Discover 1812

Niagara This Week, February 4th, 2009

by Catharine Nowe-Huffman

It was Nov. 28 at 3 a.m. and a handful of Americans were quietly making their way across the river to Black Rock. Their mission: to steal guns in Fort Erie, destroy the bridge over Frenchmen’s Creek and stop transportation from Chippawa. It was dark and cold and the year was 1812.

Whether you are a die-hard historian or just trying to get more of an understanding of local events that took place in Niagara almost 200 years ago, you will definitely want to take a good look at Niagara’s new Bicentennial Map. Receiving recognition from leaders in the map industry, ESRI Canada has chosen the Niagara 1812 Bicentennial Map for the month of October in their 2010 calendar. With an electronic version also available at discover1812.com, this new map was created to include six historic trails with 125 points marked to show the locations of specific events during the War of 1812.

Back in 2006, several individuals from both Ontario and New York State decided to come together to mobilize support in preparation for celebrating the bicentennial of 1812. The Niagara 1812 Legacy Council was then officially formed as a non-profit corporation in August of 2007 for Ontario and a mirror council in New York State as of January 2008.

“During a visit here from Bill Pencek who is the Executive Director for the State of Maryland’s 1812 Bicentennial Commission in October of 2008, he showed us a map they had of all the historic 1812 points for the State of Maryland. I thought that it was a great idea for us to do as well,” said Vincent Del Buono, chief executive officer for the Niagara 1812 Legacy Council. “Any maps that were done in the past are now around 150 years old.”

Working with books, local historians, existing markers, provincial plaques and a few sketches from the 1860’s, the map began to take shape. With creative production in the hands of John Docker, Analyst GIS for the Niagara Region, the new map is printed on 70-pound satin finish paper and designed to give a period style look of the 1800’s. The Niagara 1812 Bicentennial map is a quality piece of work complemented with certain theme colours and special fonts chosen by Docker.

Elaine Wallis of Signature Signs received an award for the Niagara 1812 Legacy Council logo that appears on the front of the map.

“When doing a project like this, we took in all the resources we could and spoke to the local experts for verification,” said Docker. “It was under a constant state of development.”

With 50,000 copies of the finished product, people can now read verse and follow directions that link all the historic points for the events of 1812 on one map.

“You can actually read the stories right on the map and get the dynamics of the war in Niagara,” said Del Buono.

The Mills and Marauders Trail starts at the Port Colborne Historical and Marine Museum and explains the connection and great strategic importance of the gristmills during the War of 1812.

“There are museums on every trail so people can go and ask questions and have another human being to speak with about the history of the area,” said Del Buono.

If you were interested in following Brock’s Last Ride, your trail would begin at the Niagara Historical Museum which houses one of Ontario’s most extensive 1812 collections and the hat of Sir Isaac Brock.

Take a day and relive Laura Secord’s 27-kilometre journey from the memorial to Laura Ingersoll on Queenston Heights to where she rests today in Drummond Hill cemetery on Lundy’s Lane. The trails that follow historical events also coincide with the present day road network.

“We want people to get in their cars and on their bikes or even walk to see as much of Niagara as possible,” said Del Buono.

Funded by a grant from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, the map does not contain any exterior or interior advertising and has received an on-going stream of compliments for being thorough and providing visual impact. Inspiring future iteration, plans are already being discussed for another map to show another trail. “We want to create a seventh trail,” said Del Buono.

Trusting that the 50,000 copies of the map will be exhausted by midsummer, the Legacy Council has distributed it through both the Catholic and Public school boards to all Grade 7 and Grade 12 students for their Canadian History classes. It is also available to the public at local museums, certain public libraries and at all three Niagara forts.

In stressing the uniqueness of this particular map, Del Buono said, “Veterans have been returning to Niagara since the 1840s to look at old battle sites and now we have this map that shows locations that have been completely unmarked before.”

The Niagara 1812 Legacy Council invites the public to take part in celebrating two centuries of peace, friendship and prosperity during this upcoming multinational celebration across the Niagara area. For more information on how you can get involved, visit www.discover1812.com.

Source: Niagara This Week