This trip takes you along the Niagara Parkway from Old Fort Erie to Chippawa. The Parkway started as a military reserve that ran, one chain (66 feet or about 21 metres) wide. along the west bank of the Niagara River. Later it was a towpath for young men or animals to pull vessels from the first Welland Canal at Chippawa to Lake Erie. The Niagara River here is very strong and in the early 1800s it would have been impossible for sailing vessels to sail to Lake Erie against the force of the river.

Before there were bridges across the river, there were ferries. One operated from Black Rock, just north of Buffalo, to Waterloo, now part of Fort Erie. Another ran from Fort Schlosser to Chippawa. Ferries had to take long sweeps south to compensate for the force of the river and rowing across was not something to be undertaken lightly. However, in war, all things are attempted. Several invasions from both sides were made during the War of 1812. During the trip, you will see where both sides crossed the river.

Nowadays the Niagara Parkway is famous for its beauty. It has been kept relatively uncommercial for the pleasure of people who just want to see the beauty of the river and the surrounding area. Drive along the Parkway at any time of the year and you will be enchanted. Winter is an especially fine time to drive because, with the trees bare of leaves, you can see more of the river.

Starting the trip-Fort Erie

Description of Fort Erie

Leave from Old Fort Erie and drive north to the town of Fort Erie. At the end of Lakeshore Road, drive past Mather Park and continue onto the Niagara Boulevard.

Fort Erie

Peace Bridge

After you pass under the Peace Bridge, look for the sign for the goose crossing.

Continue along Niagara Boulevard. This section of the road is built up but just further down the road some parkland begins on the right side of the road. If you can, pull over into one of the parking areas and see how narrow the river is. Just across the river was the small community of Black Rock and in the early 1800s a ferry ran between Black Rock and Waterloo.

After Catherine Street, look for St Andrew's Church on the left side. This church was one of the first in the area and was built in 1821.

After you pass under the railway bridge (built by Casimir Gzowski in 1873), you are now in what used to be called Victoria. Once a separate village from Waterloo, it changed names several times, becoming International Bridge when the bridge was built, then Bridgeburg, before amalgamating with Waterloo to form Fort Erie. Recently the area has been trying to revive itself under the name Bridgeburg Station as a historic business section.

International Railway Bridge

On the northwest corner at the junction with Phipps Avenue is the Mahoney Dolls House Museum. This is housed in Bertie Hall, a Greek Revival building named for Bertie Township. It was built in 1835 by William Forsyth after he left Niagara Falls in a huff after losing an argument with the government about ownership of the chain reserve, now the Niagara Parkway. The basement is reputed to have a tunnel that was used by the Underground Railway to smuggle fugitive slaves to safety.

Incidentally, Bertie Township and the Townships of Ancaster and Willoughby were named for General Peregrine Bertie, the 3rd Duke of Ancaster and 19th Baron Willoughby. When Bertie was suggested as a possible Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord North said, "Good God! It is impossible to send to such a responsible station such a very egregious blockhead, who is besides both mulish and intractable."

On the right side of the road at the foot of Bowen Road, somewhere near the site of the Bowen Road Park, was Freebury's Wharf. Here in 1866 John O'Neill's 800 Fenians landed on the way to capturing Canada from the hated British. After they landed, they marched up the road to Frenchman's Creek, where they camped overnight. Bowen Road used to be called Ferry Road when the ferry was located at the end. The ferry crossed to Black Rock on the other side of the river. This ferry was used by many immigrants in the late 1700s including Mennonites returning from Pennsylvania with gold to buy land. Originally the ferry used flat boats propelled by four rowing men, but later used paddleboats propelled by horses.

Continue along the Parkway following in the steps of the Fenians. Marching along in 1866, O'Neill and his men would not have had the splendid view that modern car travellers enjoy.

Just before you reach the bridge across Frenchman's Creek is a historical marker that commemorates an event in 1812 when a small force of Americans landed here in an attempt to cut communications between British forces at Chippawa and Fort Erie. They were not able to destroy the bridge and were forced back over the river. This sortie was to be the prelude to a larger invasion and, when it failed, the invasion was postponed.

Another incident in this area occurred on April 6 1812, when Lt. James FitzGibbon of the 49th, later to go on to fame at Beaver Dams, noticed a group of Americans on Strawberry Island. In a typical daring raid, he and twelve men rowed over to the island under cover of darkness, captured the enemy, and rowed back with their prisoners.

The area on the left side of the road south of the bridge is where the Fenians camped in 1866.

Continue along the Parkway until you see the sign for Mackenzie's Crossing Place at Thompson Road. Turn left and then right into the small parking area, where there is a historical marker about William Lyon Mackenzie's Crossing. After the Upper Canada Rebellion failed in 1837, Mackenzie eluded the forces hunting him. Accompanied by Samuel Chandler, he managed to reach the home of Captain Samuel McAfee here, where he found temporary shelter. McAfee agreed to ferry the two fugitives across the river the next day. Next morning, just before he was to sit down for breakfast, Mackenzie took a look outside. It was lucky for him that he did so because he spotted a troop of mounted militia approaching the house. Quick as a flash, Mackenzie, Chandler, and McAfee pushed the boat across the road into the river and then rowed away as fast as they could row.

Mackenzie's Crossing

Drive along the Parkway past the Marina to the Miller Creek Bridge. The creek was named for Andrew Miller, who was kidnapped at an early age by Indians and ransomed at age 14 by a famous pioneer of the Niagara area, John Burch. In 1866, there was a tavern here. The Fenians burned the bridge but left the tavern, which perhaps says something about the Fenians.

Continue along the Parkway to the Black Creek Bridge. The scenery across the river has improved because Buffalo's industry has been left behind and has been replaced with the trees of Grand Island. The bank where you are driving was once a towpath for oxen dragging shipping toward Lake Erie and the west after passing through the first Welland Canal.

After Black Creek, you pass the sign that welcomes you to the City of Niagara Falls. Look for the sign for Service Road 17, then look for a green marker on the right side of the road near the junction with Sherk Road. This marker recognizes the Community for True Inspiration, otherwise known as the Ebenezer Community, a religious community from Germany that established itself here in the 1850s. Near the marker are a couple of millstones that came from the community's mill.

Ebenezer Community

Just past Sherk Road, turn left into the Service Road. Drive along until you reach the Danner House. Now a bed-and-breakfast inn, this house was built by Ulrich Strickler, a refugee from Pennsylvania, in 1801. Strickler later sold his house to Joseph Danner, also from Pennsylvania. In 1847, Danner sold it to members of the Ebenezer Community, and they in turn sold it to Elias Sherk (hence the name of the road) in 1855. For more information about this remarkable house, go to www.dannerhouse.com.

Danner House

Continue along the Parkway. At the corner of Weaver Road is an old building that houses the Willoughby Museum. This building is a former one-room schoolhouse that now holds artifacts from Willoughby Township. There is no entrance charge but donations are accepted.

Continue to the bridge over Ussher's Creek. This was the scene of three important historical events: the Battle of Chippawa; the destruction of the Caroline; and an unsolved murder.

The land on the left just over the bridge was part of the grant awarded to Samuel Street Senior, and the creek was originally named Street's Creek. Street was a pioneer and businessman, who made lots of money when the portage was moved from the American to the Canadian side of the river in the 1790s. By 1838, Edgeworth Ussher owned the land around the renamed Ussher's Creek and had built a house called Mulford Lodge. Ussher had taken part in the burning of the Caroline in 1837 and this may have contributed to what happened here. Late on the night of November 16, 1838, he rose from his bed to answer a knock on the door, and was killed by a shot fired through a window. Benjamin Lett, a weird character who blew up the first Brock Monument, was suspected of the crime but was never charged.

Continue along the Parkway toward Chippawa until you reach the Chippawa Battlefield Park. There is a self-guiding tour of the battlefield. To follow the tour, drive through the entrance, park in the parking area, and return to the entrance to find the start of the tour. The tour is interesting but was designed by a committee. There are twelve markers, specifically placed so that, if you try to follow them in numerical order, you will take twice as long as necessary. Only two of the markers need to be in specific places, and one of these, Stage 3, is in the wrong place anyway.

Battle of Chippawa Monument

After you emerge from the battlefield, continue north. On the right is a historical marker describing the sinking of the Caroline. Across the river is Navy Island, the only large island in the Niagara River that is Canadian. Here, in 1837, William Lyon Mackenzie tried to set up the Republic of Canada after his escape from Toronto earlier in the year. He chartered a side-wheel steamer, the Caroline, to supply his rebel forces. When the leader of the Canadian forces, Col. Allan MacNab, heard of this, he ordered the ship's destruction. She was boarded at Fort Schlosser, between Buffalo and Niagara Falls NY, set on fire, and left to drift over the Falls. This incident almost caused a new war between Canada and the USA.

Caroline Marker

Carry on north toward Chippawa. Just as you reach the mouth of the Welland River, the road bends left. Most people don't realize that here the water flows upstream. The Welland River does not empty into the Niagara River; the Niagara River flows into the Welland River. That was not always the case. In the early 1800s, the Welland River flowed into the Niagara River and was used by vessels from the first Welland Canal on their way to Lake Erie and the West. Because the Niagara River was so strong, silt from the Welland River was swept up by the Niagara River and formed a sandbar from the south shore. The sandbar protruded northward like the blade of a hockey stick pointing to the Falls. This made it a very tricky business for ships captains when they were trying to bring their ships into dock at Chippawa from the Niagara River. They had to take into account the awkward entrance to the Welland River, which forced them to take their vessels downstream toward the Falls before heading into the Welland River against the considerable force of the Niagara River.

Follow the Parkway as it bends left onto Bridgewater Street. At the stop sign by the bridge, you have completed the trip from Fort Erie to Chippawa.