The
Port Maitland Heritage Association featured two speakers at its
first meeting at the Garfield Disher Room of the Haldimand County
Public Library, Dunnville Branch. The new group was supported by
the Dunnville Heritage Association, which provided refreshments
for the meeting. The first speaker gave an overview of the entire
Grand River watershed, the second spoke in closer detail,
describing the history of Port Maitland and recent efforts by
concerned citizens to take stewardship of "Lock One,"
the first lock leading into the feeder canal built in the 19th
Century between Port Maitland and Dunnville.
Joe
Farwell, CAO of the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA)
described the history, mandate and present role of the corporation
he represents. A precursor of the GRCA was started by a group of
Brantford businessmen in the late 1930. They realized that the
many towns growing up along the Grand River took in too narrow a
purview; they could not oversee the needs of the entire river and
the many streams running into it. Later, flooding, especially the
notorious Christmas flood of 1974, prompted a reorganization into
the present Grand River Conservation Authority. The board consists
of counsellors and other appointees from all of the municipalities
built up along the Grand, including our own Haldimand County. The
GRCA, Farwell said, is neither a private company nor-a government
agency,-but lies somewhere in between. It was funded largely by
the Ontario government, but in the late 1990's this revenue stream
was cut off. Today, it is virtually independent, subsisting on
revenue from three hydro-electric generating stations that it
owns, and from a million paid visitors to its parks and
conservation areas. Some 50,000 school children tour its nature
study areas, the largest of which is the Taquanyah Nature Centre,
[near Caledonia, Cayuga or Six Nations.] Dunnville's own Bing
Island Conservation Area, five hundred acres in size, is the
GRCA's second busiest paid park, forest and campgrounds.
In
addition, the GRCA carefully monitors water levels of the Grand
River. It moderates flow by adjusting the depth of seven large
reservoirs built in and beside its banks. Under its management,
Mr. Farwell .asserted, the river's water quality has improved a
great deal over the past fifty years.
Today, the Grand
River supports seven business areas. Almost a million people
reside within the Grand River watershed. This population is
expected to grow tremendously in coming decades as Toronto's
population oversteps a development-free "Green Belt"
that surrounds and contains the mega-city.
In order to
coordinate the many stakeholders in this river, the corporation
has set up several water management plans. The upcoming plan will
start in 2015. It is designed to deal with the expected effects of
global climate change on the river, including extremes of hot and
cold, wet and dry, as well as the possible introduction of
invasive species. Another looming problem is the recent
realization that the drugs ingested by people, including heroin
and medicine, prescription and non-prescription, are all flowing
into our water supply. The results are unpredictable on fish and
other organisms living in the river, not to mention humans who
drink the water.
Mr. Farwell answered many questions
about his presentation. Supporting his assertion that the quality
of the river has improved, one long-time resident recalled that in
1970 a fishing boat travelled near Dunnville's Grand Island dam,
and disappeared into a mountain of suds. Laws mandating the
removal of phosphates from detergents have helped with that
problem, although Mr. Farwell warned that the runoff of phosphate
from fertilizer used on farms remains a concern.
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He
showed a chart with black dots showing where water quality is
worst. Dunnville had a large black dot covering it. It showed that
areas of the Grand where there are many forests also have the best
water quality. He stressed that can help the river by planting as
many trees as we can along its banks and the banks of streams that
run into it. Another help would be for dog owners to obey "poop
and scoop" laws, since that pollution runs into the Grand as
well.
The second speaker was Sylvia Weaver. We are
"rich in history," she declared, and by preserving and
commemorating this heritage we will enrich the next generation and
help "increase tourism in our area." She noted four
historical events that distinguish Port Maitland.
The
first was the construction of a naval depot by the Royal Navy just
after the War of 1812, when fear of an invasion by the United
States was still in the ascendant. Evidently, American threats
against Upper Canada died down and the depot was decommissioned in
1834.
The second event of interest to historians is the
possible existence of an "old military cemetery where graves
were laid bare by the work of the wind on the sand," of which
one Father Donovan wrote in 1919. Buttons from soldiers' uniforms
were uncovered. A series of newspaper articles by Thomas Tipton
mentioned a coffin, red cloth and artifacts being found near the
depot site. Unfortunately, an archeological assessment in 2012
failed to find the cemetery.
The third event was the
construction in the area of three infrastructure projects,
Dunnville's first dam, the digging of the feeder canal and, in
Port Maitland, the construction of the first lock leading into the
feeder canal, all in the late 1820's. These helped opened the area
for settlement. Bill Warnick and others on the PMHA believe that
the lock is an important historical site that should be saved.
They have been working to clean up Lock One and to uncover the
surprisingly complicated question as to who owns the land.
The
fourth claim to fan of Port Maitland is its status as the source
of the first commercial fishing industy on Lake Erie. The mouth of
the Grand River runs through Port Maitland, and this served as a
refuge for tugs and other large boats from the frequent, sudden
and violent storms that strike Lake Erie. Often, over a hundred
vessels huddled in the inlet at the mouth of the Grand. Port
Maitland was the largest haven on the north shore of Lake
Erie.
Since the two hundredth anniversary of these
events coming up, Sylvia Weaver announced that the fledgling
historical association is planning, subject to approval of funds
from the county, to erect a stone cairn with a commemorative
plaque. The proposed location is at Port Maitland East Park, known
locally as Brown's Point, on the east side of the mouth of the
Grand. The design for the cairn that was selected is of a pyramid
shape, and will use local labour and materials in its
construction. It "will be approximately 8 feet high With a 6
foot square base." Once the grant process is underway, the
PMHA will begin a fund raising campaign as soon as this spring.
"The total budget has not been decided as yet. But I am
hopeful the community will assist making this project a
reality."
John Taylor
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