St. Johns (also called St. Johns West, Short Hills, and Steel's Mills) is an unincorporated rural community in

Thorold Thorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The Welland Canal passes through the city, featuring lock 7 and the Twin Flight Locks. History The first surv ...

, Niagara Region,

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. A rural hamlet today, St. Johns prospered as a commercial and industrial centre during the 19th century.

History

Benjamin Canby built a sawmill on Twelve Mile Creek in 1792. The creek was noted for its consistent flow, even during dry summers. Several more mills were soon built in St. Johns, and the settlement flourished as the most important industrial centre on the

Niagara Peninsula The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the ...

. Another early settler, John Darling, built a log cabin in 1799, which was used as a home until 1803. In 1804, the cabin was converted to a public school. Known as St. Johns Common School, it was the first non-denominational free school in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

, and remained in use until 1844, when a new school was built nearby. The cabin continues to be used for educational purposes, and is the oldest extant public school in Ontario. St. Johns prospered during the 1830s, when it had two churches, a tannery, woolen factory,

fulling Fulling, also known as tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelt waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven cloth (particularly wool) to eliminate ( lanolin) oils, ...

mill, potashery, iron foundry, brickyard, hat factory, and several

grist Grist is grain that has been separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding. It can also mean grain that has been ground at a gristmill. Its etymology derives from the verb ''grind.'' Grist can be ground into meal or flour, depending on h ...

and

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s. John Osterhout's tavern catered to locals and stage coach passengers. A post office was established in 1831. In December 1837, following the failed

Toronto Rebellion The Toronto Xtreme (formerly Toronto Renegades) were a Canadian rugby union team based in Markham, Ontario. The team played in the Rugby Canada Super League and drew most of its players from the Toronto Rugby Union. Founded in 1999 as the Toront ...

, rebel leader

William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 August28, 1861) was a Scottish-born Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify the establishment of Upper Canada. He represe ...

escaped to the United States with the help of Samuel Chandler (1791-1866), a wagon maker in St. Johns. The following June, a group of rebels travelled from

Grand Island, New York Grand Island is an island town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 21,389 representing an increase of 5.00% from the 2010 census figure. The town's name is derived from the French name '' ...

, to Pelham, where they, with Chandler, participated in the Short Hills raid, attacking 10 Queen's Lancers stationed at Osterhout's tavern in St Johns. The raid was successful, though most of the attackers were soon captured and put on trial. Chandler, James Morrow and several others were convicted of high treason. Morrow was hanged, others sent to

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

. Chandler escaped to the United States in 1842, first to

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is a city in Jackson County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 31,309 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along Interstate 94 in Michigan, Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127 in Michigan, U.S ...

and finally

Colesburg, Iowa Colesburg is a city in Delaware County, Iowa, United States. The population was 386 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Colesburg was laid out in 1848. The town was named for founders Hiram Cole and James Cole. G ...

Decline

The opening of the nearby

Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. The canal traverses the Niagara Peninsula between Port Weller, Ontario, Port Weller on Lake Ontario, and Port Colborne on Lak ...

in 1829 led to rapid development of industry in

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

, and

Welland Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Niagara-on ...

, and encouraged people and commercial enterprises to re-locate from St. Johns to those settlements. By 1850 the water-powered industries in St. Johns were in serious decline, and its population was reduced from 250 to 150 between 1851 and 1857. When the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

and Welland Railway were completed through the region between 1853 and 1859, St. Johns was bypassed. By 1900, St. Johns contained only a blacksmith shop, a cooper shop, a post office, a church, two stores, and a school. The post office was closed in 1914. In 1992, on the 200th anniversary of the settling of St. Johns, a granite marker was placed at the settlement.

St. Johns Centre

In 1958, the Union School in St. Johns closed and was converted to the St. Johns Outdoor Studies Centre (now called St. Johns Centre). The centre is operated by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, and serves 10,000 students per year. Outdoor programs are conducted at nearby St. Johns Conservation Area and

Short Hills Provincial Park Short Hills Provincial Park is a provincial park located in the centre of the Niagara Peninsula, bordering the city of St. Catharines, Ontario, St. Catharines and the town of Pelham, Ontario, Pelham in the Regional Municipality of Niagara, Onta ...

, and some classes are taught in the historic St. Johns Common School.

References

{{RegionalNiagara Neighbourhoods in Thorold