Morrisburg is an unincorporated community in the Municipality of South Dundas, located in Eastern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. The population was 2,398 at the 2021 census.

History

On November 11, 1813, a small British force repelled an invading American army at the

Battle of Crysler's Farm The Battle of Crysler's Farm, also known as the Battle of Crysler's Field, was fought on 11 November 1813, during the War of 1812, in the British province of Upper Canada. A British and Upper Canadian force defeated a much larger American invas ...

, which took place near what was later to be called Morrisburg.

United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) 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 Ameri ...

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 (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

. West Williamsburg was renamed Morrisburg in 1851, in honour of

Brockville, Ontario Brockville 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 city, independent of the county. It is included with Leeds and ...

, 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 British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Re ...

. 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 (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...

reached Morrisburg in 1855. Eventually a power station was built on the St. Lawrence River. 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 () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

line was moved 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 Ontario Provincial Highway Network, provincially maintained highway in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, and was originally part of a se ...

. Buildings and other artifacts were moved and assembled to create Upper Canada Village, a tribute to the area's pioneers. 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. It was one of the first gas turbine-powered trains to en ...

operated by

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

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 and

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

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