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FIRST PARLIAMENT OF UPPER
CANADA
(NOTES AS TO ITS FIRST MEETING PLACE.)
NIAGARA, U.C, 1 792.

By JANET GARNOCHAN

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FIRST PARLIAMENT OF UPPER CANADA

Some Notes as to its First Meeting Place and About Pioneer
Buildings of the Tcwn of Niagara, U.C.

By JANET GARNOCHAN.

To ascertain exactly the position.
bf various houses and points of in
terest in early times in different
countries has been a fruitful subject
of discussion, has given interest to
ithe^ resea:rches of the antiquarian
and the historian as well as to the
Careless traveller. Much ink has
been wasted in written documents,
as well as much time spent in wordy
discussions — sometimes good-natur
ed, sometimes acrimonious. ' So has
it been in the past; so, no doubt, will
it still be in the future, and we can
only gather up 'from all possible
sources fragments from documents,
from maps, from old drawings, trom
books of travel, from oral tradition,
from old inhabitants, sifting as we
may the evidence found, noting the
apparent contradictions, the points
of agreement or disagreement in
documents or statements from dif
ferent sources.
The place where the first Parlia
ment of Upper Canada, held in New
ark 1792-1796 met, has long been a
disputed point, but the old "building
palled Navy Hall, now in the Fort
George enclosure, has been generally
acknowledged as having had that
honor. The position of the Free
Mason's Hall has also 'been a subject
of dispute". That of the first But
ler's Barracks, that of the Govern
ment House, all afford room for dis-
putiB. In an article by Duncan Campbell
Scott, F.R.S.C, read before the
Royal Society, 1913, the conclusions
arrived at by not only myself hue
others have been disputed.
The aim of the present paper will
be to sum up all that has been
found from maps in the possession of
the Niagara Historical Society^ of
1784, 1799, 1816, 1817. 1819, 1831,

1835, 1851; , from the drawings of
Mrs. Sinicoe and from her diary,
from the , statements of Governor
Simcce, Alured Clark, Peter Russell,
papers, in the Archives, state.iients
of persons who remembered these
old buildings or could quote the
words of those who had seen them in
early years. One difficulty staring
us in the face is the fact that the
town was burned almost Qompletely
10th December, 1813, that it had
sustained fierce bombardments 13th
Oct., 1812, and 27th May, 1813, and
during the American occupation sev
eral houses -?yere burned, notably
that of St. Andrew's Church, Sept.,
1813. That some houses were saved
and parts of houses, we know.
And first, what is meant "by the
phrase, "first Parliament"? Do we
meaii where it met the first day or
the first year, or during the live years
that it met in Niagara, then called
f^ewark, 1792-1796? It is only lately
that it has been . shown , on definite
infonn^tioUj that of Littlehales (mili
tary secretary), that the first day it
met in Free Maspn's Ilall, a building
on Kii;ig street on the site of which
(strange coincidence) the , present
Free Maspn's Hall stands. And it is
well to uhdisrstand that evidence ex
ists; for , ipany .^^pots, Indian Council '
House, a tent',. th(e Parliament Oak,
government House, Navy Hall, But
ler's Barrack^, all are mentioned,
and seme have even sppken bf Fort
Niagara, which was then still a Brit
ish possesslpn till 1796.
And first with regard tP names,
spitie misconceptions must be clear
ed away. Th-e wprd Niagara in early
years means Fort. Niagara and not
Niagara on the west side of the
river, now called Niagara-on-th,e-Lake,
but variously called "West Niagara,

Butlersburg, Nassau, Newark, so-
called by Simcoe in 1792, but when
he removed the capital tP Yprk the
inhabitants Pbtained an Act of Par
liament in 1798 to restore the name
Niagara. Fprt Geprge pften m-eans Niagara,
as shewn by letters tP soldiers.
"Th-e Landing" and the "West Land
ing" mean Queensten. Little Nia
gara means a ppint pn the American
side pf the river abpve the Falls,
being the upper end pf the pprtage.
In the article by Mr. Duncan
Campbell Scptt the argument is that
all the buildings at Navy Hall were
burned in the war of 1813, and that
the present building was erected in
1815-17, that Butler's Barracks fitted
up tor Parliament was burned be
fore 1800, that the size of the store
house ordered to be built in 1816
corresponds with that of the present
building. These seem tp be strpng
arguments, but they can npt be
prpved conclusively. Before taking
up these statements in order a few
words must he said as to the in
scription placed on the present
building by the Niagara Historical
Society, which reads thus:
"One of four buildings called Navy
Hall 1787. One was altered for
Simcoe 1792. He had one, believed
to be this one, prepared for the
Parliament 1792, called Red Barracks .
1840, moved up 1864, almost a ruin
1911, restpred by Dpminipn Gpvern
ment 1912 by petitipn pf Niagara
Histprical Spciety."
The remark, astpnishing remark,
we must say, made, referring
to this inscriptlpn, is, "It is
difficult , tP say whether an
interesting inscripticn cpuld be
devised fpr this building pr not,
but- the present pne is ERRONE
OUS IN EVERY PARTICULAR."
llere we jpin issue. Let us take the
statements in order. (1st) One pf
fpur buildings called Navy Hall. In
all the maps mentipned the building
is called Navy Halli (2nd) One was
altered "by Gpv. Simcpe in 1792. This
IS certainly true by Simooe's own
statement and that of Alured Clarke
and Mrs. Simcoe. (3rd) He had one
believed to be this one prepared for"
Parliament. It certainly has been bCi
lieved by many. (4th) Called Red
Barracks 1840. This is certainly true.

(5th) Moved up in 1864. True. (Gth)
Almpst a ruin 1911. True. Restered
by Dpminion Government 1912. Also
true. Now, what cpmes of the state
ment that the inscripticn "is errpne-
ous in every jrarticular.'' The first
statement alone perhaps cannpt be
certainly prpved; all the ethers are
cprrect. Other statements in the article are
equally ppen to criticism, as in speak
ing of the Commissariat store house
built in 1815 or 1817, he says it was
erected' ahout twenty-three years after
Simcoe left the country. As this was
in 1796 it is difficult to see by what
process of subtraction that result is
arrived at, as ordinary persons wpuld
say that the difference between 1796
and 1815 must be nineteen. Again
there is a looseness of statement in
proving that all the buildings were
destroyed. Thus Lt.-Col. Bruyeres
wrote February 13, 1813: "The puiblic
buildings near the river at Navy Hall
should all be removed as soon as pos
sible and rebuilt in- a . place of
security at some distance from and in
rear of the fort. The stores they con
tain and the buildings themselves are
so exposed to immediate destruction
that no delay should take plate . in
this service. The work whicli is de
scribed as so urgent, mpst probably
they carried it out, -and when the
Americans opened fire on May 25th
there were no buildings on the -west
shore below Fort George, but if
there were we must believe that
pur Ipg building was miracu-
Ipusly preserved. CpI. Harvey wrpte
frpm Fort George that 'every log'
barracks in it had been destroyed.' "
Now Navy Hall was not a iPg build
ing and it was not In Fort George
but lower down and closer to the
river. As a proof that the buildings
were not removed at once the diary
pf Col Wm. Claus says: "2 a.m., 25th
May, 1813, Lieut. Charleton, R. A.,
pp-ened the six-ppunder at Navy Hall
pn boats passing on the opposite side
of Niagara River." Again, he says:
"As all the Navy Hall buildings were
removed or destroyed in 1813." This
has not been proved. It was ordered,
but there Is, no proof that it was
done. Because it is said that the
log barracks in Fort George were de
stroyed, -he takes for granted that
the buildings of Navy Hall, which

were net log barracks, were destroy
ed. And we know that statements
made in the stress and strain of war
time are often exaggerated. When
the town was burned it is said that
only two houses were left, but we
know that parts of pthers were
saved. We knew that when the roof
of the powder magazine containing
800 barrels of gunpowder was on
fire from red hot shot Capt. "Vigoreux
and men whp vplunteered bravely at
the risk pf their lives ascended the
ropf and cut away the parts pn fire,
SP that the building was saved.
Again, another loose statement,
because Simcoe says he fitted up the
King's Barracks and store houses
- for the legislature and officials in
1793, the article states that here
the remaining sessions of the first
Parliament were held. Now there.
is no proof given and because Rus
sell states that the building was
burned before 1800 his inference is
that the Parliament could not have
been held in Navy Hall. As ihe date
of the burning is npt given it might
have been in 1794 and thus the Par
liament wpuld have to meet in some
other place.
Let us briefly quote from different
writers of 1792-1813. Mrs. Simcoe's
drawing shows three or four , low
buildings, pne pf which certainly ap
pears to be the counterpart of the
present ibuildlng. She says "2Sth
July/ 1792, anchored at Navy Hail at
nine this morning. Navy Hall is a
house built by the naval commanders
for their reception when here. It is
now undergoing a thorough repair for
our occupation but is still so unfin
ished that the Governor has ordered
three marquees to be pitched for us
on the hill abeve the house."
Alured Clarke in a letter to Dun
das gives the expense of fitting up
Navy Hall for the accpmmodatlon of
Col. Simcoe: Workmanship £116,
materials £357, making £473, or
dered July, 1-792. He says "Navy
Hall was erected for the use of the
officers of the Naval Department
serving on Lake Ontario, but did not
receive; the repairs it stood in need
of during peace, and in its best state
could be considered a paltry resi
dence for the King's representative.
However, such as it was it was the
only pne which offered as a shelter

until a better one or more commo
dious could be provided."
Simcoe in a letter to Dundas, Sep
tember, 1793, says : "Last year I fit
ted up the King's Barracks and store
houses to contain the offices of Gov
ernment and to accommodate the
Legislature of the province -f/ho must
for some time have their anuual as
sembly at that place. These tempor
ary buildings I thought it a great
pity having to refit as it is more
probable they will be required here
after for various Government pur
poses." Peter Russell's statement of 180O
of military property: "Navy Hall un
derwent a thorough repair v.ith very
considerable additions. This house
was for some time the residence of
the Governor. Another house was
built for the staff, both of these
houses are now, or were till lately, oc
cupied by the military statipned at
Fprt George. The house, generally
called Butler's Barracks,, underwent a
thorough repair, and two wings- were
added for the legislature to meet in.
This house was since buirnt."
Count Rochefoucauld de Llancourt,
whp was entertained by Gpvernor
Simicoe fpr nineteen dayst says, that
he lived in a miserable Ipw house.
Mrs. Quade, tlhe daughter of Do-
minick Henry, the lighthouse keeper,
who was born at the lighthouse keep
er's! house in 1804, and lived in Nia
gara till 18131, when visiting Niagara
In after years on crossing! the river
from Youngstown, always said to iher
children: "There is the old Parlia
ment house."
Rev. J. McEwan, born In Niagara,
1800 said he always understood that
Parliament met In a building between
Butler's Barracks and Navy Hall.
This would mean the Indian Council
House, afterwards fitted up with ad
ditions as a hosipital in l-8i22.
Col. Clarke, in hisdiary, states that
Parliament flrBt met in a marquee
tent between Butler's Barracks and
Navy Hall
There miust be some truth In the
story tihat the legislature, on one hot
day, sat under a tree. a)fterward3 call
ed tbe Parliament Oak. (Lately cut
down from decay.)
¦What can ibe gained from the
various maps must now toe told. In
the map of Township No. 1 (Niagara),

1784, showing the mouth of the river,
appear several !buildings marked
Navy, Hall; andi Rangers' Barracks
appears ihigher up, ibut of course,
there isi no Fort Gteorige. In the map
of 1790 there are four buildings mark
ed Navy Hall, and, Rangers' Barracks
appears to be on the hill, about in a
line with what we call the "Slip"
where iboats were launched.
In the map of 1799 In the enclo
sure marked fNavy Hall appear three
buildings. If not four, as one appears
to be divided into two parts, or else
the two buildings are so close to
gether' as' to appear one, near
"King's Wharf." If drawn true to
scale of 200 feet to one inch the size
pf the buildings "can be determined.
Eight building^ can be cpunted in
Navy HaU or near it, and in the
enclosure of Fort George there are
twelve buildings.
In the map of 1816 by Colonel G.
Nicolls, R. E., showing American
entrenchments thrown up by the
Americans in 1813 across the com
mon reaching to St. Mark's Church
this can be traced yet. In Fort
George are marked four splinter
proof barracks, the old magazine at
the- far end and another powder
magazine at the end nearest the
town.' This Is the only map on
which the words Navy Hall do not
Occur, but there can be traced the
outline of two buildings.
In the map of 1817, by H. H. Wil
son, R.E., appears the one building
marked Navy Hall. At Butler's
Barracks there are fourteen build
ings, near it the Indian Council
House, and farther on'the Command
ant's house, and in Fort George
several buildings.
In the small map of 1819 made by
Captain "Vavasour to settle a dispute
with John Grier, the same building
is marked Na-\^y Hall, and several
buildings are marked' in Fort George.
In the map of 1819 (March) by
Arthur Walpole, R.E., there is the
same building marked Na-vy Hall,
and at Fort George there are seven
buildings and outside, three, one of
which is the powder magazine. At
Butler's Barracks there are seven
teen buildings besides eight small
military huts behind. Farther over
is marked the Indian Council House
and an orchard.

In the map of 1831 by J. G. Che-
witt, the same building is marked
store. Navy Hall, also Ferry House.
In Fort George are five buildings, at
Butler's Barracks fourteen, farther
on the Hospital and Engineers' Quar
ters, but it must be remembered that
the Engineers' Quarters were also
where the Queen's Hotel now stands.
In the map of 1835 by Col. G.
Nicolls, R. E., in the space marked
• Navy Hall the same building is call
ed Com. ^tore, the Ferry House of
Andrew Heron is marked and in Fort
George the old magazine and one at
this end and the words, old log
buildings, guard house and several
marked in total ruins. At Butler's
Barracks there are 15 buildings and
farther on the Colonel's house mark
ed Engineers' Quarters.
In the map of 1851 the same build
ing is marked Red Barracks.
It is thus seen that the words- Navy
.Hall are used in almost every map
where the building appears.- -If the
name was not used for the- building
why not say "site of Navy Hall." It
may be replied, of course, th^t the
name is given to the spot where
Navy Hall originally stood but it is
singular that the word should- be so
persistently used if it is-- another
building. - • ¦
With regard to other buildings it
may be shown how dificult -it is to
locate them, and how easy' to' arrive
at a false conclusion withoUt'having.
local knowledge. Thus the name
Government House certainly applies,
to two houses a mile apart. -In the
same way Ranger's or Butler's Bar
racks does not always mean the
same place but also a -mile apart. The
site of Freemason's Hall has also
been a subject of discussio'n. The
exact spot where Brock was buried
has been variously given and while
seven cities dispute-d for the ' honor
of being the place where Homer was
born at least three buildings are
given as that iilto which the tody of
Brock was carried in Queenston.
And first with regard to the posi
tion of Freemason's, Hall. At a meet
ing of the Land Board, ¦24th June,
1791, permission was given to erect a
tavern at the east corner of the tpwn
next the river and a Freemason's
Hall next to it. From this-it was long
believed that the building wason the

same site as that of the Gleaner
Printing office, nearly opposite Mrs.
Elliott's. Later investigation in the
Crown Land offices shewed that in
the list of lots in town in 1794 that
No. 33, ^t the corner of King and
Prideaux' streets, is marked "The
Lodge," which could hardly mean at
that time anything else than Free
mason's Lodge, which belief was
confirmed on further examination in
the Parliament buildings by finding
the statement. Lot 33, Freemason's
Lodge. Hpw explain this? Twp ex
planations present themselves, first
that although permission was grant
ed for the lower site a change was
made and another location selected,
the second explanation that next to
it means next corner to it as the
words in the first grant are "east
corner of the town and the next to
it." Wlien the building was destroy
ed we know not but ih a later map.
No. 33 is marked as the property of
Mr. Dickson which would lead to the
inference that the Freemason's
Lodge had been destroyed. We know
from Littlehales' statement in 1792
that Parliament met there and from
Mrs. Simcoe in 1793 that divine ser
vice was performed there, and in
July 1793 the Indians met there for
consultation with Simcoe and his ad
visers. The present building was
erected about 1816 partly from the
ruins of the town, was used as a
store, as a hotel, as a barracks, as a
school, and was long called the Stone
Barracks. Some years ago it was
bought by the Freemasons and it is
remarkable that now the "Lodge"
stands on the site of the first Free
mason's Hall of over a century ago.
Government House. All early in
habitants state that Government
House stopd near the corner ef King
and Jrfarket streets, and the founda
tions may yet be seen. The whole
square of four acres was the proper
ty of D. W. Smith and there is a pic
ture of it and description of what
was, called the finest house in the
town. We read that Simcoe built a
Government House, but the heading
of the documents printed in the Up
per Canada Gazette reads Govern
ment House, Navy Hall. How ex
plain this? Did the fine house of D.
W Smith become Government
House? In 1798, after the capital

was removed to York, D. W. Smith
offered' his house for a Grammar
School, but this was refused (al
though a lower price was named) as
being in the range of Fort Niagara.
Butler's Barracks. Here again dif
ficulties meet the delver in historic
lore. The present buildings called
Butler's Barracks appear in maps of '
1816, 1835, etc., but in earlier maps
the words Rangers' Barracks appear
near Navy Hall and on the hill near
ly in line above what has been called
the "Slip" where boats were launch
ed, and here the diligent searcher for
military buttons has found more But
ler's Rangers' buttons than else
where. In a picture showing the
lighthouse and river bank appears a
building -with flag flying which must
have been in that neighborhood and
in the picture of the Battle of Fort
George appears a building on the hill
with flagstaff, which could not have
been seen from the lake if at Fort
George. Was another building erected
in the place of that burned before
ISOO? The statement that the build
ings shown in the maps of 1835, etc.,
were erected in 1817 and that every
thing was burned in 1813 seems to be
contradicted by two statements, that
of Dr. Dunlop and that of the York
Gazette. Dr. Dunlop in his account
of the War of 1814 states that on the
days after the battle pf Lundy's Lane
2'5th July, 1814, that he waited pn
over twp hundred wpunded at But
ler's Barracks.
Gen. Turquand as stated in the
York Gazette, March, 1815, gave a
tall in Butler's Barracks. We knew
that when the Americans left in De
cember, 1813, although they burned
the town, they left their tents stand
ing and also the buildings at Fort
George. On the other hand, as snowing the
diverse accounts given, Jlrs. Cox
whip was here when the town was
burned and when it was taken, said
that there were no buildings there
except a large barn, and that she re
membered hearing the sound of the
bullets striking it, fired by the
Americans. Gen. Brock's burial place. Here
again accounts differ. In St. Mark's
Register, Rev. R. Addison records,
"Gen. Sir Isaac Brock and Col. John
Macdonell; they we're' buried .to-

8

gether in the northeast bastion ot
Fort (3eorge." Others mention that
he was buried in the bastion of which
he had ordered the construction, gen
erally believed to be that hear the
garrison gate. Nearly all the oldest
inhabitants agree on this;§pot, but
two who asserted he was buried near
the sycamore tree which is nearly
wsiit. It has always been understood
that the body of Brock was taken
to Government House, and that the
funeral crossed the common to Fort
George. Of course. Brock lived at
Fort George, but his letters are dated
differently, sometimes Niagara, again
Fort George, and sometimes Navy
Hall.
' A statement lately made is that
Brock, on the morning of 13th Octo
ber," when galloping to Queenston,
called at the house of Jno. Powell to

bid farewell -to Miss Sophia Shaw,
his affianced, who was then visrtlng
her sister, Mrs. Powell, and that he
drank a cup of coffee there. Now
to us this does not seem probable.
The residence of Jno. Powell is not
on the road to Queenston, wafe dis
tant a mile, and in an opposite direc
tion, and it is not likely that a ciip
of coffee would be in readiiiess at
that hour in the mprning, still less
that he wpuld -wait fpr it. He was
tpp gppd a spldi^tp delay, with the
spunds pf the enemy's cannpns- plain
ly tp be heard.
Frpm all this it.. Is evident hpw
difficult it is tP reSbncile statements
made as to events and places a cen
tury ago, particularly -When fire de
stroyed so much, and accounts are so
contradictory.

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