Morrisburg is an

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

community in the Municipality of South Dundas, located in Eastern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada.

History

On November 11, 1813, the Battle of Crysler's Farm, at which a British force repelled an invading American army, took place near what was later to be called Morrisburg.

United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America duri ...

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 The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

. West Williamsburg was renamed Morrisburg in 1851 in honour of

Brockville, Ontario Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically independent of the county. It is included with Le ...

, politician James Morris, who was named the first Postmaster General of the

United Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

. 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 The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rai ...

reached Morrisburg in 1855. Eventually a power station was built on the

. During the 1950s, portions of Morrisburg were relocated because of expected flooding caused by the St. Lawrence Seaway project. Over 80 homes were moved and the entire downtown business district was demolished and relocated to a shopping plaza. The

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

line was moved 1.1 kilometers north of its original location. Much of the former railbed was used in the reconstruction of

Ontario Highway 2 King's Highway2, commonly referred to as Highway2, is the lowest-numbered provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, and was originally part of a series of identically numbered highways which started in Windsor, stretche ...

. Buildings and other artifacts were moved and assembled to create

Upper Canada Village Upper Canada Village is a heritage park near Morrisburg, Ontario, which depicts a 19th-century village in Upper Canada. History Construction of Upper Canada Village began in 1958 as part of the St. Lawrence Seaway project, which required the ...

, a tribute to the area's pioneers.Mochoruk, Jim and Hinther, Rhonda
''Re-imagining Ukrainian Canadians: History, Politics, and Identity''
University of Toronto Press, 2011. A notable incident in the history of high-speed rail in Canada took place near Morrisburg in 1979, when a

UAC TurboTrain The UAC TurboTrain was an early high-speed, gas turbine train manufactured by United Aircraft that operated in Canada between 1968 and 1982 and in the United States between 1968 and 1976. Amtrak disposed of the trains in 1980. It was one of the ...

operated by

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...

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. In 1997, Morrisburg was amalgamated with the Village of Iroquois, along with

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

and Williamsburg Townships, into the Township of South Dundas.

References

External links

{{authority control Former villages in Ontario Communities in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Ontario populated places on the Saint Lawrence River

History

References

Further reading

External links