Colonel’s Residence, 1854, artist uncertain, watercolour. This may be the commandant’s quarters on the Commons. Archaeological studies suggest the quarters may have retained elements of Russell’s original pre-war commodious dwelling. Courtesy of the Niagara Historical Society and Museum # 988.273.
A later tenant was Lewis Clement, the son of a famous father, “Ranger John” Clement who had a legendary career as a Butler’s Ranger. Carrying on the family tradition, Clement served with distinction in the militia artillery at Vrooman’s Battery during the Battle of Queenston Heights. A one-time successful merchant in Niagara, he invested in the financially troubled Niagara Harbour and Dock Company (NHDC), which may explain why he was reduced to renting premises on the Commons for several years.
With the great alarm of Mackenzie’s Rebellion in 1837, several regiments were deployed to Niagara. The new commandant appears to have taken up quarters on the Commons once again after they had been extensively renovated. A painting of the quarters in the 1850s has survived, which is the only view we have of any building on this site. While vacant it burned to the ground in 1858.
There is no visible remnant of the “commodious dwelling” on the Commons today. There is still a spring in the area seeping to the grassy surface and occasionally a groundhog digs up a piece of brick or pottery shard at the site. The natural configuration of the nearby creek bed may have been altered over the years. Otherwise, the site today probably looks remarkably as it did that August morning in 1792 when Peter Russell first came out to see Widow Murray on her farm. On an early hot summer’s morning with the heavy mist layered across the Commons, it is quite easy to conjure up the restless spirits of some of those characters who had a presence here so many years ago.
Chapter 5
Navy Hall
Below the ramparts of Fort George near the edge of the Niagara River, the long, low stone-clad building known as Navy Hall is a popular venue for various social gatherings and educational events. Inside, the exposed hand-hewn beams, interior shutters, and welcoming fire in the huge stone fireplace evoke an ambiance of two centuries ago. Through excellent interpretive displays on the walls, visitors may learn the Navy Hall site is nearly 250 years old. The Navy Hall wharf, now a popular perch for amateur fishermen and the occasional mooring site for commercial marine enterprises, has been a naval and public dock for a similar period. In recognition of its rich and colourful past, Navy Hall was designated a National Historic Site in 1969.
In its formative years, the isolated Fort Niagara was completely dependent on sailing ships bringing in provisions, ammunition, and reinforcements across Lake Ontario from the St. Lawrence River, and later from the more easterly outpost of Oswego. The wharf below the fort was busy and several vessels were built there. However, the site was not ideal, and by late 1765 the British commander of Fort Niagara reported that “they [Naval Department] have been building a Navall Barracks 1200 yards above this Fort upon the opposite side of the river; they have also begun a warfe [sic] there.”[1] It was easier for tall-ships to get underway from the west side of the river, the site was more protected for ship-building and wintering, plus there was a ready supply of oak beyond the grassy plain above. Initially, the building consisted of a barracks for seamen and a room for officers and was set at right angles to the shoreline. In order to accommodate increased naval activity during the American Revolutionary War, more barracks, a “house,”[2] and outbuildings including a “rigging and sails loft” were added. The shipyard was busy repairing and building various new vessels for the Provincial Marine and private merchants. The first official use of the name “Navy Hall” appeared in a memorandum in May 1778,[3] but it actually referred to the general area and the complex of buildings on the site.[4] Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, the British would eventually have to cede Fort Niagara to the Americans. Almost immediately Governor Haldimand directed his surveyors to reserve the plain above Navy Hall for a protective military post[5] (see chapter 8).
A View of Niagara Taken from the Heights Near Navy Hall, artist James Peachey, watercolour, 1783 or 1787. This painting clearly shows a portion of Navy Hall at the water’s edge and British-held Fort Niagara across the river. The open grassy plain on the left with the Rangers’ Barracks in the distance, although already reserved for military purposes, is being used as common lands. Library and Archives Canada, James Peachey collection, C-002035.
By 1788 the buildings were already “in exceeding bad repair,”[6] so when Lieutenant Governor Simcoe arrived in the summer of 1792, he immediately ordered an extensive renovation of Navy Hall (by then only the original building was still standing) as a residence for his family and for government offices. He complained to a friend back in England that for accommodation he was “fitting up an old hovel that will look exactly like a carrier’s ale-house in England when properly decorated and ornamented.”[7] While waiting for the renovations to be completed, the Simcoes lived in marquee tents and later the canvas house on the plain just above Navy Hall, which they much preferred. During hot Canadian summer evenings, they would sit outside their canvas tents to catch the breezes. We generally think of the first Lieutenant Governor as one of strict formal military bearing; his wife a young reserved, though proud, wealthy heiress. Yet while writing a letter to Charlotte, one of his daughters who remained back home in England, Simcoe portrays a very relaxed informal domestic scene: sitting in an oak bower on the edge of the Commons (now the site of Fort George), the little family was thoroughly enjoying one another’s company as well as the vista to Navy Hall below, the expansive river, and Fort Niagara beyond.[8] Panting at their feet also trying to keep cool would have been their huge “borrowed” Newfoundland dog, Jack Sharp, who was a frequent fixture at Navy Hall during the Simcoe era.[9] When the first member of the Royal Family to visit Upper Canada, Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent,[10] arrived, he chose the canvas accommodation and hence the Simcoes were reluctantly forced back into the “miserable … damp”[11] Navy Hall. Despite the limitations of the old building itself Mrs. Simcoe enjoyed the property with its vistas across the river, the fine turf of the commons, and the woods beyond (known today as Paradise Grove) where she often took walks. She was especially pleased with “thirty large May Duke cherry trees behind the house, and three standard peach trees.”[12]
Lt. General Simcoe, artist Jean Laurent Mosnier, oil painting, 1791. John Graves Simcoe (1752–1806) commanded the Queen’s Rangers, First American Regiment, during the American Revolutionary War. Upon his appointment as the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada in 1791, Simcoe returned to North America and chose the tiny community opposite Fort Niagara as the first but temporary capital of the province. For the next four years the Navy Hall complex served as his home, administrative offices, and base of operations. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library, Toronto Reference Library, #T 30592.
Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim Simcoe (1762–1850), artist Mary Anne Burges, watercolour. Elizabeth, through her letters, diaries, and sketches portrayed many aspects of life in Niagara and Upper Canada during her husband’s tenure as Lieutenant Governor of the province. Library and Archives Canada, C-095815.
In order to accommodate a growing bureaucracy, several more buildings were erected on site. During the four years Niagara was the temporary capital of Upper Canada, most official government correspondence originated from Navy Hall. Moreover, thousands of hopeful but apprehensive settlers went there with their petitions for land grants. But the old building was much more than a sterile government office; several well-attended “splendid balls” lasting through the night were held there, as well as grand levees. Even visiting American diplomats were impressed.[13]
With the transfer of the government to York