much of Western Canada. He was referred by some native peoples as Koo-Koo-Sint or “the Stargazer” and is considered by some the greatest land cartographer that ever lived. He traveled over 90,000 kilometers and mapped over 4.9 million square kilometers.
South Lancaster
This small community may be difficult to find. When taking the roadway in from Williamstown, you will eventually merge onto the 2. This road leads to the settlement of South Lancaster but turns abruptly when you reach the river. You will want to slow down at the turn and enter one of the narrow residential streets.
What is called South Lancaster was once Falkner’s settlement, established in 1754 by United Empire Loyalists and named after William Falkner, the representative of Sir John Johnson. Traces of these colonial remnants can be found in the old Cemetary, a picturesque and haunting construction with low stone walls, cast iron fencing and well maintained graves. The stone built and tiny St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church is a great example of early Loyalist buildings of worship.
The most picturesque part of the town is its unparalleled view of the st Lawrence from its wharf. You will find any colorful boathouses facing the water.
The oddest attraction in town and the least attainable is the Glengarry Cairn located on an island off the outlet of the McIntyre creek (see slideshow). The large pile of rocks is a National Historic Site dedicated to Sir John Colborne, a Governor of Upper Canada and eventually of all of British North America. He personally led British troupes against rebel forces during the Lower Canada Rebellion.
Conclusion
A small road trip to south-eastern Ontario will take you on a journey though the history of Loyalist Canada and the diverse group of people who helped build the province and even shape the Canada we know today. So take a drive down by the St. Lawrence and experience the pristine farmland that attracted the hardy people of this land.
