http://www.fepl.ca/localhistory/files/original/9fb7ace2bee8ea495c81396f2aa118d7.pdf 0e22f734d25db7b82f2e93436afc6cf5 PDF Text Text r.:.Z\YOR' S CHAIN OF OFFICE In presenting the Mayor's Chain of Office to the Town of Fort Erie, it 'l.vas felt that some historical background information should be noted to appropriately convey the significance of some of the medallions, and history of the former municipalities. In designing the medallions, it was further decided that for the most part, each one should have local history to appropriately identify major achievellients which have contributed to the establishment of the Municipality. The "Old Fort" The present "01:1 Fort" in its refurs)ished cGl:nGl. ition is the third 9 location of the Fort. On January 9, 1804, approval was granted. to construct the Fort at its present location. Previous to this, the original "Old Fort" was constructed in 1764 on the river bank north of the present Fort. This Fort served for some 15 years when it was destroyed by large masses of ice driven ashore by a furious storm. A second Fort ·1:1as begun a short distance south1.·mrd, again on the river's edge directly in front of the present site, ·which lasted until February 5, 1803 ·when it too was destroyed by ice during another severe storn. • • • 2 �- 2 - The present "Old Fort" served appropriately through several American raids. In 1908 the Niagara Parks Commission began the development and maintenance of the p ark land around the Fort. The Fort itself \·las left in ruins until 1937 when restoration was commenced jointly by the Provincial and Federal Governments. The Fort was restored to its most famous period (1812-14) and was officially opened on July 1, 1939. The International Railroad Bridge The heavy volume of railroad traffic over the suspension bridge at Niagara Falls dictated the need for a second alleviate the congestion of rail tra~fic ~~ilroad bridge to at Niagara Falls. In 1857 negotiation .:; cornmenced in the Dominio:-i Parl iame~t and the l:Tew York State Legislature to provide Charters for the construction of the brid In 1870, $1,500,000.00 was finally raised in England for the project and final permission had to be obtained from London, England and Washington, D.C., before work could begin. A Charter was granted to the International Bridge Company to construct a bridge affording rail movement, and it named the Gzm·;ski-i·lacPherson Co;npany as builders. The erection of this bridge was a major engineering feat because of the strong currents in the ~pper Niagara River and the drastic fluctuations of the river level du0 to the influence of La}~e Erie. • • • 3 �- 3 - In spite of the obstacles presented, the bridge '»1a s constructed and officially opened for rail traffic on November 3, 1873. In those days all locomotives were wood burning and the first wood burning locomotive that crossed the bridge \·Jas the "Scotia". With the opening of the International Bridge, a rail terminus was established and it is felt that this fact is the main contributor to the ultimate establishment of the community as it \·1as then called "Bridgeburg". The Peace Bridae 1i ••.• _, Hith the advent of the automobile at the turn of the c e ntury, great possibilities were opened up on both sides of the Ni agara River. The city of Buffalo, New York, was flourishing and on the Canadian sie c west of the Old Fort, much virgin land extended along the golde n shor e:::; of Lake Erie awaiting development. The ear l i est date recorded \vher e p rominent b u s inessmen endeavoure '." to form a Company f o r the construction o f a v e hicul a r a nd p edestrian bric1g e was 1908. outbr ea~,: Hm·1ever, ma ny obstacl es ,,.1e r ,"3 a ppar e nt and with t he o f the gre a t \·1 ar in 1 914 , more i mportant things occupied t he r'.linds a nd the time o f the o rga ni zers o f th e " Peace Dri dge " and for 5 ~.rears tl1c proj ect l a_~{ c1orr:i.an·t. �4 - Hm·1ever, follm·1 ing the ·war, in 1919 agai !"l a group of prominent businessmen banded together to approach the Araerican Congress to appoint a Bridge Comrn.ission. Follmving this app ointraent, a special Bill ·was passed at Albany, Ne·w York, creating The Buffalo and Fort Erie Bridge Company, r,1hile si:nilar legislation was being introduced in the Canadian Parliament. Different formations of the Bridge Company ensued over the follm'7ing years and finally the first bonds were issued on June 2, 1925 to 2onies required for construction. rais ed in \ grounc_ tot~l ;)::cea;~inJ Oi.JC:m ing o f Appro:{ i ~at ely for the con3truction and ccrc:L"lonies took co~2ence ~)l a c e ~n : raising the $4,500,000.00 was o~ Au~~st 17, co n3 tr uction b egan toward _, th '? }-)ridg-2 J)y the Spring· of 1 927 . On Ilarch 13, 1927, the first car s offici a lly cross ed the ~riJg a . bridge was opened to public traffic. On SunC:ay , At.i..gust 7, 1927, On Jun e 1, 1927, the the Pe a ce Bridge wa s officia lly o pened and the dignitarie s included the Pri nee of ~'lales and Vice-President of the u. S .A., Charles G. Dawes Vill aqe of Crys t a l Beach Th e VillagG of Crystal Beach 1.-1as i n corporated in 1921. VilJ.age crest s y~)oli zes the f~mou s The Cry stal Beach Amu 3ement Park, op2r a tcd betD2en Bu ffalo and tha Vill 2ge of Crystal BQach . • 5 �- 5 - Few people realize that the crystal Beach Anusement Park was originally started in 1889 as a religious iJ.sse::lbly ground. founder, the late John E. Re')stoc!~, The identified the purpose of the Park for the spiritual and mental uplift of tne co1tu'ti.on people and the c0ntral theme 'i.vas to be relie-Jed by a few side shm·1 attractions. In 1890, at the suggestion of a party of prominent City of Buffalo officials , z.;,~. Rebstock named the place "Crystal Beach", for the clear water and beautiful sand. ye ar that the f ir3t ferryboat and Crystal Beach. coD~e nc e3 It was also in this same bet~e e n ope ration Tli.2 nar.1e of the first ve:::;sel \HS Buffalo t0.e "D'.::)Ve" and sh e was followed by a long l ist of succeeding vessels o v2r the year s. The last ve :::; sel to 01'.)er ate ·uas -the "C a n ad ian a " a.nc1 this ferry service was terminated in 1957, the main reason being the large voluse of automobiles entering Canada v ia the Peace Bridge. Tovmshi'iJ of Bertie Prior to the War of Independence , what -;,- ;as then The Tm·mship of Bertie was Virgin Territory, being so maintained by treaty between th2 British a nd thei r Indi a n allie3, the Iroquo is. Nith t he D0 clar at ion o f Indepe n de nc e in 177 6 , a gr eat many o f the Loyalists ~oved to Canad2 g iving initi~l Th e figures 1850 noted on t he u ppe r part of the Crest , i s the y e ar t h a t the Tmri1.shi p 0 £ Bert i o \'i<:i_:-::; i ncori) orate d ~ .:; 2. ~ :'.lnicipal i:.:: �• - 6 - The mounted horseman 'i:1ith green jac}:.:et and buckskin trousers designates Butler's Rangers \·1hich operated out of Fort Niagara, harassing the forces of Independence, and assisting the United Empire Loyalists to Fort Niagara, from \'lhere they could cross to Canada. disbanded. Hany of these Rangers settled in Bertie Township, being granted substantial parcels of this Crm·m land, as recognition of their services. The naraes of men'\J)ers of the Rangers are st ill coITu-non in the area tod21.y. In more modern tir,12s, the horse is representative of the Tmvnshi..p of Bertie since the Fort Er:i.e Race Trac knm·m far and wide, has been locL1.tec1 therein, si'1:t:e' 1397. The symbols at the right are the sun, the la')\:e and the sand beach designating the Sununer appeal of this area, bounded as it is by the Niagara River on the East and Lake Erie on the South, \·1herein lie some of the la};:e' s finest sandy beaches. The north shor·~ of Lake Erie is called the "Sun Parlour" of Ontario in the Provincial Tourist Brochures. The guns and cannon balls in the lower part of the crest represent the Battle of Ridgeway Hhich occurred in 1866 • .. I<>~' f Vlhen the treaty \·las signed in 1783, the Rangers \·.>ere . 7 �- 7 - lfl e To·,mship of Willouqh"})y The Tmmship of Willoughby \·Jas al so incorporated in 1850. IIm·; ever, the Municipality did not have an official Crest and as a centennial project in 1967, all of the school students were invited to sub:ni t their ideas of what the Tovmship Crest should be. The winning Crest was designed by Bridget Glynn and Louanne Sherk of St. Joseph's School. The Crest, surrounded by \·lilloughby leaves, bears the cross of Ontario at the top and the four parts of the shield depict a cannon for the part the tmvnship played in ~..1ars along the frontier; corn and the deer d e picting the rural and agricultural nat ure of the municipality a n d th e section at right ... -~ .P is a ~..1eave ·1...,hic:1 fo:.--:ns part of th2 Crest of the 11unicipality of iiJilloughby in Lincoln:;hire, Eng-land, after ,,,fhich the locality was originally named. Tmm of Fort Erie The original Fort Erie is really the history of the development o:E b_,70 border villages at the head of the Niagara River grm·1ing up side by side for over 50 years with no apparent line of demarcation and then amal ga;-nating. from 1764 \A1cn it vas Post. The old :i? ort Erie dates its ven2rab1e history est~~lishcd ~s a British Military and Trading The Villa ge of Fort Erie was incorpora ted in 1857 with the fir3t council me eting held on July 13th of that year. • • • 8 �- 8 ~p~roxi~ately on2 ~ile to thG north, ~..,.as t~e International Bridge co:-'pl8t2d ir: 1373 ac>d a s:-,·tall community of settl9rs unofficially Daille:l t:1eir co:·,~1 .-:unity "International Bridge". .i'\lso during this time, some :ce3idents called th2 cor:r:nnity "Victoria" in ho·.1 our of the Queen. The fir st f orma1 T~eting was held in Kensington Hall on DeceITJJer 31, 1894 , with the purp8se being to ho1d no2inations for a Council. I(ensi'lgton Hall still re2ains as a private residence and i.s located on the north\'72.3t co::ner of Niagara Boulevard and P'!:lipps Street. Int ernai::ionul B:;:-icJc;2 re::nained in e~~istence until Ap:::-il 10, 1895, \·:'hen it \·:a3 inco:cpo::atcd as the Village oE Br id g e~:)ur9. of ?art a:nalga:;1ated for In 1969 the Provincial Act to establish t:-12 Govern~ent In 1916 i-:: ~~rie. enacted Bill 174 which was an Regional ;·:unicipality of Niagara which became effective January 1, 1970 . This Act re-defined the r:i.uni cipal lici ts of the TO'wn of Fort I:rie to that \·7hich i:1e know today, naraely enco:npassing the f or r:i.er To•.-m of Fort Erie, the Township of Bertie, the Village of crystal Beach and the southerly 1,000 feet of 1-lilloughl-,y Tm-mship an.d north2r ly to the Niagu.ra River to include the a com:'\unity of Douglastmm. . 9 �- 9 - The present Tm...m Crest is the sane as ·w as formerly adopted by the old Town of Fort Erie. The Council elect for the ne'l.·1 Town of Fort Erie as established under the Regional nunicipality of Niagara Act, approved of retaining this Crest as the emblems ·1,1ere symbolic of major accomplishments of the area. The upper portion of the Crest shows the mighty Niagara River separating the United States from Canada. More specifically identified is the Internationa ~ Railroad Bridge and the Peace Bridge joining together two g reat nations and in particular, the City of Buffalo, New York and Fort Erie. The lm·1er left desis n depicts the "Old Fort" and th8 lower right portion is the Eaple Lea:C - the National :C:r.J)le:-,1 of Canada.. Abot:.t the Donors The donors of the Mayor's Chain of Office, .Hr. and r.rrs. John L. Gibson, have expressed their desire to remain in the ba~~ground regarding this pre s entation. It is their desire that the Mayor's Chain of Office be presented to the Town of Fort Erie in recognition of their many enjoyable years as residents ':7ithin l l -~ f the ri:tunicipal i ty. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Louis McDermott Collection Subject The topic of the resource Local history, Fort Erie and surrounding area. Description An account of the resource A collection of historical documents, photos, news clippings, letters, and writings, assembled by local historian, Louis McDermott, and donated to the Fort Erie Public Library. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Louis McDermott Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived FEPL-LH -Louis McDermott Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Included in this collection are writings, historical documents, news clippings, images, maps, and more. They were written and compiled by Louis McDermott into a series of binders. The digital collection has been scanned from these physical copies. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fort Erie Public Library and Louis McDermott Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Mayor's Chain of Office Description An account of the resource Listed here is a text document pertinent to the presentation of the Mayor's Chain of Office in the Township of Fort Erie. This document provides a brief history of Fort Erie, and the Chain's relevance to the Town. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Louis McDermott Collection Fort Erie Louis Mcdermott Collection mayor politics and government