Before the British conquest of Canada, there was a French stockade located here at the confluence of the Chippawa Creek (now the Welland River) and the Niagara River. Between 1763 and 1764, British schooners were built on Navy Island opposite Chippawa for service on the Great Lakes. During the American Revolution, the British built a blockhouse called Fort Chippawa here.

The first settler, John Burch, who was in the second wave of west-bank settlers in 1783, obtained land on the north side of the creek. After he emigrated from England to New York, he set up as a tinsmith, becoming very wealthy and owning property on the Delaware River and in Albany. During the Revolutionary War, he had been the sutler to Butler's Rangers, but, in Canada, his relationship with authorities was mixed. He wanted to build a sawmill and a gristmill on his property but the Army decided that a suitable site was just north of Dufferin Islands, about where the Toronto Generating building is now located. This was a not the best spot because it was more awkward for settlers to reach from the Portage Road. At that spot, the Portage Road was on top of the ridge and, to get to the mill down by the river, settlers had to walk almost to the Falls before they came to the narrow path leading down the ridge to the mill. However, his were the only mills in the area for many years so, bad site or no, he prospered. Later, he had to give up some of his land next to the Welland River when the Army decided to build Fort Chippawa on the north side of the river. Burch became a partner with Robert Hamilton in the Portage Syndicate, which controlled the movement of goods along the Portage Road. He is the man who ransomed Andrew Miller of Miller's Creek.

The second settler was Thomas Cummings, a Scot from Albany, New York State. Cummings had been the manager of John Burch's farm and his mother had also worked for Burch. He obtained a land grant at the mouth and south of Chippawa Creek and built a house there in 1783. He was an early store owner but his stores were destroyed during the War of 1812.

When the Army built Fort Chippawa, they also built a bridge, the King's Bridge, across what had now become the Welland River. This bridge was closer to the Niagara River than the present bridge. The King's Bridge was burned during the War of 1812 and was not replaced for some time. People crossed the river by ferry until Samuel Street Jr. built a bridge in 1816 to allow farmers south of the river to take their grain to Street's Falls Mills, the old Burch mills, for milling. Street's bridge was at about the same location as the present bridge, further upstream than the King's Bridge.

Chippawa was the outlet for the first Welland Canal built in the late 1820s. The canal ran from Port Dalhousie on Lake Ontario to Port Robinson on the Welland River. A southbound ship would enter the canal at Port Dalhousie, sail up the canal to Port Robinson, pass through a lock into the Welland River, sail down the river to Chippawa, where oxen would tow the ship against the flow of the Niagara River to Fort Erie. Later, to avoid the laborious tow, the route of the canal was changed to take it from Port Robinson to Port Colborne, bypassing Chippawa.

Chippawa was also the terminal of Ontario's first railway, the Erie and Ontario Railway, created to counter the drop in business on the Portage Road caused by the Welland Canal. This railway ran between Chippawa and Queenston, and was horse-drawn until 1854, when iron horses were first used.

Places to see in Chippawa are:

• Laura Secord Cottage, 3800 Bridgewater Street

Laura Secord Cottage

This tiny cottage dates from about 1837. Laura Secord moved here in 1841 after the death of her husband, James. She had been left, at the age of 66, without any means of support. She ran a school in this cottage for a number of years to support herself. She did not receive any recognition until she was 85 when the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, sent her £100 as a reward. She died here in 1868 at the age of 93 and is buried with her husband in Drummond Hill Cemetery.

• Willoughby Manor, 3584 Main Street

Willoughby Manor (Hall)

James Cummings built this magnificent hall between 1830 and 1840. He named it Willoughby Hall. James was the son of the founder of Chippawa, Thomas Cummings, and was a prominent merchant, politician, and Justice of the Peace. James was the first white child born in Chippawa and became its first reeve when Chippawa became a village.

• Church of the Holy Trinity, Portage Road

Church of the Holy Trinity

The first church on this site was built in 1820, after Rev. William Leeming arrived here. Supporters of William Lyon Mackenzie crossed the Niagara River in 1839 and burned down the frame building. It was rebuilt and here it remains. The cornerstone was laid by Bishop John Strachan in 1841.

• Kirkpatrick's Store, Macklem and Portage Roads

Kirkpatrick's Store

Originally built about 1815 as the store of John Kirkpatrick, this building has had many different names and roles, including the Baltimore House Hotel and the Boat House restaurant. John Kirkpatrick and his brother Robert were from Dumfries in Scotland and were sponsored by Col. Thomas Clark, much as Clark himself had been sponsored by Robert Hamilton.

• Town Hall, Cummington Square

Chippawa Town Hall

Built in 1842, it could not have been a town hall because Chippawa did not become a village until 1849. This old stone building was renovated in 1983 and is now a store.