
Exploring History: Queen Street, 1873
This 1870 view of the south side of Queen Street shows, from right: John Lees Alma’s upscale grocery and wine store, originally built in 1825 for dry goods merchant John Daly; an early

This 1870 view of the south side of Queen Street shows, from right: John Lees Alma’s upscale grocery and wine store, originally built in 1825 for dry goods merchant John Daly; an early

In the early 1880s, Robert Warren, postmaster for Niagara, and others from Toronto wanted to establish a summer camp based on the ideas of the Chautauqua movement. They founded The Niagara Assembly (formerly

This photograph shows the popular heritage district intersection before the beloved cenotaph was installed. The store to the left is Connolly’s. The signage indicates that it was for jewellery and watch repairs, but

Charlotte was the daughter of an Irish fur trader and an Ojibwe woman from Sault Ste. Marie. As a young woman, she became an interpreter for missionaries and helped translate Christian sermons into

Beginning in September 1917, camps were organized on the Niagara Commons to provide two months of training for Polish volunteers recruited in the United States. The objective was to prepare them for a

The adoption of the poppy was due, in no small part, to Lt.-Gov. John McCrae’s famous 1915 poem “In Flanders Fields.” After reading the poem in a magazine in 1918, American teacher Moina

This photograph is captioned with “Solid Comfort: Lieutenant Cochrane after a busy day.” It shows the interior of a canvas tent that the officers and soldiers would have lived under during their training

William Long, a local hotelier, built the hotel at the corner of King and Picton streets. In the 1890s, Long was involved in an accident caused by runaway horses and later died. In

This postcard features the former Queen’s Royal Hotel, which was located along Front Street in Old Town. Today in this area, there are homes and a wonderful park, appropriately named Queen’s Royal Park.

This engraving by T. Sutherland, circa 1880, shows American troops (blue uniforms) crossing the Niagara River at Queenston to fight the British (red uniforms) in October 1812. The Battle of Queenston Heights was

As we celebrate the harvest and give thanks for all that we have, here is a photo of Richard Livingstone ploughing with his horses in Homer, circa 1912 to 1920. In Niagara-on-the-Lake, we

Commercial fruit growing started in Niagara between 1825 and 1830 when John Durham set out a large peach orchard on the River Road near Queenston, also known as the Fisher Farm. The first

This is an 1870 sketch of the Navy Hall Inn and Tavern and the Ferry House, which was formerly located near where Navy Hall is today, Ricardo Street, along the river. Note the

The white building pictured here is the early St. Davids school house, which was located on York Road where the United Church and cemetery are today. It was built after the War of

This is a lithograph by D.L. Glover from an original painting by Ferdinand Richards. The suspension bridge opened in 1855 and was the world’s first working railway suspension bridge connecting Niagara Falls, Ont.,

It’s back to school time again for Niagara-on-the-Lake students. Here’s a photograph of students in front of the former kindergarten room at 267 Davey St. Kindergarten started in Canada in 1882 and was

This postcard features the west side of Queen Street. The Apothecary is on the corner with a classic Coca-Cola sign. Note, instead of the beautiful flowerbeds we have today, there is a white

Many parts of Canada have been ravaged by wildfires and the tragic news coming from Hawaii is devastating. In honour of the firefighters battling the impossible both near and far, most notably our

This trophy was won by Mary Sheppard (married name Davies), who was named the “Champion Pupil” at the 1927 Niagara Township Rural School Fair. Mary attended SS #4, a school in Queenston. The

This photograph shows a team of horses pulling a wagon loaded with baskets of peaches. It was taken on King Street in front of the Plumb house, which was located where the old

This week’s photograph is of St. Davids Cement Works, also known as the Queenston Cement Works, which was built near the Queenston Quarries by Isaac Usher and Sons in 1882. A layer of

This week’s image is of the former livery stables of the Greene family. The stables were established on King Street by Michael J. Greene sometime in the late 1800s. During the 1901 visit

This photograph from 1898 is taken from the roof of the Court House on Queen Street facing northwest toward Regent Street. On the lower left is the Olde Angel Inn, which was also

School’s out and Niagara-on-the-Lake kids no doubt are excited for some summertime fun. This 1902 photograph features the Niagara Golf Club caddies goofing around near the clubhouse while on their summer break. Local

This painting by local artist Francis Granger was completed in 1864. It is an image of the military hospital on the Niagara Commons. It is also the former Indian Council House. The council

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