The Founding of Westport

Photo by July 8, 2007

Plaque Location

The County of Leeds and Grenville
The Village of Westport
At the town hall on Bedford Street two blocks west of Main Street

Plaque Text

Sawmills built by Sheldon Stoddard and the Manhard brothers in 1828-29, during the construction of the Rideau Canal, fosterd the development here of a small settlement. Grist-mills and wharves were soon erected, and by 1848 a post-office "West Port", had been established. Within a decade the hamlet contained 300 residents and several prosperous businesses, including the general store of Declan Foley and mills of William H. Fredenburgh, a prominent lumber exporter. The community's growth was stimulated by agricultural prosperity and the construction of the Brockville, Westport & Sault Ste. Marie Railway, completed in 1888 between Brockville and Westport, which then had a population of about 700. Westport was incorporated as a Village, with 900 inhabitants, by a United Counties by-law of 1903.

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