History has come up with mixed reviews for Richard Beasley. On one hand, he was a shrewd and visionary businessman, becoming a founder of Ancaster, fur trader, owner and operator of various businesses, and owner of vast areas of land. On the other hand, he had the reputation for not paying bills and he sold land to Mennonites under very dubious circumstances.

Beasley was born in 1761 in Albany NY and was cousin of Richard Cartwright, partner of Robert Hamilton. In the 1780s, Beasley used his connection with Cartwright and Hamilton to build a business, in partnership with former Butler's Ranger Peter Smith, to trade in the Toronto area. About this time, he built his home on the Burlington Heights, at the site where Dundurn Castle now stands.

In 1791, Beasley bought a lot in what is now Ancaster Village. The next lot was owned by James Wilson, a millwright, and through both lots ran a stream. The two men became partners in what was to become an industrial complex leading to the founding of Ancaster. Wilson supplied the know-how and Beasley the capital to build a mill at what is now the intersection of Wilson and Rousseaux Streets in Ancaster.

As a trader, Beasley had done business with the Iroquois, and so, when the Six Nations decided to divide and sell their land on the Grand River, they turned to Beasley. Under the terms of the treaty that gave the Six Nations the land, the Iroquois could not sell land directly but only through agents, who were required to take out a mortgage with the government. They gave Block 2 to Beasley, James Wilson, and St John Rousseaux to sell but Beasley took over the block of land from his partners.

The mortgage Beasley had to take out became a problem when he eventually sold parts of the land to Mennonites from Pennsylvania. The Mennonites could not own the land until the mortgage was discharged and so they felt they had been cheated. The Mennonites and Beasley came up with a system that would satisfy everybody. If the Mennonites could come up with money for the whole of Block 2, Beasley could pay off the mortgage and the Mennonites would own the whole block. The Mennonites formed a company called the German Company, found the money in donations in Pennsylvania, and so bought Block 2 from Beasley.

Beasley had later financial problems and eventually was forced to sell his house on the Burlington Heights to Sir Allan MacNab. Until his death in 1842, Beasley felt that MacNab had cheated him on the deal. MacNab eventually built Dundurn Castle on the site, incorporating part of the foundations of the Beasley home into the castle. If you visit Dundurn Castle, ask to see the foundations of Beasley's house in the basement of the Castle.