By Dave Johnston

Our group in front of the Church in St. Andrew’s West, Authors Photo

This past Saturday I lead a motorcycle ride with my Club members from the Old Bastards Vintage Motorcycle Club through historic Glengarry in Eastern Ontario. We followed the Stormont Dundas and Glengarry County Road 18 which winds through small hamlets and farm fields full of ripe corn, soybean and hay. We stopped at some of the historic locations which tell the story of Glengarry’s Scottish heritage.

Glengarry was founded in 1784 by Scottish loyalists, mainly from Clan Donald, and other Highland Scottish emigrants from the Mohawk Valley in New York following the American revolution. The Crown granted them land and helped with supplies the first winter, as compensation for their losses in New York. Some veterans received land instead of pay for their salaries. In addition, the settlement was founded as a destination for Scottish emigrants arriving after the recent Highland Clearances. Great Britain hoped the new immigrants would help settle and develop this area, which became known as Upper Canada and later Ontario.

St Andrew’s West

Our first stop was in St. Andrews West where we toured the Pioneer cemetery, and looked at the three historic parish churches. The Parish of St. Andrews (named for the Patron Saint of Scotland) was founded in 1784 by 38 families of Scottish descent. These families (United Empire Loyalists) had travelled north from New York State after the American Revolution and were granted land by the British Crown in return for their military service.

Our bikes at the Nor’Westers & Loyalists Pioneer Museum, Photo Author

In the cemetery, located on the site of the original log church which was built in 1784, is a replica was erected in 1991. One of the most famous persons buried in this cemetery is Simon Fraser, the famed Scottish Nor’ Wester and explorer who charted much of British Columbia including the Fraser River.

The pioneer graveyard is also the burial site of Ontario’s First Premier John Sandfield MacDonald. The oldest tombstone still legible is that of Alexander McDonell whose epitaph reads “killed by the falling of a tree” –1799. This stone can be viewed near the south wall of the log church.

Nor’Wester & Loyalist Pioneer Museum display, Photo Author

Across the road from the cemetery is Quinn's Inn, built in 1865 by John Sandfield MacDonald. Two years before becoming Premier, Mr. MacDonald built a stagecoach stopover on the site of Quinn's Inn. Located on what was once the main stagecoach route between Montreal, Kingston and Toronto known variously as the Line Road, the King's Road or Dundas Street. It was MacDonald's wish that the basement of the hotel be kept for use by the parishioners for the serving of lunches after wedding and funerals.

The building continued in operation as a hotel until it was gutted by fire in 1879 and was purchased by William and Elizabeth Masterson in 1895, who renovated the interior. The building opened under their management as a store, barber's shop and post office a few years later. In 1924 Frank Quinn became owner, followed by his sons Maynard, Alfred and Ernest in 1948. It continued as a general store until 1989 when it was purchased and historically restored by the Quinn family. Currently Quinn's Inn is owned and operated by the Belmore Family.

Martintown

Glengarry Celtic Music Hall of Fame, Photo Donna Febbo

Just east of St. Andrews West is Martintown, which has a historic Grist Mill, built in 1846 by Alexander McMartin. It replaced the original wooden grist, saw, and carding mills built between 1801 and 1803 by Alexander's father, Malcolm McMartin. In addition to building the mill Alexander McMartin also served the community as Justice of the Peace, Sherriff, Member of the Legislature and Lieutenant Colonel in the militia.

Milling industry on the Raisin River attracted settlers to the village as houses, a school, church, shops, taverns and a blacksmith were established. The village was originally called McMartin's Mills and later changed to Martintown.

Fraser Field

As we departed County Road 18 and head south, on the North side of county road 14 which follows the Raisin River into Williamstown is an obscure plaque at the entrance of an overgrown lane. The plaque outlines the history of an estate named Fraser’s Field. The large, renovated Farmhouse can be seen at the end of the 400 metre lane or from the adjacent county road 27.

Williamstown

Williamstown, though off the beaten track, is a treasure trove of history including the Glengarry Nor’wester and Loyalist Museum, the Glengarry Celtic Music Hall of Fame, the John Johnson House (a National Historic Site), the Bethune Thompson House, and the St. Andrew’s United Church and Cemetery.

Dave Ross spreading his late father'‘s (the Reverend Bruce Ross) ashes on the grounds of the museum. Photo Ray Pilon

Glengarry, Nor'Westers & Loyalist Museum chronicles the migration of Loyalists led by Sir John Johnson of New York from the Mohawk Valley to the surrounding area during the American Revolution. The museum is housed in an old schoolhouse which features the names of previous students carved into the brick face.

Glengarry County has a wealth of Celtic heritage. One thing lacking, however, had been a form of recognition for those talented individuals who make up Glengarry’s rich Celtic music and dance culture. This void has been filled by the Glengarry Celtic Music Hall of Fame in Williamstown. The organization was founded on June 10th, 2003 in Alexandria, Ontario.

Dave Ross, one of our club members on the ride, told us his father, the reverend Bruce Ross was a great fiddle player and was featured in the museum along with his bandmates. Dave’s father had passed earlier this summer, so he brought some of his ashes to spread on the grounds of the hall.

Sir John Johnson House, Photo Steven Downes

Sir John Johnson House. Sir John Johnson, a loyalist who moved North to Montreal following the American Revolution, left behind a large estate in Mohawk valley to fund and lead the King’s Regiment of New York. In 1784 he was instrumental in resettling many loyalists in the area. Johnson himself built a home and mills on the banks of Raisin River between 1784 and 1792. The home remains one of the oldest in Ontario.

Statue of Loyalist Pioneer Praying in front of St Andrews United Church, Photo Barry Sullivan, 2023

St. Andrew’s United Church. Reverend John Bethune acquired a 3000-acre grant near Williamstown where he built the first Presbyterian church in Upper Canada. Following the organization of a Presbyterian congregation in 1787, a log church was erected here and replaced in 1806 by a stone structure. The present church was begun in 1812. Its bell was presented in 1806 by Sir Alexander Mackenzie, the great western explorer, and its communion service in 1820 by friends in Scotland. The first allotment of pews was made by lot on February 23, 1818, after special places had been reserved for the minister's family, Mackenzie and other partners of the North West Company. Between 1787 and 1958 the congregation was served by only six ministers.

Bethune-Thompson House / White House was designated a national historic site of Canada. This early Ontario home combines historic construction techniques and classic design. The vertical log south wing may date from the 1780s when Loyalist Peter Ferguson settled on the site. The central part was built ca. 1805 as a manse for Rev. John Bethune, the first Presbyterian Minister of Upper Canada and was later the residence of explorer David Thompson. Beneath the stucco of the main block, the timber frame has three walls infilled with rubble stone and a fourth with ‘stick and mud’. The five-bay facade, formerly flanked by similar wings, expresses the British classical tradition.

St. Raphael’s Ruins

We drove north out of Williamstown and rejoined County Road 18 where we continued heading east until we came upon the ruins of the St. Raphael’s Catholic Church. In 1970 a fire consumed the church of St. Raphael’s, one of the earliest Roman Catholic churches in English-speaking Canada. Fortunately, the outer walls were spared and today its impressive scale and fine masonry work continue to attract the tourists to the site. The Ruins were declared a National Historic Site in 1996.

Dunvegan and the War of 182 Encampment

After leaving St. Raphels we continued north through Glen Roy, passing by Loch Garry until we reach our final stop of the ride, the Glengarry Pioneer Museum in Dunvegan. Opened in 1962, the museum consists of several nineteenth century log heritage buildings and artifacts. The museum’s original structure started life as MacIntosh’s Store in the 1840s. It then became the Star Inn, a stagecoach stops in the 1860s. It is this period that the inn is furnished to reflect, including the original barroom, believed to be one of the oldest in Eastern Ontario.

This weekend the grounds were brimming with re-enactors as part of the War of 1812 Encampment. This event featured the Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles which was a unit formed of local Scots during the War of 1812 and which saw action in several major engagements during the war.

Maxville the Glengarry Highland Games

On our return route back to Delta Ontario, we passed through the small town of Maxville which is the home to one of the largest highland games in North America: The Glengarry Highland Games held each year in early August.

We covered over 160 km, for 2 ½ hours on scenic winding roads, but somehow travelled much farther -- right into Glengarry’s Scottish beginnings! We all loved the sense of discovery, and historic significance of this small slice of Ontario.

An Historic Ride through Scottish Glengarry