Richard Livingstone ploughs with horses in Homer, 1912-1920. Homer was first settled in 1795 by Loyalist William Read, who established a church there. Originally known as Upper Ten Mile, it was given the name Homer by the post office in 1859. An important stagecoach stop in the 1800s, over the years Homer has had one store, a school, several hotels, restaurants and a racetrack. The third Welland Canal in 1931 tore the village in half. The 1939 construction of the QEW saw business pick up, only to virtually disappear in 1963 when the Garden City Skyway was completed. Today, among the few remnants of the village are St. George’s Anglican Church, now in its fourth location, the original cemetery and the Homer Bridge (Queenston Street) over the canal.