Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg

Morrisburg is an unincorporated community in the Municipality of South Dundas, located in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The population was 2,398 at the 2021 census.[1]

History

On November 11, 1813, a small British force repelled an invading American army at the Battle of Crysler's Farm, which took place near what was later to be called Morrisburg.[2][3] United Empire Loyalist settlers settled in Dundas County, creating West Williamsburg and was part of the Williamsburg Canal project. Between 1843 and 1856, canals were built on the north side of the St. Lawrence River. West Williamsburg was renamed Morrisburg in 1851[4] in honour of Brockville, Ontario, politician James Morris, who was named the first Postmaster General of the United Province of Canada.[5] Incorporated as a village in 1860, Morrisburg had a growing manufacturing base consisting of a gristmill, a carding mill and a fanning mill. The Grand Trunk Railway reached Morrisburg in 1855. Eventually a power station was built on the St. Lawrence River.[6]

During the 1950s, portions of Morrisburg were relocated because of expected flooding caused by the St. Lawrence Seaway project.[7][8] Over 80 homes were moved and the entire downtown business district was demolished and relocated to a shopping plaza.[9] The Canadian National Railway line was moved 1.1 kilometers north of its original location.[10] Much of the former railbed was used in the reconstruction of Ontario Highway 2. Buildings and other artifacts were moved and assembled to create Upper Canada Village, a tribute to the area's pioneers.[11]

A notable incident in the history of high-speed rail in Canada took place near Morrisburg in 1979, when a UAC TurboTrain operated by Via Rail on westbound service from Montréal to Toronto caught fire after developing an oil leak. The train was quickly evacuated and ultimately a third of it was destroyed in the fire. The troubled Turbo Trains were retired a few years later, in 1982.[12]

In 1997, Morrisburg was amalgamated with the Village of Iroquois, along with Matilda and Williamsburg Townships, into the Township of South Dundas.

References

  1. ↑ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (February 9, 2022). "2021 Census of Population geographic summary: Morrisburg [Population centre], Ontario". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Battle of Crysler's Farm National Historic Site of Canada", The Canadian Encyclopedia,
  3. ↑ Collins, Gilbert, "Crysler's Farm Battlefield Park", Guidebook to the Historic Sites of the War of 1812: 2nd Edition, Dundurn Press, 2006.
  4. ↑ Lost Villages Historical Society, http://lostvillages.ca/history/the-lost-villages/morrisburg/
  5. ↑ Harkness, John Graham (1946). Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, A History, p. 285. Mutual Press Limited, Ottawa Ontario.
  6. ↑ Ghost Town Ontario Pix,http://www.ghosttownpix.com/lostvillages/morrisbu.html
  7. ↑ Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System,http://www.greatlakes-seaway.com/en/seaway/history/index.html
  8. ↑ Kornwolf, James D. "Upper Canada Village", Architecture and Town Planning in Colonial North America, Volume 1, JHU Press, 2002.
  9. ↑ "Morrisburg-area men create online monument to history". Seaway News September 6, 2012.
  10. ↑ NYC Ottawa Division - Historic Dates,"NYC Ottawa Division - Significant Dates". Archived from the original on July 7, 2007. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  11. ↑ Mochoruk, Jim and Hinther, Rhonda. Re-imagining Ukrainian Canadians: History, Politics, and Identity University of Toronto Press, 2011.
  12. ↑ Bateman, Chris (December 9, 2015). "Remembering the ill-fated CN Turbo train". Spacing Magazine. Retrieved May 30, 2021.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Morrisburg, Ontario.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Morrisburg.

44°53′53″N 75°10′59″W / 44.898°N 75.183°W / 44.898; -75.183

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