Johnstown
1789
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Across the street from Johnstown United Church, on the north side side of County Road 2, near the turn on to Highway 16 north.
Commemoration
In 1789-90 a town plot of one mile square was laid out in this vicinity. Many loyalists, including Sir John Johnson, obtained lots in this settlement. A sawmill and grist-mill were constructed, and in 1793 it was made the administrative centre of the Eastern District. A courthouse and gaol were erected and the court of quarter sessions, which administered the district's local government, met alternately here and in Cornwall. Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe stayed in Johnstown in 1792 and 1795. In 1808 the courts were moved to Elizabethtown (Brockville) and despite its favourable location as a port, Johnstown's further development was retarded by its shallow harbour.
Background
Before the St. Lawrence Seaway was built, Johnstown sat at a quiet spot between two rapids. This made it a natural resting point for travellers on the river long before Europeans came to this area. That river geography was drastically changed by the Seaway.
In 1673, the French built a fortified storehouse here.
In 1792, Johnstown was the headquarters for Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe. The courthouse referred to on the plaque was a log building that would have sat where the international bridge now stands.
Grain elevators have been in operation here since the 1920s with the Port of Johnstown being built in 1931.
As you drive west, note the bridge to the United States. These people live so close to the land from which their ancestors were exiled.
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