Discovery Centres Upper Canada Village and Fort Henry

DISCOVERY CENTRES Upper Canada Village and Fort Henry Megan Knott Sales and New Business Development Consultant Tel: 613.542.7388 Cell: 613.561.5305 [email protected] PARKS.ON.CA Upper Canada Village and Fort Henry DISCOVERY CENTRES Executive Summary Eastern Ontario’s most exciting new tourism product development has taken the form of a $23 million dollar investment in two, state-of-the-art Discovery Centres, located at Fort Henry in Kingston and Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg. A total of $100,000 has been invested in direct marketing campaigns to create awareness of these two new Centres and it is anticipated that over 125,000+ guests will visit the Discovery Centres annually. The St. Lawrence Parks Commission’s marketing campaign includes TV, radio, print, outdoor and digital. You have the opportunity to place your company’s signage in one of the various exhibits and create brand awareness and optimum exposure to our many educational programs, tour groups and national and international individual travelers to our sites. Having visibility in the Discovery Centre(s) is a powerful way to position your business. This will give your company an opportunity to present itself as an industry leader and will leave a strong impression of your brand in the visitors mind. Your investment will also send a message to your employees and clients that you support the best in our community on preserving its historical significance. Objective To attract new and returning visitors and engage them with our important heritage stories through modern day technology. Target Market Primary Demo Target: Adults 25 - 54 Secondary Target: School Groups, Grades 5 through 8 Geographic Target: Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Eastern Ontario Fort Henry was built from 1832 to 1837 to replace an existing fortification from the War of 1812 era. Situated atop Point Henry, the Fort protected the naval dockyard at Point Frederick, the entrance of the Rideau Canal and the town of Kingston, Ontario. Upper Canada Village is a heritage park in the village of Riverside near Morrisburg, Ontario, which depicts a 19th-century village in Upper Canada. Both Fort Henry and Upper Canada Village are located in Eastern Ontario. Therefore, targeted visitors will mainly be found within Ontario, predominately Eastern Ontario. Southern Ontario and Quebec are also two strong geographic areas targeted. Word of the Discovery Centre is spread to these farther locations through various media: Internet, television, social media sites, print and radio. Within surrounding towns and cities, many posters, billboards and banners can also be found. Upper Canada Village and Fort Henry DISCOVERY CENTRES Upper Canada Village Discovery Centre Exhibit Gallery #1: A Strategic Location The mighty St. Lawrence River is among the longer rivers in North America, reaching inland from the Atlantic Ocean 750 miles (nearly 1200 km). During the mid 19th century its width varied from just over a mile to 80 miles, and its depth ranged from practically nothing to over 60 feet, averaging a depth of 10-20 feet. The bottom is still mostly rocks, though sandy in some areas as well. The current was also varied; with the water rushing over the Long Sault Rapids at great speed and force, while in other areas, the current had little to no pull at all. During the American Revolution, many Loyalist settlers sought refuge on this side of the St. Lawrence, in what was then called Upper Canada and Lower Canada (Quebec). Having access to water was imperative for food and agriculture, as well as for travel and trade, making this area a popular destination for settlers and travellers alike. By the mid 19th century, the upper St. Lawrence River was used for travel, industry, business, entertainment and adventure. Upper Canada Village and Fort Henry DISCOVERY CENTRES Exhibit Gallery #2: Defending the Canadas Less than thirty years after the American Revolution, the United States and Britain fought again, fighting a very significant battle nearby as part of the War of 1812. There were three main “fronts” within North America: Detroit, Niagara and the upper St. Lawrence (see wall map). Neither the British nor the Americans won the war when it ended with the Treaty of Ghent in December 1814; however, Upper and Lower Canada remained British territories. The images and video shown in this section represent the British soldiers (infantry and artillery) and a battle such as those which were fought during these times of war along the St. Lawrence River. Upper Canada Village and Fort Henry DISCOVERY CENTRES Exhibit Gallery #3: The Battle of Crysler’s Farm The War of 1812 began when the United States of America declared war on the British. On November 11, 1813, American troops were defeated at the site of Crysler’s Farm by a small, miscellaneous force of British regulars, Voltigeurs, militia and First Nations, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Wanton Morrison. Morrison chose his timing well, as the battle site (just a few kilometres west of here, now buried under the river) was situated right between the river and the woods, and well suited to British fighting formation and strategies of the time. Though the British were outnumbered by the American army approximately three to one, the American commanders, Major-Generals Wade Hampton and James Wilkinson, were at odds with each other, creating an open window for the British army to outmanoeuvre them and win the battle, preventing the American army from reaching Montreal. This gallery represents not only the Battle, but shows also the impact the battle had on civilian life. More can be learned about the Battle of Crysler’s Farm from the exhibits in the Battle Memorial Building (BMB) at the base of the mound and memorial in Crysler Park. Upper Canada Village and Fort Henry DISCOVERY CENTRES Exhibit Gallery #4: Early Settlement in Upper Canada In 1784, after the American Revolution, many American Loyalists had their land confiscated, and new laws prevented them from ever returning. Thousands fled to colonies that remained under British control, and a large number travelled overland, following the rivers north to Lower and Upper Canada. Some of these first Loyalist settlers from the American colonies met in Cornwall to draw for lots of land. These ethnically diverse families created new colonies, founded this area’s first towns, and created the first farms in Upper Canada’s wilderness. It was hard for many of them to make the transition from soldiers to farmers. Little did they know that in less than thirty years their new land would be used as a battlefield during the War of 1812. These first settlers faced the immense task of felling trees and clearing the brush from their new land in order to build houses and barns, and to have fields for growing crops. This work was almost all done by hand, with the help of only a few tools. Exhibit Gallery #5: Aboriginal Nations Aboriginal people were living in North America long before Cartier arrived on the continent in the 1500s. In 1535, on his second voyage, Cartier met and described the people living near Hochelaga (Montreal). Archeologists who study artefacts from this period call these people the St. Lawrence Iroquois. The Mohawk people first lived and established a Confederacy on the south side of the Great Lakes. After many of them fought for the British cause during the Revolution and the War of 1812, they too lost their land to the new laws in the American colonies and moved to Upper Canada. Like the other settlers, by the early and mid 19th century, the Mohawk people living in this area lived primarily in log homes. They also incorporated many aspects of European culture (e.g. clothes, utensils and tools) into their way of life Upper Canada Village and Fort Henry DISCOVERY CENTRES Exhibit Gallery #6: Emerging Canadian Identity & Living along the St. Lawrence Emerging Canadian Identity Within three generations of the War of 1812, settlers living in the British colonies came to identify themselves as Canadian instead of British. This transition grew from a desire to remain loyal to Britain, yet independent from the United States, which in turn fostered a unique colonial and Canadian identity. By the 1860s, Upper and Lower Canada had transformed into the Province of Canada, and a further transformation was to take place. Seeing advantages in forming a union with the Maritime colonies, after much negotiation between the colonies and the British government, the British North American Act of 1867 was produced – a new confederation of provinces called Canada. Living Along the St. Lawrence This gallery focuses on the importance of immigration and the specific stories of people who came and settled in Upper Canada. Through these stories, visitors are introduced to many different aspects of what life was like for these new residents during the first half of the 19th century. Many small towns and villages sprang up along this section of the St. Lawrence River as people settled throughout the late 18th and early 19th centuries. As new waves of emigrants arrived, they took the advice of those who preceded them by bringing items such as uncut cloth, good shoes, seeds and hand tools. Upper Canada Village and Fort Henry DISCOVERY CENTRES Exhibit Gallery #7: Dramatic Change This gallery focuses on the dramatic changes that had occurred by the 1860s related to technological advances, industrial development and other societal changes. These changes are subdivided into four themes: Agriculture, Medicine & Domestic Life, Transportation & Communication and Industry. Exhibit Gallery #8: Changing Communities This gallery highlights the ways in which the St. Lawrence River continued to evolve and influence the people living nearby during the later 19th and 20th centuries.

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