Grand River (Ontario)
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- For other rivers of the same name, please see Grand River.
The Grand River is a large river in southwestern Ontario, Canada. From its source, it flows south through Grand Valley, Fergus, Elora, Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Paris, Brantford, Caledonia, and Cayuga before emptying into the north shore of Lake Erie south of Dunnville at Port Maitland. One of the scenic and spectacular features of the river is the falls and gorge at Elora.
The Grand River is the largest river entirely within southern Ontario's boundaries. The river owes its size due to the unusual fact that it has its source relatively close to the base of the Bruce Peninsula, yet flows southwards to Lake Erie, rather than to central Lake Huron or Georgian Bay (most southern Ontario rivers flow into the nearest Great Lake, which is why most of them are small), thus giving it more distance to take in more water from tributaries.
The river's rural character, ease of access and lack of portages make it a desirable canoeing location, especially the stretch between West Montrose and Paris, Ontario. A number of conservation areas exist in the area of the river, managed by the Grand River Conservation Authority.
The Grand Valley Trail stretches 250 km along the river's valley between the town of Alton and Lake Erie.
The river was named "Grande Rivière" by the French during the 18th century. It was later renamed Ouse River by John Graves Simcoe for the River Great Ouse near his childhood home, although the anglicized form of the French name has remained in common use.
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[edit] History
For many centuries the Grand River valley was inhabited by a tribe of Iroquois descent, named the Attawandaron, that did not join the Iroquois Confederacy of the Five Nations (later Six). They were later given the name Neutrals by the European explorers due to their refusal to side with either the French or the English.
The Huron (Wyndat) who resided Northwest of the Grand River valley were bitter enemies of the Six Nations of the present New York state area. Caught in between, the Neutrals eventually paid dearly for their refusal to ally. Historical accounts differ on exactly how the Neutral tribe was wiped out, but it is generally agreed that the Seneca and the Mohawk tribes of the Six Nations destroyed the smaller Neutral tribe while severely crippling the Huron in the 16th century. It was during this time the famous Canadian “Sainte Marie Among the Hurons’ Jesuit outpost was abandoned.
After the invasion of the Six Nations into the Grand River Valley, the Neutral tribe ceased to have any political existence. Any dispersed survivors were taken captive or escaped to other tribes such as the Mississaugas and were assimilated in that culture. There are no distinct Attawandaron’s today.
After the desolation of the Neutral tribes the Grand River Valley was uninhabited for several centuries used only as the hunting grounds for neighbouring tribes. Though the Six Nations conquered the territory, it wasn’t practical to expand their settlements on the other side of the Great Lakes.
When the French explorers and Courier de Bois came to the region in search of fur and other items of value to Europeans, the Grand River Valley was among the last areas of Ontario to be explored. Since the French worked closely with their Native allies in the acquisition of fur, they only went where the natives resided. Even after the English conquered New France in 1760 the Grand River Valley remained unoccupied and still largely uncharted.
The Six Nations Confederacy sided with the British during the American War of Independence making them unwelcome in the newly created nation. After the war the Six Nations leader, Joseph Brant, appealed the British crown for help. In gratitude for their assistance during the war and to aid their flee from the Americans, the Iroquois were given land in Upper Canada which had remained loyal to the crown. Conveniently, there was one large swath of land unclaimed by any native or European settlers that made for a perfect resettlement of the Six Nations, the Grand River Valley which the Six Nations forefathers had previously cleared.
The Six Nations were given the Haldimand Tract, six miles on either side of the entire Grand River Valley. Not all of members of the Six Nations moved North and remnants of the past confederacy remain today throughout New York state.
Joseph Brant lead those who journeyed to Upper Canada and first settled at what is present day Brantford, where Brant crossed, or ‘forded’ the river.
After the American War of Independence, Upper Canada saw a flood of loyalist refugees also looking for land and opportunity. In addition, vast amounts of settlers were pouring into Upper Canada. Settlements were popping up all over Southern Ontario and many had their eye on the prize Grand River Valley.
Since the Six Nations of the Grand River then had more land then they could possibly use themselves, they saw it fit to sell of portions of their grant in order to secure their financial future in a quickly changing economic world. Much contention today is over how these deals transpired. Some were legitimate, other’s much deception was involved. Especially the defaulting on land payments, and the unethical European brokering. In several cases, native funds were controlled in trust by white government officials who wasted the money on unsuccessful ventures such as the Grand River Navigation Company. This company attempted to open up the Grand River for barge shipping using a series of locks and canals just as rail was taking over making canal transport obsolete. On such projects their land sales income was wasted though they never had any role or say in the matter.
Eventually the Haldimand Tract was chiseled down to what is now the Six Nations reserve south of Brantford, Ontario. Throughout the 17th century many European settlements appeared along the Grand within former Six Nations territory including Waterloo, Berlin (now Kitchener), Cambridge, Paris, Brantford, Caledonia, Dunnville and Port Maitland.
In 1784 the British Crown awarded to the Six Nations the "Haldimand Tract" , a tract of land for 6 miles in either direction along the Grand River from its source to Lake Erie. Much of this land was later sold or otherwise lost to the Six Nations; however, a portion of this tract near Caledonia, Ontario is the basis for the 2006 Caledonia land dispute.
[edit] Watershed
The Grand River watershed consists of all the land that drains into the Grand River through tributary creeks and rivers such as the Conestogo, Speed, Eramosa and Nith rivers. The Grand River watershed is Southern Ontario's largest.
Because a watershed is an ecosystem with natural borders, it includes and crosses many municipal boundaries. Its headwaters are near Dundalk in the north. The Grand River flows south south east.
Luther Marsh, a 52 square kilometre wetland on the upper Grand, is one of the largest inland wetlands in southern Ontario and provides habitat for waterfowl, including Least Bittern and Black Tern, and amphibians. It is also an important staging area during migration.
The watershed (7000 square kilometers or 2600 square miles) has been recognized by the designation of the Grand as a Canadian Heritage River.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ↑ Map of the 1784 Haldimand Tract, reclamationinfo.com
