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242 Picton Main St. |
Ontario Tourism Region : The Great Waterway
Description From Owner:
- Pop. 4,673. In Hallowell T., Prince Edward c., on Picton Bay, an arm of the Bay ofQuinte on L. Ontario and Hwy 33 and C. Rds. 17 & 49, 37 km. SE of Belleville.
- Twin settlements of United Empire Loyalists developed at the head of Picton Bay, starting with Hallowell in 1786. Rev. William Macaulay founded a community on 500 acres (202.5 ha) ofland granted to his United Empire Loyalist father.
- He named the place after Lt.-Gen. Sir Thomas Picton, a major-general in the Napoleonic Wars who was killed at the Battle of Waterloo. Macaulay built St. Mary Magdalene Church in 1825 and acted as its first rector.
- When Hallowell and Picton united in 1837, the influential Macaulay succeeded in retaining the name Picton. The town has strong associations with Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister.
- Macdonald's father operated a flour mill here and young John practiced law at the Greek Revival-style county courthouse while managing a law office for an ailing cousin. That courthouse, completed in 1834, is still in use, as is Macaulay's church.
- The courthouse also contained ajail where a double gallows is still kept handy, even though it hasn't been used since 1884. Just outside Picton is a small white frame church known as The White Chapel or Conger Chapel.
- It was the first meeting house, built by the Methodists in 1809, and has been main-tained as a place of worship longer than any other Methodist church in Ontario. An historic plaque at Glenwood Cemetery recalls Letitia Youmans (1827-1896).
- She was a school teacher who became publicly active in temperance reform in 1874 by organizing a Women's Christian Temperance Union in Picton. Later she was the frrst president of the W.C.T.U. of Ontario and of the federal organization.
- Postcards above used with permission from A Great Lakes Treasury of Old Postcards 2007 Lorenzo Marcolin, MD 176 pp. For Copies call the Huronia Museum 705 526 2844 or email lmarcolin@aol.com
Map Below gives Canadian Geographical Names
Natural Resources Canada in Prince Edward County.
Natural Resources Canada in Prince Edward County.
Address of this page: http://www.ruralroutes.com/picton