The St. Lawrence Project
Section 3
The early British system of land distribution or land grants was, for the most part, determined by military standing. Those who held high military ranks or had distinguished themselves in battle received the largest packages and most choice lands. Following the War of 1812, with the threat of military invasion diminishing, many of the large landowners and their subsequent descendants focused their attention on the needs of the surrounding residents. Slowly they began to harness the waterpower, build dams and mills, and develop services for the burgeoning farm communities and other industries in the vicinity.
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Christ Church being relocated to Upper Canada Village.
A number of these small riverside villages had started out as steamer stops and lock stations offering respite and services to mariners making the harrowing journey up the St. Lawrence to the Great Lakes. After the mills arrived, the villages grew into small service centres, offering the usual stores, hotels, trades and an assortment of small agricultural industries. Over time some of the larger villages were able to attract additional industries on their own.
The villages had been in decline for years - ever since discussion of the seaway project first began, more than forty years earlier. Most people in the area considered the project inevitable and with the weight of the 'seaway' looming over their heads like a death sentence, the villages had been unable to attract new industries, investment or income. Over the years their growth stagnated and their status deteriorated to little more than small rural backwaters. By the mid twentieth century a couple of mills were still operating but most of the trade came from a few small farm-based industries and summer tourism.
Responses to the news were mixed. When the pact finally was signed and construction began in 1954, many breathed a sigh of relief and began to celebrate. It was finally over. Quite a few residents looked forward to the thought of living in a new town site and enjoying the conveniences of running water, paved roads, street lighting, mall shopping and all the other amenities that people in larger towns took for granted. Others were heartbroken at the thought of losing riverside homes that had been in their families for generations.
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House in Mille Roches being relocated.
[ca. 1956]
Initially many of the residents were not impressed with the relocation plan. It called for the formation of two new towns called Long Sault and Ingleside. Residents from the villages of Mille Roches and Moulinette would be offered comparable new homes in Long Sault and those from the communities of Wales, Dickinson's Landing, Farran's Point and Aultsville were offered homes in Ingleside. Farmers and business owners could obtain farms or businesses of similar size and quality. The alternative was cash at market value plus 10 per cent. However, since the seaway plans had been in the works for many years, property values were depressed and a number of people, particularly those living alongside the river, believed they were not receiving fair replacement value for their property.
Although Ontario Hydro's first offer was on a 'take it or leave it' basis, late in 1954 they came up with a new plan, offering to relocate as many houses as could feasibly be moved. As always, there was a catch. Homeowners would have to negotiate their property value on a one-to-one basis with Ontario Hydro. Some came out ahead and others felt they had been taken. Nevertheless, 152 homes in the village of Iroquois were saved and relocated to a new Iroquois village about 2 km north on higher ground. The destroyed section of Morrisburg was replaced by a new development on the north side of the village. All told, relocation affected 6,500 people, 531 homes, 225 farms, 17 churches and 18 cemeteries, which included re-interring more than 2,000 bodies. Those buildings that couldn't be moved were demolished.
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Model of New Town No. 2
Ontario Hydro's plan included an ambitious waterfront rehabilitation program that added nine parks and beaches between Lancaster and Iroquois. A few of the more historic buildings were moved to Upper Canada Village, near Crysler Park, a newly-created pioneer and historical theme park, which remains a popular tourist attraction. A new Ault Park was created to replace the park on Sheek Island, donated by Levi Addison Ault in 1914. In 1955 the province of Ontario created the St. Lawrence Parks Commission whose mandate is to manage and promote the various historical and recreational resources stretching along the St. Lawrence from Kingston to the Quebec border.
It was 8:00 am on July 1st when the historic event began to unfold. It started with the sound of a distant muffled blast, the sound of 30 tons of dynamite tearing open the cofferdams that had been holding back the water over the last four years. Although many had expected a huge wall of water to come gushing in, it didn't happen like that at all. The water began as a trickle, flowing slowly and steadily, gradually covering the foundations and roads of the historic villages. By the second day, the water had made its way to Moulinette, Wales and Dickinson's Landing. The following day Aultsville, old Iroquois and the east side of old Morrisburg were flooded. By day four, all the villages, islands and farmlands were laying at the bottom of their watery grave.
Although the villages have been gone for almost fifty years, they continue to attract a considerable amount of attention, probably much more so than when they actually thrived. Divers from all over search underwater for remnants of old locks and foundations. In 1977, a group of former residents founded the Lost Villages Historical Society, a group dedicated to commemorating the memory of and preserving the history of the lost villages. Their museum, located at Ault Park, contains a number of artifacts and restored heritage buildings, which either originated from or were characteristic of the buildings that were once part of the doomed hamlets.
Memories and images of the villages themselves remain frozen in time. In reality they were probably not much different from the many other small riverside farming hamlets that continue to dot the shores of the St. Lawrence.
During the 1950s and early 60s, casualties of industrial progress were viewed as being an unfortunate but sometimes necessary by-product, particularly when society in general was viewed as being the principal beneficiary. By the late 1970s that line of thinking had shifted somewhat as people began to focus their attention on the past and on whether the sacrifice of many of our historical symbols and structures was worth the price. However given the need for greater power resources and better transportation routes for shipping, it seems likely the same decisions would be made today.