The Creation of Ontario

Do you ever drive the 401 between Toronto and the Quebec border?  Boring!!!!!  But fast.

If you're not in such a hurry, there is a fantastic road trip to the south of that 4 lane monster -  Highways 2 and 33 run along the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario.  They are the richest roads for history in all of the province.  And together they make a beautiful journey where you can travel not only east and west but also in time - back through the origins of the province of Ontario.  

It is a story of refugees.....

This web site provides a tour, which you can take both online and on the road, between the Quebec border and the outskirts of Toronto where most of these refugees settled.  As our guide, we are going to visit all the Ontario Historical Markers (Blue Plaques) along this shoreline.  The plaques tell very specific stories about individuals or communities that are most meaningful to those who lived at that spot.  But together, they tell the tale of those refugees and their descendants as they resettled in Upper Canada and created the province of Ontario that we have today.

But before we get to their story, we should remember that this land was not empty when they arrived.  The story of how native communities came to Ontario before the United Empire Loyalists is vitally important.  You can read about it here in an early 20th century history paper by the leader of the most populous nation in the land we will be visiting - the Coming of the Mississaugas.

If you're ready to start your tour, take a look at the Introduction to the Web Site to understand how best to navigate it and adapt it to your specific journey.