Map of Grimsby

The first settler at the Forty Mile Creek was Captain Hendrick (Henry) Nelles of the Indian Department. Nelles, a former landowner in the Mohawk Valley of New York, may have settled here about 1883 before moving to land he had been given by the Six Nations on the Grand River. It is possible that he built a log cabin on the east side of the Forty Mile Creek near the lake. At any rate, until he died in 1791, he continued to move back and forth between his Grand River property and the Forty. (There is a story that he could not tell exactly where he was because he was travelling through a thick forest that allowed very little light to penetrate. He knew he was near the escarpment was when he noticed a change in the foliage.) When he died, he split his land between three sons Abraham, William, and Warner. Presumably he had already helped his other sons, Robert and John, to buy land of their own. Warner, however, did not want the land at the Forty, preferring the Grand River, so he swapped his land at the Forty with Robert, who did not want his land on the Grand.

Meanwhile, in 1787, a huge party of more than 400 people and 46 families made its way to the Forty. Many of these settlers were Loyalists from New Jersey and they would play a big part in the history of the Forty. Perhaps the most prominent was Judge Nathaniel Pettit, a notable person and judge in New Jersey before the Revolution. Accompanying him were other members of his family including his son-in-law Lawrence Lawrason. Judge Pettit obtained land astride the Forty in what is now downtown Grimsby. Lawrason had land adjacent to the judge but did a deal with Robert Nelles to swap this land for property on the lake further east.

Another famous family to come with Judge Pettit was the Green family. The brothers John and Adam Green had been, like the judge, landowners in New Jersey. Also like the judge, they had had their land stolen from them. Adam had even been imprisoned with Judge Pettit for their lack of enthusiasm for the new regime. Their father Samuel had been a surveyor and he had helped to build the jail in which Pettit and Adam were imprisoned. Adam and John and their families settled around the Forty but later moved. John moved to the escarpment above Dundas and founded the community of Greensville. Adam moved to the escarpment above Stoney Creek. His son, Billy the Scout, became famous for his part in the Battle of Stoney Creek. (See the tour of the Ridge Road.)

Grimsby, though, was dominated by the Nelles family. There is no Pettit Street, Green Avenue, or Lawrason Boulevard. But there is a Nelles Road, a Nelles Boulevard, and a Nelles Lake Park.

Robert Nelles, later known as Col. Nelles, built a mill on the lot he had obtained from Lawrence Lawrason. It was not the first mill in the area. In 1788, John Green had built a sawmill on the escarpment in what is now Beamer's Falls Conservation Area and, the next year, a gristmill in what is now Coronation Park on the Forty Mile Creek behind the Dressmaker's Cottage on Main Street. The Nelles sawmill was built in 1792 off what is now the small stub of Gibson Street off Mountain Street. A year or so later, Nelles built a gristmill on the other side of the creek, now the larger part of Gibson Street off Main Street. The site of the gristmill is marked with a millstone from the mill. The Nelles gristmill, being closer to the escarpment, was the first mill reached by farmers coming down the escarpment road. Nowadays there is a footbridge across the creek between the two sections of Gibson Street. When the two Nelles mills were operating, there was a wooden A-frame bridge here. Wagons would come down the escarpment from miles around using the road that ran down the east side of the creek. To get to the sawmill was easy for it was on that side. But if they had grain to grind, they had to cross the creek by this bridge. The mills at the Forty were important because they were close to the lake and the Forty harbour, which meant that the flour would reach its markets faster and cheaper.

The Forty was the site of the first municipal meeting in Upper Canada. This occurred on the 5th April, 1790 at John Green's house, which used to be on the west side of Main Street just north of the Trinity United Church and across the street from the Dressmaker's Cottage. The meeting was for the inhabitants of Township No. 6 and a vote was carried to ensure that the gaps between rails on all fences, down to the fourth rail, should be no larger than five inches. The wonder of it is that in the three years since the settlers arrived there were any fences at all.

Places to see in Grimsby are:

• Stone Shop, 271 Main Street West

  Stone Shop

  One of the settlers to arrive in 1787 was Allen Nixon. He was a blacksmith and so was an important man in the community. He settled on the lot here and built a log cabin like everybody else. In 1800 or thereabouts, he built this small blacksmith's shop from coarse rubble found nearby. During the War of 1812, both British and Americans used the shop to shoe their horses and repair mechanical equipment. Much later, this building housed Grimsby's first museum.

• Nelles Manor, 126 Main Street West

  Nelles Manor

  Col. Robert Nelles, dispossessed landowner from the Mohawk Valley, fighter in the Indian Department, translator, and friend of the Six Nations, began building this house about 1788 after he had obtained the land in a swap with Lawrence Lawrason. It took ten years to finish and by this time he had added mill owner to his qualifications. Later he became a Justice of the Peace, Member of the Legislative Assembly and commander of the 14th Lincoln Militia (hence the rank of Colonel). While the house was being built, he had to live somewhere and in fact it was in the house across the street.

• Nelles-Fitch House, 125 Main Street West

  The Nelles-Fitch House

  When Robert Nelles moved to this lot, he built a log cabin as his first home. This cabin is still here hiding as the south ell of this house. The house was later added to the ell and became the home of Robert's son Henry. In 1852, Dr. William Fitch bought the house and it remained in the family until 1938. Interestingly, the house was used as a barracks during the War of 1812 and has a prison cell in the basement.

  The Nelles-Fitch House showing the south ell on the right

• Nelles Millstone, Gibson Street

  Nelles Millstone

  This millstone is from the gristmill built by Robert Nelles about 1793. He had earlier built a sawmill on the other side of the creek. Robert operated the mills with his son Henry. This millstone is very near to the actual site of the gristmill. The sawmill would have been across the bridge and about fifty feet upstream.

• Gibson House, Gibson Street

  Gibson House

  Robert Gibson left Peterhead in Scotland to seek his fortune in Canada in 1860. After spells in Walkerton, St George, Windsor, and Niagara, he used his contacts in the railway to get a contract to build a railway bridge in the Vineland area about 1875. He then started to look for a quarry for suitable stone. The quarry he found was on the escarpment above the house. The house is made of stone from the quarry. He later worked quarries at Jordan and Beamsville. In 1870, he brought his nephew William to Canada to join him in business as a bookkeeper. In 1884, Robert was getting off a slow-moving train when he fell, later dying from his injuries. His son Robert Jr. was too young to take over so William began to run the company. He was so successful in business that he was appointed to the Senate by the Governor-General Lord Minto.

• Canterbury Cottage, 129 Main Street West

  Canterbury Cottage

  Robert Nelles's son Charles built this cottage in 1836 for his half-sister Catharine.

• Dressmaker's Cottage, 99 Main Street West

  Dressmaker's Cottage

  This delightful little cottage was built about 1812 and is supposed to have been built from leftover stone from the Nelles Mansion. It was the home of the Nelles seamstress.

• The Hermitage, 139 Lake Street

  The Hermitage

  The third Nelles Brother, William, built this house about 1800.

• Lake Lawn, 376 Nelles Road North

  Lake Lawn

  William Nelles's son John Adolphus built this brick house in 1846. The name comes from the lawn that once stretched down to the lake. Now Lake Street intervenes. The house was in Nelles hands until 1986.

• St Andrew's Church, 154 Main Street West East

  St Andrew's Church

  The congregation for St Andrew's Church was founded in 1794 and the first church building was a log cabin on this site. The log cabin was replaced about seven years later and the present building was built in 1818. It is the fourth oldest Anglican church in the province. The story is that it was named after Andrew Pettit, son of Nathaniel and a church organiser.

• The White House, 159 Main Street West East

  White House

  Right across the street from St Andrew's Church is this stolid stone house. It was built in 1832 as a residence for the rector of the church, Rev. George Grout, by his father. Although it was called the church rectory, it was never really that because it was not part of the church property. The house still has its original Georgian fireplaces, trim, and interior shutters. It was reputed to have been a stop on the Underground Railway for former slaves.