https://www.fepl.ca/localhistory/files/original/aa99ab933eb5cc8603a6021c8b088f96.pdf 478ca8fb40f916ce72ffa905d618f20f PDF Text Text ,,. : · -��'�l%,.;x_r�, ·:. ��·:· '. f • The Whirlpool is menti�nedin early Writing as the Johll. Gra�et Simcoe, recorded �·he�diary in 1793. " I rode to the Whlflpool, a very grand scene halfway "Twelve Mile Pond on' the 'St Lawrence" - a pond between Queenston and the falls, where the. current twelye miles from Lake Ontario. The Niagara was not oonsideted 'tO be a riV'er; buta contiiluatioti' of the ·�:," . • . is :so1 str(>ngftliatEClclies. are fotjnedin which hewn St.'Lawrence 'River.1:llf 1)t82J:.Archi�hlCI .ThcSfusoii '" timber trees·'cafrieddown the falls from the sawmill upriver spin rourld and round Va8t Rocks surround and Jaeob BPwman·setti&i\ide'°tiysideon the Twelve this benci t>fthe River aI1d they al"e' eoveredwith Pine �Mile-Pond;·lla�g rec/i;Jf µi�!Fgran�'"oflarid from ( '"' · · �,��p;' .. · ""·••··· '!���\�;'"*: ers:1 ' aiidhefui&kij)rilc·e·somejeasc�esamongtherocks .• · · ��ft!S��,��=-�,:A��i� 'of.,· /P()intJ'rq�·1fli��¢�}Iie�l. ,,�Jhe'ot>w:site . B3J1k o�!lje Wr�r.C>I1'.which}s'amm,' fopnaltc>gepier a .. · •. n�ifrili :p ; ' . �4\� 'house m'180 •lower ii�: il :e: ; lie oohld ma.k�'· froni ·'ilicuiate :o£�'ght refreshmeilts.6 ·.Mrs. AR: Walker' a diredt-deSceridant . ' ' ' ' . .' ' :; '-';J;, . ,,, of the Thompsons, has in heJ:" possessign a visitOrs' book from the 18SO's whichJisis,llie. names of . hundredS'ofvisitors whoviewed the Whirlpocilfrom this vantage point. Thompson kept a reoord of people who visited the Whirlpool before he built the stairs. In the period from June to November 1845 no fewer : � ;•an :t�:�:1, f{f�;. wasi nof'i�ni · . us traveii�is•\vere· It i maki�g a side tfipfro,,, . R9'iaftmougtfthe . " lp001. The earliest· Thompson fru:ni, to'see written record of a visit to the Whirlpool was made by Mrs. Simcoe, the wife of Lieutenant-Governor 196 ·, ' ' ' • ' . ' �197 WHIRLPOOL A map ofJames Thompson's/arm at the Whirlpool, 1842. 1500 people crossed his farm property to view sloping ravine leading into the lower gorge was a the Whirlpool. They came from such places as New convenient route for the Timber rattlesnake to use than Orleans; Halifax; New Brunswick; Havana, Cuba; when entering or leaving the lower gorge. The Dublin, Ireland; Boston; Delaware; Philadelphia; Timber rattlesnake was common to this area in early At the curve of the Whirlpool is the St. David's formed by the fallen blocks of limestone. Each Fall Wyoming; England and Scotland. 7 days, and liked to hibernate in the caves and crannies Buried Gorge, the preglacial course of the river. It is thousands of these snakes would come into the lower composed of glacial debris, sand and gravel, and is gorge, hibernate through the winter, then return via cut by the ravine made by Bowman Creek - the the ravine to the countryside above to spend the name given to the stream which drained th� country� summer months. They were a menace to both the side and flowed into Ute Whirlpool at this point. Over Indians and the early settlers. Hazel Mathews in her the years the stream eroded the soft gravelly soil. book creating a long gradual sloping ravine with steep commonly used by early settlers to get rid of the sides - it was the dividing line between John Thompson's and Jacob Bowman's property. This long Mark of.Honour, described the method Timber rattlesnakes. She wrote: "In the Gorge below Thompson's is a large den of rattlers oftiilcommon �198 WHIRLPOOL The Thompson farmyard at the Whirlpool in the early 1900's. The house is partly concealed by the large stone barn. Slits in the barn for ventilation. were size. Whereas the Indians set fire to dry leaves in order to kill the snakes when they were emerging producing agricultural lime. At one time he had two kilns in operation. He sold the lime in bulk to nearby from hibernation, the settlers made war on them with farmers who then used it on their land. Packed in the help of their hogs. Some five hundred were killed barrels it was also sent by boat to Toronto. The size by an organized expedition in the gorge". 8 Jolin Thompson cleared some areas of his land for of the quarry grew as more and more limestone was quarried. DUring the War of 18 12, the quarry was grain and fodder, other areas he cleared and planted considered important to the war effort and a guard was apple trees. He sold apple trees to other farmers, and posted. One of the sentries, standing on the gorge bartered them as well for goods. bank at the Point, was shot at and killed by a sharpshooter from the American side.10 It was a Mrs. A. H. Walker has in her possession the "Debtors Account" of a tailor who exchanged apple trees with Thompson for a suit of clothes. The account showed a debit of £7 15 s 6 p for a suit and a credit to Thompson of £7 10 s 100 apple trees, leaving Thompson owing 5 s for 6p.9 Along with other farmers in the area, Thompson breach of truce and the American General Van Rensselaer wrote to General Isaac Brock expressing regret for the incident 11 The Queen Victoria Park Commissioners pur­ chased land from the Thompson's at the Niagara used his oxen and wagon to haul goods on the Glen and also for the right-of-way for the Niagara Portage Road. In return for his services he received a Falls Park and River Railway. The Railway Company "Portage Credit" which he exchanged for goods at laid its tracks in a curve around Thompson Point so the portage merchants' stores. that passengers could get a view of the Whirlpool Thompson had a further source of income. Beginning in the early 1800' s he made use of the limestone which was easily accessible - there was an while riding by in the cars. The ravine was an obstacle that had to be bridged and a steel trestle was built, to carry the tracks across the gap. exposed ridge of limestone along the front of his When the Park Commissioners took over, the property close. to the edge of the gorge. He quarried area around Thompson Point was a wasteland of the limestone and processed it in a lime kiln, bare rock. In 1897 the Point was renamed Whirlpool ....-.. --------------------.............. . � 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 Whirlpool Description An account of the resource Listed here is an article pertinent to the whirplool near Queenston. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Louis McDermott Historical Collection Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Undated Louis Mcdermott Collection queenston undated