The Brown Homestead (also known as the Brown-Jouppien House) is a designated heritage property located on 1317 Pelham Road, St. Catharines, Ontario. The dwelling is an example of Loyalist Georgian architecture. [1] It is the oldest residence remaining in the city, as it was first constructed in 1796. The Brown Homestead was expanded through an addition completed in 1802. At the time of construction, Pelham Road was a stagecouch route. [2]
In 1784, land was purchased in the Niagara Peninsula from the Mississaugas by the British government with the intent of Loyalist resettlement after the American Revolution. Land patents were then issued to individuals who built permanent dwellings on the land that was issued to them; this was the case with John Brown and his family. Brown had served the British crown and was a private in Captain Lewis Genevay's Company of the Butler's Rangers. Brown's property in upstate New York was confiscated by the state and he was eventually granted 900 acres of land in the townships of Thorold, Pelham and Louth. [3]
After John Brown's death, there were numerous owners. Initially, it was inherited by Adam Brown. In 1858, Brown sold it to Joseph Chellew. In 1912, Chellow sold it to Lafontaine Powers. In turn, the property was bought by Jon Jouppien in 1979, who performed renovations to the house itself. As of 2015, it has been owned by the John Brown Heritage Foundation, [3] a charity incorporated by Brown family descendants to preserve the historic site. In 2021, the foundation changed its official name to the Brown Homestead. [4]
In 2022, the Willowbank School of Restoration Arts in Queenston received funds that were to be used in part for local community projects, such as historic restoration of the Brown Homestead. [5] After the restoration projects have been completed, it is planned to be used as a community or educational-related venue. [6] The property began hosting a community garden named after victory gardens in 2022. The resulting produce was donated to local food banks. [7]
St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2017, St. Catharines has an area of 96.13 square kilometres (37.12 sq mi) and 140,370 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, 51 kilometres (32 mi) south of Toronto across Lake Ontario, and is 19 kilometres (12 mi) inland from the international boundary with the United States along the Niagara River. It is the northern entrance of the Welland Canal. Residents of St. Catharines are known as St. Catharinites. St. Catharines carries the official nickname "The Garden City" due to its 1,000 acres (4 km2) of parks, gardens, and trails.
Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the Niagara Region of Ontario and is the only town in Canada that has a lord mayor. It had a population of 19,088 as of the 2021 Canadian census.
The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the east to Hamilton, Ontario, in the west. The peninsula is located in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, and has a population of roughly 1,000,000 residents. The region directly across the Niagara River and Lake Erie in New York State is known as the Niagara Frontier.
Pelham is a town located in the centre of Niagara Region in Ontario, Canada.
Niagara Centre is a federal electoral district in the Niagara Region of Ontario that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1988 and since 1997.
The Garden City Arena Complex was a sports complex in St. Catharines, Ontario. It was the main arena facility in that city from its construction in 1938 until the opening of the Meridian Centre in 2014.
The Diocese of Niagara is one of thirty regional divisions in the Anglican Church of Canada. The see city of the diocese is Hamilton, with the bishop's cathedra located at Christ's Church Cathedral on James Street North. Located within the ecclesiastical province of Ontario, it borders the Dioceses of Huron and Toronto. The area enclosed by the Diocese of Niagara includes much of the Golden Horseshoe, and moves north to include Erin and Orangeville as far as Shelburne. Moving sharply south, the boundary includes Mount Forest and widens, south-westerly to include Elora and Guelph. Skirting Brantford and the Territory of the Six Nations Confederacy, the line then travels, again, south-westerly to Jarvis and Lake Erie to include the entire Niagara Peninsula. Major urban centres within its borders are St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Hamilton, Guelph, Oakville, Milton, Burlington, and Orangeville.
Downtown St. Catharines is the central business district of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is defined by the city as the area between Highway 406 on the west and south, Geneva Street on the east until it reaches St. Paul Street then Welland Avenue north until it meets Niagara Street.
The Pen Centre is the largest shopping mall in the Niagara Region, located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
Richard Pierpoint was a Senegalese-born farmer and soldier. Brought as a slave to British North America via the Atlantic slave trade, he fought as a Black Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War. After the war, he settled in a Black community in Upper Canada, where he was given some land. He also participated in the War of 1812.
Willowbank is a mansion in Queenston, Ontario, Canada.
Willowbank is an independent educational institution located on the Willowbank National Historic Site and in the village centre of Queenston, Ontario, along the Canada-United States border. It operates a School of Restoration Arts which offers a three-year post-secondary diploma in conservation skills and theory, and a Centre for Cultural Landscape, a forum for cultural landscape theory and practice in Canada and the world. Willowbank was created from the rescue of a 19th-century estate which today forms the centre of its campus, and it is one of a handful of Canadian organisations of which Charles III is Royal Patron.
The Comfort Maple tree is an individual sugar maple located in Comfort Maple Conservation Area in the Town of Pelham, Ontario. The tree is estimated to be about 500 years old. If correct, it would make this one of the oldest sugar maple trees in Canada.
Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery is a family owned, Ontario winery that released their first vintage in 1988.
Grantham Township is a former incorporated and now geographic township on the Niagara Peninsula in Upper Canada, later Ontario.
John Cox Cottage, at 469 Broadview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is the oldest known house in the city still used as a residence, and it still resides on its original site. The property, immediately to the east of what was John Scadding's original lot, was deeded to John Cox by Governor Simcoe in 1796.
Niagara Centre is a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, represented from 1867 until 1977 and again since 2007 in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Its population in 2006 was 112,875.
Niagara West is a federal electoral district in Ontario. It encompasses a portion of Ontario formerly included in the electoral districts of Niagara West—Glanbrook, Welland and St. Catharines. It is currently represented by Dean Allison.
The Niagara Square was a shopping centre and former mall in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The Niagara Square opened in 1977. The interior of the shopping centre was closed in 2017, with some stores remaining open in the exterior. Before its closure, the Niagara Square was a 36,000-square-metre (390,000 sq ft) shopping centre with 83 units. After its demolition, the property was repurposed for use as a Costco location.
Morningstar Mill is a 2.98-acre (1.21 ha) heritage site located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The site includes the Morningstar Mill, a sawmill, the home of the Morningstar family, a barn used for blacksmith demonstrations, and the Decew Falls gorge along the Niagara Escarpment. The site is operated by the volunteer group Friends of Morningstar Mill and owned by the City of St. Catharines. The gristmill was restored to working condition in 1992.