Chapter 12
The Great Swap
In order to defend the mouth of the Niagara River and the Town of Niagara, plans were drawn up in early 1814 for a new fortification on Mississauga Point. A portion of the land had been set aside in 1796[1] as a military reserve (approximately one half the size of the present Mississauga Common/Golf Course). A stone lighthouse (1804) and small earthen battery were established on this reserve. However, it is curious why the government did not reserve the entire strategic Mississauga Point property from the very beginning. Instead, the acting surveyor general of the province, David William Smith (see chapter 21), convinced the Crown to grant him the remaining half of the Point extending all the way to the One Mile Creek in 1796.[2] This was not the only important property that Smith secured for himself. As the contemporary Lord Selkirk complained, “The lots marked DWS are sure to be choice spots.”[3] When Smith, suffering from the “ague,” departed the province for England in 1802, he listed his properties in Niagara for sale.
The plans for the new Fort Mississauga on the reserve were for “a temporary field work,” consisting of irregular star-shaped earthworks with picketed ramparts enclosing several log barracks and a unique central masonry tower. Construction began in March 1814, and most of the work was completed by July, with the exception of the tower.[4] The Royal Engineers, however, were concerned that the reserve did not provide a clear perimeter zone of at least eight hundred yards.[5] Moreover, the grandiose plans[6] for a mammoth garrison on the site, ten times larger than the current Fort Mississauga, had been drawn up. Such a fortress would have necessitated a much larger reserve. The rest of the land, bordered by Queen Street, Lake Ontario, the Niagara River, and Simcoe Street, would have to be expropriated for military use.
The current owner of the property was not to be trifled with. The Honourable James Crooks (1778–1860) arrived from his native Scotland when he was thirteen years old to join his half-brother Francis, a merchant at Fort Niagara. Eventually he and another brother went into the mercantile business in the Town of Niagara. They were the first to ship wheat and flour from Upper Canada to lucrative markets in Montreal. To facilitate this trade, Crooks had commissioned the shipwright Asa Stanard to build the schooner Lord Nelson at Niagara (probably Navy Hall). This ship was later commandeered and renamed The Scourge[7] by the Americans on the eve of the War of 1812. At the age of twenty-four, James Crooks purchased Smith’s property at Mississauga Point, which included land at the mouth of the One Mile Creek. There he built a comfortable brick home on an estate he called Crookston.[8] As captain of the First Lincoln Regiment he was honorably mentioned for his leadership role in the Battle of Queenston Heights. Although Crooks suffered huge war losses, he proceeded with the industrial development of his significant properties elsewhere in the province, including several mill-sites, one being the first paper-making mill[9] in the province. Other interests included the Bank of Upper Canada, the promotion of several canals, and politics. He served as a member of the House of Assembly for several terms and eventually was appointed to the prestigious Legislative Council of the province. Although his Niagara properties were only a small portion of his fortune, Crooks nevertheless was determined to drive a hard bargain with the British government.
Niagara’s first public school, artist Captain John D. Shawe, oil painting, 1946. The first purpose-built public school was erected in 1859 on land obtained by James Crooks as part of the great swap. This wonderful painting captures the excitement of a winter recess on the playground in the rear of this handsome building that was soon to be replaced by the new Parliament Oak School.
Courtesy of Parliament Oak School, photo by Jim Smith.
In the early 1820s negotiations commenced between Crooks and H. Vavasour of the Royal Engineers.[10] The government proposed an exchange of land — upon surrendering his 21.25 acres at Mississauga Point, Crooks would receive four blocks of vacant property on the Military Reserve/Commons suitable for development bounded by present King, Picton, Wellington, and Castlereagh Streets (sixteen acres). He would also receive another four-acre block of the Reserve on present Ricardo Street plus a small adjacent “water lot,” which would allow Crooks to maintain a wharf on the river next to Navy Hall. The deal was complicated by the fact that a one-acre plot at the corner of Queen and Simcoe had already been severed.[11] Moreover, Crooks had granted leases to two small houses on his property,[12] which were quickly removed from the newly enlarged Military Reserve.
The agreement was formally approved at a meeting of the province’s Executive Council on April 16, 1823.[13]
The Crooks swap was the first and largest surrender of a portion of the Military Reserve since its original boundaries were set in 1796. Fortunately Fort Mississauga was never subsequently called upon to fire a shot in anger and the enlarged clear defensive perimeter was not necessary. The expansive site was eventually used to good purpose as a military encampment during some of the Camp Niagara years, and was also leased as a golf course (see chapter 20). Had it not been designated as a military reserve the Crooks portion of the Point would probably have been developed and the unique and arguably most historic golf course in Canada would not exist today.
Crooks’s newly acquired properties were called the “New Survey,” and new names, many with military connections,[14] were assigned to all the new streets southeast of King Street. The lots were slowly developed and are now an integral part of the town. World-class hotels and restaurants now occupy the Picton Street properties while most of the rest of the four blocks is residential. One exception is part of Lot 39. In 1854, for £200 Crooks sold the partial lot to the Town Council for “uses of Common Schools and Grammar Schools in the Town of Niagara forever.”[15] As part of the deal, scholarships called the “Crooks Endowment” were established for two scholars from each of the two schools “each and every year … in perpetuity.”[16] The funds were to be provided by the town or any subsequent owner of the land. In 1859 Niagara’s first permanent common or public school was erected at the corner of Platoff and Davy Streets. A handsome two-storey brick building, it continued as a school until it was replaced by Parliament Oak School. Recently restored, it is now a private residence. One wonders about the legal stipulation that scholarships were to be provided “in perpetuity” by the town or subsequent owners of the property. The commodious brick outhouse behind the school has also been renovated. Although Niagara boasted one of the first grammar (high) schools in the province, it never had a permanent home until the erection of a purpose-built brick structure complete with bell tower on the portion of the Crooks school lot at the corner of Davy and Castlereagh Streets in 1875. In 1909 a separate gymnasium was erected behind the High School on Davy Street in honour of former teacher Janet Carnochan. Too small to meet the requirements of a growing enrollment, the school was closed in the 1940s and the students were bused to Niagara Falls.
Portico window, Memorial Hall, photo, Cosmo Condina, 20ll. The decorative window provided natural light to the third floor of Memorial Hall (1906), the first purpose-built museum in Ontario.
Courtesy of Cosmo Condina.
