Location
The Region of Niagara - Thorold
In the village of St Johns, on the north side of Holland Road, 2.2 km west of Merrittville Highway (County Road 50), street number 2984
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Photographer
Alan L Brown
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Posted
August 22, 2004
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Text from the Plaque
A sawmill built in 1792 on nearby Twelve Mile Creek by Benjamin Canby, an early entrepreneur, formed the nucleus of a settlement, which by 1799 was called St. Johns. Other enterprising businessmen, notably John Darling and John Street, developed several mill-sites and the flourishing community soon became the Niagara District's leading mill-centre. A post-office was established in 1831, by which time the village contained numerous operations, including a woollen factory, foundry, tannery, and several saw and grist-mills. The completion of the Welland Canal and the rapid emergence of industries on that waterway hampered the further growth of St. Johns, and the decline was accelerated by the bypassing of the Short Hills area by the Great Western and Welland Railways, completed between 1853 and 1859.
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