Plaques along the Loyalist Parkway

Bay of Quinte Carrying Place (at County Rd. 64)
A cairn marks the site of a meeting in 1787 between Sir John Johnson and Mississauga Chiefs. The British were seeking land for alternate routes from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron.

The Kente (Quinte) Mission (at the park in Consecon)
In 1668 two Sulpician priests from France established a mission near here to serve the Iroquois on the north shore of Lake Ontario.

Daniel Reynold's House (Wellington Main Street)
Built by Daniel Reynolds, possibly as early as 1790, this may be the oldest house in the County.

West Lake Boarding School (East end of Bloomfield)
This fine example of Loyalist Neo-Classic Architecture was opened as a boarding school in 1841. Thomas Clarke, a Quaker, was the first superintendent. It is now a private residence.

Sir John A. Macdonald in Hallowell (at Post Office, Picton)
John A. Macdonald, Canada's first Prime Minister practiced law here in 1833, gaining his first experience at public administration. In 1835 he set up his law practice in Kingston.

Founding of Hallowell (Hill St. and Bay Street east of the Fairgrounds)
An accounting of the growth of the settlement of Hallowell on the harbour and its later absorption with Macaulay's Picton

Prince Edward County Fair Grounds (north Main St., Picton)
Since 1836 this fairground has contributed to the business and social life of the County. The Grandstand, Crystal Palace, Fruit Building are functional and are still used.

Paxton's Crystal Palace (1851) in London England inspired many homemade replicas in Ontario. This, the sole survivor, was built in 1890. Restoration was started in 1990 and, with the help of the Government of Ontario, the Government of Canada , the County of Prince Edward and public contributions, completed in 1996.

The County Buildings, Registry Office (1871) and Shire Hall (1874) (On Main Street north of Loyalist Parkway)
The Registry Office is a well preserved example of typical post Confederation building. It was used up until 1975.

Shire hall Council Chamber is where the Town Council met. It now serves the Prince Edward County Council.

County Court House (Union Street, Picton)
This fine Greek Revival building was built in 1832 on a plot donated by Rev. William Macaulay. John A. Macdonald practiced in this courtroom . The building is still used and houses the County Archives and Registry Office.

Macaulay Heritage Park (Union and Church Street, Picton)
The Heritage Park complex contains Rev. Macaulay's house,(1830) and furnished in a style consistent with the last half of the 1800's. The Church of St. Mary Magdelene, built about 1825, is now a museum.

Rev. William Macaulay 1794- 1874 (at Union and Church Streets, Picton)
Macaulay was the son of a Loyalist and received a grant for 400 acres. He studied under the Rev. John Strachan , later attended Oxford University and was ordained in 1818. He used his own funds to construct St. Mary Magdelene Church and also donated land for the nearby Court House.

The Conference Church (Chapel and Main streets)
In 1824 the first Methodist "Canada Conference" which resulted in the separation of the U.S. and Canadian churches took place here in a frame church which stood on this site. The present Church was erected in 1898.

The Mills Of Glenora (at Lake On The Mountain Provincial Parkette)
Tells of the settlement of Glenora and Major Peter Van Alstine's mills. At the water's edge below a wide variety of industrial buildings have come and gone seeking the power of the water flumed from above.

John A. Macdonald's father lived here and ran a mill. Later the Little Giant Water Wheels were made here in James Wilson's machine shop which now houses a Government of Ontario Fisheries hatchery and office.

The Royal Union Flag (west dock at Glenora ferry)
This British Royal Standard was the flag honoured by the Loyalist settlers when they came to the area. It was created in 1606 and endured until 1801.

Bay of Quinte Loyalist Settlement (east dock at Glenora Ferry)
An overall view of Loyalist settlement of the shores of the Bay of Quinte and Townships to the east which eventually prompted the British Government to establish the Province of Upper Canada in 1791

The Loyalist Landing Place (Adolphustown Park)
On June 16, 1784, 250 Loyalists ended their long journey from New York under the guidance of Major Van Alstine and came ashore here.

Loyalist Memorial Church (Adolphustown)
The first Anglicans of Adolphustown were Loyalists. In 1822 they built St. Paul's Church on this site. In 1884 the present stone St. Alban's Church was built as a memorial to the early Loyalists.

Quakers of Adolphustown (Hay Bay)
Quakers who came in 1784 met in their own homes until they built their first Meeting House here in 1798. This Meeting aided the formation of several others in the Bay of Quinte area.

Sir John A. Macdonald Family Home (Hay Bay)
Our first Prime Minister and political genius of Confederation came here often to his Parent's home.

Hay Bay Church (Hay Bay)
Upper Canada's first Methodist Chapel was built in 1792. It was restored in 1910 by the Methodist Church and is still used for annual services by the United Church of Canada.

Hazelton Spencer (on the Parkway west of Conway)
A Loyalist from Rhode Island, Spencer was the first Representative from this region elected to Provincial Parliament in 1792.

Rev. Robert Macdowall (cemetery on north side near Sandhurst)
Macdowall was ordained by the Dutch Reformed Church at Albany and was sent in 1798 to minister to Presbyterians in the Quinte area. His work laid the foundation for the development of Presbyterianism in Ontario.

Lieut. Col. James Rogers (church on the south side of Parkway near Sandhurst) Rogers commanded the 2nd battalion of King's Rangers and led a party of about 300 to settle in Fredericksburgh in 1784.

Escape of the Royal George (on the Parkway at County Rd. 8)
The British Corvette Royal George was attacked here by seven American ships in 1812. She escaped to find safety in Kingston Harbour where the guns of the shore batteries along with her own (22) drove the enemy off.

Finkle's Tavern (Bath, west end)
Henry Finkle built the first tavern between Kingston and York (Toronto) here in 1786. He also built a brewery and a school. Asa Danforth used the tavern as a headquarters while building the eastern sector of the Danforth Road in 1798. This was the first public road in Ontario.

First Steamship on Lake Ontario (Finkle's Point, west of Bath)
The Frontenac was built here in 1816. She was the first of many steamships to come. These ships allowed faster and more comfortable movement of goods and passengers to all points on the lake.

The Hawley House (Bath)
Jeptha Hawley, a Loyalist from Vermont, built this house about 1785. The stone portion was added in 1787 to house the Rev. John Langhorn, the district's first Anglican clergyman

Rev. John Langhorn (north of the Parkway at St. John's Church, Bath)
Appointed missionary to the area in 1787, he became the first Anglican clergyman in the Bat of Quinte region. Although an eccentric he was instrumental in the building of 3 churches nearby.

The Founding of Bath (Bath Park)
Soldiers from Jessup's Rangers settled around Ernest Town in 1784. The town became a ship building centre. In 1818 the town was renamed Bath and it prospered well into the 1880's resulting in many distinctive 18th century buildings.

Lt. Col. Edwin Albert Baker (at Beulah Church)
Born nearby, Baker was blinded in the war of 1914-14. On his return in 1918 he was instrumental in the formation of The Canadian Nation Institute for the Blind where he served for 44 years. He was elected the first President of the World Council for the Welfare of the Blind in 1951.

Madelaine de Roydon D'Allonne (at the Collins Bay parkette)
She was a noblewoman from France and became the first female landowner in Ontario when she was granted the seigneury west of Collins Bay by La Salle. She built a house, grew crops and traded with the Indians until attacked and taken prisoner by Iroquois in 1678. A year later she was released and retired to Montreal until her death in 1718.

Fairfield House (Amherstview)
Loyalist William Fairfield settled here in 1784 and built this house about 1793. It strongly reflects his New England background. In 1959, after six generations of family occupancy, the house and grounds were donated to the people of Ontario. Loyalist Township now owns the complex. It is maintained and run by the Friends of Fairfield House, a volunteer organization.

The Loyalist Parkway Eastern Gates (Amherstview)
The Loyalist Parkway recalls those Loyalists of diverse backgrounds and races who, during the American Revolution, held in common a proud allegiance to His Majesty King George III. This Plaque commemorates the opening of the Parkway by Her Majesty the Queen on September 27, 1984.