Port Stanley 200 committee has unlocked a wealth of local history
Heritage Port Stanley’s respected amateur archivists have agreed to disagree about the actual date of the village’s 200th anniversary, and the lakefront community’s historical society is instead joining in the celebrations with a series of bicentennial heritage tours showcasing six significant sites.
Differing accounts about the timing of the village’s origins emerged soon after the PS200 organizing committee was established by Central Elgin Mayor Andrew Sloan and Cr. Michelle Graham late in 2023.
“Bostwick (Lieutenant-Colonel John Bostwick 1780-1849) got his land grant in 1804 and we’re not sure of the exact date when Bostwick came to this area,” Heritage Port treasurer Craig Cole said in an interview. “It was probably around 1818-1819 that he moved down here (and) a little settlement at the mouth of Kettle Creek started to grow. It was just known as the settlement at the mouth of Kettle Creek.
“Then Col. Talbot (Thomas Talbot 1771-1853, an Irish-born Canadian soldier and colonial administrator) was being visited by the fellow who later became Lord Stanley and he (Bostwick) was making an effort to get various places named after Lord Stanley (Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby),” added Mr. Cole.
Mr. Cole’s full explanation can be found in his 2014 book, Port Stanley – The First Hundred Years, 1804-1904, a collaboration with well-known Canadian historian Dr. Robert Burns, formerly of Sparta. The book recounts the development of a busy shipping port, the coming of the railroad, and establishment of the Lake Erie fishing industry. Mr. Cole has compiled about a half-dozen other books about local history.
“We certainly know he (Lord Stanley) visited this area in 1824, but it didn’t start being called Port Stanley for another five or six years,” he said. “So, to say this was the founding of Port Stanley isn’t totally accurate, but I think it’s great that anybody wants to celebrate 200 years of history. I just would be careful about saying this is the 200th anniversary of the founding of Port Stanley.”
Another amateur historian says confusion over the timing of the bicentennial is fueled by the fact that the village may have been founded in 1824, but it wasn’t incorporated until 1874. Incidentally, Port Stanley celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1974.
“We’re celebrating 200 years of settlement and that Edward Stanley, later Lord Stanley visited in 1824 and it is named after him by Colonel Talbot,” said Heritage Port Stanley treasurer, former CE Mayor Sally Martyn. “That is what is important.
“(The heritage tours are) a chance for the community and visitors to learn more about the rich heritage in Port Stanley,” said Ms. Martyn. “Too often people just take their buildings for granted not realizing the significance to the village’s history.”
Past Heritage Port chair and author John Morrow launched a new book recently that also references the anniversary. Port Stanley 200: The Lost History (Excuse Me, But There’s a Perch in My Orangeade), is available exclusively at Lake House Books, on Bridge Street, Port Stanley.
“If you talk to Craig, he’ll say, nothing happened in 1824 that we know of, which is probably true, and whether it’s a typo, or whether we found different information in here (Morrow’s book) we’ve got that Lord Stanley visited in 1823, so who knows,” Mr. Morrow said in an interview. “I think it started out ‘this is the bicentennial’, but now it’s like, we know we’ve been here at least 200 years, so let’s celebrate that.”
Cr. Graham and PS200 committee historian Kelly Shewan provide another view.
“Explored by travellers and adventurers in the 17th and 18th centuries, it (what we now call Port Stanley) served initially as a landing spot for European travellers and a camping refugee as well,” said Cr. Graham. “It was established by Adrien Jolliet, the brother of the notorious explorer Louis Jolliet in 1669.
“About 200 years later, in 1812, a community named Kettle Creek was established by John Bostwick, a prominent Upper-Canadian businessman,” added Cr. Graham. “The original name was then changed in 1824 to Port Stanley, after the third Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby.”
Heritage Port Stanley will provide full access to much of the village’s history on June 15, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. when interpreters in historical dress will attend six historically significant sites to share stories about the past. Colorful brochures detailing the tours will be available at the library, the visitor centre and local businesses. The tour sites are at: Christ Anglican Church, 283 Colborne Street; Telegraph House Inn, 205 Main Street; the cork kiln, 183 Main Street; the King George VI Lift Bridge, on Bridge Street; Port Stanley Terminal Rail, 309 Bridge Street; and Main Beach, at the foot of William Street.
“We had a very successful PS200 golf tournament on May 25, 2024 with great feedback from participants and fun had by all,” said Cr. Graham, chair of the PS200 committee. “Our next events are the historical weekend on June 15, 2024 with a historical walking tour led by the heritage society at various locations throughout Port, as well as a Brock's Landing re-enactment (organized by Ms. Shewan) on the berm and an army-navy display at the legion.”
Cr. Graham said Canada Day fireworks will be presented on June 30, 2024. There will also be a 200-cupcake give-away that weekend, as well as a village-wide scavenger hunt with a $500 grand prize. A market, a chili cook-off and a pumpkin carving contest are planned for the fall.
“We have had great feedback upon completion of all events and the t-shirts are selling like hotcakes,” added Cr. Graham.
Joe Konecny, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Aylmer Express
