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Top 16 Places to Visit in

Queenston | Ontario

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The page was created with the support of  groups – St. Davids and Queenston | Village of Queenston, Ontario

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Queenston | Ontario Classified

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Home Town of Laura Secord

Laura Secord (née Ingersoll) was a heroine of the War of 1812. Her story has become legendary, and Secord herself mythologized in Canadian history.

Laura’s father moved his family to the Niagara Peninsula in 1795 and ran a tavern at Queenston. In June 1813, with Queenston occupied by American troops, Laura listened to the conversation of some American officers dining at Laura’s house, that the Americans intended to surprise the British outpost at Beaver Dams. Laura resolved to take the message herself early the next morning.

The Laura Secord Homestead was her residence from 1803 to 1835. It was the starting point of Laura’s perilous 20-mile journey to warn the British of an imminent American surprise attack in 1813.

Read more about Laura Secord | People of Small Towns

 

Don’t miss the Laura Secord Monument, located on the edge of the Niagara Escarpment in Queenston Heights Park:

“To Laura Ingersoll Secord, who saved her husband’s life in the battle on these Heights October 13th, 1812 and who risked her own in conveying to Capt. FitzGibbon information by which he won the victory of Beaverdams. Erected 1910”.

Laura moved from Queenston to Chippawa ON in 1835 when her husband James became a customs collector at the port of Chippawa.

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Belvedere Elizabeth Queen

Belvedere Elizabeth Queen is a scenic spot. It has small free parking with a good hike downhill.

“We have driven by this wonderful lookout point so many times over the years and always said we should stop there one time. Last time we did stop and were treated to a beautiful view. It’s gorgeous”.

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Bruce Trail Southern Terminus Cairn

The Bruce Trail is one of the most picturesque hikes in Ontario and also Canada’s oldest and longest footpath. The Trail starts in Queenston and ends in Tobermory, making it a whopping 840 km long.

Queenston marks the southern terminus of the Bruce Trail.

The southern terminus of the Bruce Trail is located at the stone cairn in Queenston Heights Park. Near the famous Niagara Falls, the park is perched on the west side of a deep gorge carved over the centuries by the Niagara River. The cairn marking the trail’s terminus is in a parking lot, about 160 metres from General Brock’s Monument on the easterly side of the monument’s park grounds.

On the way through St. Catharines and Thorold, hikers will pass all four of the Welland Canals.

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Willowbank

Recommended by LILY MONTGOMERY

Willowbank is best known for the impressive Greek Revival mansion designed and built in 1834 for Alexander Hamilton, sheriff of the Niagara District, by John Latshaw. Alexander Hamilton was the third son of the Honourable Robert Hamilton, one of the founders of Upper Canada.

This National Historic Site of Canada is a gracious treed estate with a large three-and-a-half-storey temple-fronted mansion. Willowbank is named after magnificent willow trees that once graced its grounds.

Sited on a height of land overlooking the Niagara River, the mansion is the centrepiece of wooded, five-hectare property at the north end of the village of Queenston.

Exactly one hundred years later in 1934, the Bright Family—pioneers in both wine and orchard industries—purchased the property just as the Niagara Parkway was being completed.

Now Willowbank is owned and operated by the Willowbank School of Restoration Arts. The school is dedicated to the teaching of all arts and skills related to the restoration of built heritage.

Willowbank is open to the public for tours through the summer months and from September to May by appointment.

The Willowbank graveyard is one of the most interesting parts of the Willowbank property. It is on a small plot of land located northwest of the mansion itself and is surrounded by a low stone wall and trees. The only people buried at the Willowbank graveyard who were not a part of the extended Hamilton family are Maj.-Gen. Sir Isaac Brock and his adjutant John Macdonell.

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Locust Grove Picnic Area

If you want to experience peace and quiet, a drive or bike ride to Locust Grove just off the Niagara Parkway is the answer. This small lovely area is where you’ll find plenty of tall majestic Locust trees, playful chipmunks, and squirrels. Look to the skies and chances are you’ll see Turkey Vultures (and maybe the occasional Bald Eagle) soaring on the air currents.

At the edge of the grove, as you look into the Niagara River, you’ll see where the falls began 12,000 years ago.

If you want, bring along a picnic. There are about a half-dozen picnic tables.

The grove is located on the right (look for A VERY SMALL SIGN) 11 kilometres north of the falls along the Niagara Parkway. It’s just before the entrance to Queenston Heights Park as you head towards Niagara on the Lake.

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Queenston Heights

Queenston Heights is an important historic site for all Canadians. Plan to spend at least an hour with costumed guides as they tell stories about that fateful October day in 1812 – the scene of one of the most famous battles in Canadian history.

The climb to the top of Brock’s Monument only takes minutes and offers a must-see view of the surrounding battlefield, parklands, and the mighty Niagara River. Nestled high atop the Niagara Escarpment, Queenston Heights Park combines leisure and history in one scenic location.

At the entrance to this historic park, visitors are greeted by grand carpet bedding displays that surround both the Brock Monument and Laura Secord Monument.

 

Read more about the Battle of Queenston Heights.
Painting: Death of General Brock at the Battle of Queenston Heights, John David Kelly
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Sir Isaac Brock’s Monument

Recommended by DENISE BEATTY

This beacon in the sky overlooks Queenston and the whole wine region. Definitely, it is the site to spend time on.

Brock’s Monument is a 56-metre column atop Queenston Heights, dedicated to Major General Sir Isaac Brock, one of Canada’s heroes of the War of 1812. Sir Isaac Brock was killed at the Battle of Queenston Heights on October 13, 1812, at the defeat of the invading American forces and is therefore considered to be the founding hero of Upper Canada.

There are Sir Isaac Brock Memorial Cairn and a bronze statue of Brock’s horse, Alfred at the site where he apparently was killed in the battle. The place is across the street from the Printing museum and accessed from Clarence Street.

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Queenston Quarry

On the escarpment, east of the Queenston Heights battlefield, limestone and shale deposits exist. These deposits became the Queenston Quarry. The Queenston Quarry was founded in 1837. For 150 years stone was shipped here to help build many of Ontario’s cities.

Toronto buildings that benefitted from the supply of stone included Queen’s Park, the Royal Ontario Museum, Union Station and the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse.

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Landscape of Nations

The Landscape of Nations is a living memorial dedicated to the contributions and sacrifices made by Six Nations and Native Allies on Queenston Heights and equally important, throughout the War of 1812.

The Battle of Queenston Heights was all but lost for the defenders of Canada until the arrival of Six Nations Warriors in these fields. They turned the tide of this battle and many more during the War of 1812.

The memorial also recognizes the historic ceremony of peace and reconciliation held in Niagara on August 31 and September 1, 1815, which restored peace among the Native nations who fought on opposing sides.

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Niagara Parkway

Recommended by NADINE FONTAINE

The Niagara Parkway, formerly known as Niagara Boulevard and historically as the Niagara Road, is a scenic drive running parallel to the Niagara River 55 km from Fort Erie in the south, to Niagara-on-the-Lake in the north. The parkway is one of the oldest in Ontario. Construction of the Niagara Parkway began in 1908 and was completed in 1931.

When British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill visited Niagara Falls in 1943 and he is quoted as saying

the Niagara Parkway is the “prettiest Sunday afternoon drive in the world.”

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Mackenzie Printery and Newspaper Museum

Located in the home of the 19th Century firebrand editor, Toronto’s first mayor William Lyon Mackenzie, The Mackenzie Printery and Newspaper Museum is Canada’s largest working printing Museum.

Rebel William Lyon Mackenzie lived in Queenston in the 1820s and operated his publishing operation here.

Discover 500 years of printing technology inside the restored home. Don’t miss the rare Louis Roy Press, the oldest printing press in Canada and one of the few original wooden presses remaining in the world. The press was used to print Ontario’s first newspaper “the Upper Canada Gazette or American Oracle,” and it printed some of Canada’s earliest laws including the “Act Against Slavery” in 1793.

The home of William Lyon Mackenzie was reconstructed from ruins and opened in 1938 by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, Mackenzie’s great-grandson.

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The Old Upper Canada Post Office

Recommended by BETTY HOUGHTON KNIGHT

Probably, our post office is the first in Upper Canada.

Queenston became a port of customs in 1801, with Thomas Dickson being its first collector of customs. The following year, 1802, it became a post office, which it still retains, making it one of the longest continuing post offices in Ontario.

Much of the mail going to Britain passed through Queenston and went on to New York.

In 1829, the same year the Welland Canal opened, the postmaster general moved the official post office to Niagara.

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St.Saviour’s Anglican Church

Our beautiful historic little church is nestled in the shadow of the Niagara escarpment. A true gem in the village of Queenston.

St. Saviour Anglican Church, the Brock Memorial Church, is dedicated to the memory of Sir Isaac Brock, Commander of Troops during the War of 1812. The stone church was built in 1879. The parish of St. Saviour was formed in 1817. The first church was destroyed by lightning in 1839. For 40 years, the congregation met in various locations until 1879, when the present church was completed.

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4.33 (3 votes)

RiverBrink Art Museum

RiverBrink Art Museum features changing exhibitions from the renowned art collection of Samuel E. Weir, Q.C., as well as outstanding artworks on loan from other Canadian and International collections. The museum grounds present well-kept gardens and a spectacular view of the Niagara River.

Completed in 1970, the building features Georgian-style architecture, including a mansard roof and gabled windows. It served as Weir’s country residence and was converted into an art museum following his death in 1981.

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Queenston Public Library

Recommended by BETTY HOUGHTON KNIGHT

The library is housed in the basement of the Queenston United Church.

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Tryon’s Folly

Recommended by Franc McPhee
Part of Underground Railroad story

 

“Tryon’s Folly” was part of the Underground Railroad helping American slaves escape to freedom in Canada. You can see this unique house across the river in Lewiston, USA.

From the street, it looks like a normal house, but the view from the river reveals a series of four basements. It was this site that, for possibly hundreds, represented freedom.

Amos Tryon built the home in 1830 for his wife. He added the elaborate series of cellars with the idea that it made it easier to transport goods up from the river to the house level.

Amo’s brother Josiah was a tailor in Lewiston, but also an elder at the Presbyterian Church. The church became very active on the Underground Railroad. Josiah was known as a “station master”. With the help of Amo’s idle home, Josiah was able to sneak possibly hundreds of escaped slaves down the gorge wall, to the river and row them across to Canada and freedom.

Photo by Franc McPhee

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Top 16 Places to Visit in

Queenston | Ontario

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