Эдвардсбург/Кардинал: Тарихы мен географиясы

The Township of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal was formed on January 1, 2001, through the amalgamation of Edwardsburgh Township with the Village of Cardinal. It is a historical community with many old homes and buildings; including one room school houses, grist mills, and churches. It is situated along the Saint Lawrence Seaway/River and extends back into rural hamlets. Both Highway 416 and Highway 401 pass through the township, as well as the South Nation River. The township's main population centres are Cardinal, Johnstown, and Spencerville. The township's administrative offices are located in Spencerville.

Edwardsburgh/Cardinal's southern boundary is the Saint Lawrence River's shore. To the west, the township ends at the boundary for Augusta Township and to the east is the neighbouring United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. To the north of the township is the township of North Grenville. The township covers an area of The township belongs to the Great Lakes–Saint Lawrence lowlands region. Despite the township's proximity to the Saint Lawrence River, only ten percent of the area's water drains into the Saint Lawrence, and ninety percent drains into the South Nation River. The flow of the South Nation River through this area is described as very sluggish with poor drainage, due to the fact there is little drop in elevation along the river; this leads to the formation of bogs and swamps, and also makes the area prone to seasonal flooding. The north west section of the township is known as the Groveton Bog, and to the east is known as the Hellgate Swamp. The soils in the area range from sandy and dry, to dark and acidic closer to the swamp areas.

The majority of the township is covered in only a very thin layer of soil, in spite of this, there are very few rock outcrops in the area. The only notable outcrop within the township is along the Saint Lawrence river in New Wexford. None of the bedrock in the township contains phosphates, metalliferous ores, mica or anything else of notable value; the sands in the area are also of little value as they are too silty and fine to be used as building material. There is, however, a high concentration of stones in much of the local soil, making it suitable for gravel. The area had a few limestone quarries, but the output of these quarries were small and only used locally. Up until the 18th century, the land was covered with thick, mature, mixed forests. The original forest was almost completely cleared throughout the years and the forest that stands today is mostly secondary growth over previously cleared land. The forests in the area presently contain numerous types of deciduous, oak, birch, ash and maple trees. The common coniferous trees in the area include many types of pine and cedar as well as balsam fir and white spruce. In the darker, acidic soils around the bogs and swamps there are tamarack trees, as well as juniper and black spruce. Although no habitation sites have been discovered within the township boundaries, it is suggested that these cultures must have hunted in the Edwardsburgh/Cardinal area during this time. The Clovis arrows found within the region vary greatly, and reflect thousands of years of the Clovis people's progression and a changing environment. The earlier weapons were short dart points, while two to three thousand years later, the Clovis people were mostly carving stone spear points. This is indicative of an increase in larger game animals migrating into the area. There is little evidence of these cultures ever existing, as their footprint on the land was virtually invisible, and the population density during this period was very low. No human remains have survived from this time period making it impossible to determine the physical appearance of the cultures. This storehouse was used to hold supplies en route to upriver trading posts such as Fort Frontenac (now, Kingston) until 1758. In 1759, The French settlers built Fort de Lévis on Chimney Island, in the Saint Lawrence River just off of Johnstown, between it and Ogdensburg. The purpose of this fort was to protect the Saint Lawrence River from the British. It was captured by Major General Jeffrey Amherst in August 1760 during the Battle of the Thousand Islands. The island on which the fort once stood was permanently flooded during the construction of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. In 1784, loyal subjects of British King George III arrived, fleeing the American Revolution. The first settlement of 166 settled in Royal Township #6 (subsequently renamed Edwardsburg) at Johnstown, named after Sir William Johnson, an Irish official in the British empire. By 1789, the loyalists had built a town site in one acre lots, with streets named after the family of George III. It remains so today, with the exception of one street. Finally, in the early 1800s, the government of Upper Canada passed The Common School Act of 1816, which allowed for a common school to be built in every district where at least 20 students would attend. It would then be the township's responsibility to divide itself into School Sections based upon the locations of the congregated pupils. The Act distributed grants of £25 to schools that met the requirements to pay for a teacher's salary. Although this Act showed promise for the township, the Act did not supply funds for building materials or labour for schools to be built, thus few schools managed to be established early on. In the 1850s, the township began to consider building separate schools in lieu of Common Schools, however these schools more expensive for the township to open due to a higher taxation on separate schools. When another Act went into effect in the mid 1850s, the common and separate schools levelled in price, as the double taxation on separate schools ended. This led to the first separate school being erected in 1855. In total, about 28 single room separate schools were registered in the township of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal. The separate schools were phased out after bigger, newer schools were built in the larger villages and pupils started being transported there instead. Many of the structures are still standing and have been converted into private homes. The following is a list of some of these schools and their names:

S. S #1, New Wexford
S. S #3, North Channel
S. S #4, Cardinal
S. S #5, The Second
S. S #6, Brouseville
S. S #7, Clover Hill
S. S #8, Crystal Rock
S. S #9, Mainsville
S. S #10, Pittston
S. S #11, Glen Smail
S. S #12, Garryowen
S. S #13, Shanly
S. S #14, Ventnor
S. S #15, Spencerville
S. S #16, Groveton
S. S #17, Campbell's Corners
S. S #18, Knowles school
S. S #20, Cedar Grove
S. S #23, Hyndman
S. S #25, Edwardsburgh
S. S #26, The Island
S. S #27, Dobbie's school

Currently, the township's schools belong to the Upper Canada District School Board. There are only two schools still operating within the township boundaries: South Edwardsburgh Public School in Johnstown, and Centennial '67 Public School in Spencerville. Both of these schools are elementary schools; for high school, students have the option of either South Grenville District High School in Prescott, or North Grenville District High School in Kemptville, both of which are located in close proximity to the township. For Catholic schools, students from Edwardsburgh/Cardinal may attend St. Mark Catholic School in Prescott or St. Mary St. Cecilia Catholic School in Morrisburg; as these are the closest elementary schools to the township under the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario. The closest Catholic high school to the township is St. Michael Catholic High School located in Kemptville. Elementary students also have the option of attending St. Lawrence Academy, located in Prescott, which is a private school that focuses on Christian values. The nearest post secondary school to the township is the St. Lawrence College campus located in Brockville. For adult schools and continuing education, residents of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal have the option of attending a TR Leger School campus located in Prescott. In 2011 according to the National Household Survey, of 5,060 adults (persons over 25 years of age) in the township, 53.8% had obtained some form of post secondary education; 13.8% having a university degree, and an additional 27.4% having a college diploma, and 12.5% having a trades certificate. 27.1% of the township's adult population reported a high school diploma being the highest level of education attainment, and 19.3% reported having neither a high school nor a post secondary diploma or degree.

The village of Cardinal was founded by Captain Hugh Munro in the late 1700s. Many unfortunate events in Munro's life led to his settlement in Cardinal. After the death of his Major, Munro was held responsible for large debts incurred by supplying the soldiers with necessities. Before the Galop Canal was constructed in 1846, early settlers earned an income hauling boats through the rapids. Some residents relied on agriculture for their income, and maintained family farms. Several businesses opened mid century, including three more general stores, a blacksmith, a tailor, a gunsmith, two shoemakers, a cloth factory, a library, a carpentry shop and two inns. This school was later moved to the corner of New and James Street. Although it is unclear when the school closed, the building was used by the Canada Starch Company as a storehouse before becoming a duplex in 1891, as it remains in 2016.

As of 2016, Cardinal is home to five active churches: a Presbyterian, United, Anglican, Roman Catholic and Pentecostal Church. Conestoga rests at a depth of only , with the top portion of the steeple engine protruding above the river. According to divers, the wooden portions of the Conestoga site are well preserved, however the top portions of metal are badly ice damaged and rusted, and are quickly deteriorating. Looters and "wreck stripping" has apparently caused significant damage to the site, and a blade from Conestogas 14 feet (4 m) propeller was broken off by a dynamite blast during a salvage attempt gone wrong. Two less popular dive sites are also commonly associated with the Edwardsburgh/Cardinal township, SS Ralph T. Holcomb, and Fleur Marie. Apparently just east of Cardinal, the hull of SS Ralph T. Holcomb lies in the old canal bank. This ship was purchased by the Canada Starch Company for hauling coal sometime in the early 1900s before it was sunk. Fleur Marie was built in Quebec in 1850 and was later left abandoned at the docks in Prescott. The abandoned ship was considered an eyesore amongst locals and eventually caught fire, leading to the ship to be scuttled in 50 feet (15 m) of water off the shore of Windmill Point in 1883, where it still currently sits. Although Fleur Marie is associated with the area, it is actually located within American waters.

The Galop Canal was opened in 1846 and was used until the 1950s. The canal allowed ships to bypass the rapids of the Saint Lawrence River near Cardinal and Iroquois. Construction began in 1844, and was done without machinery, but instead by use of hand tools such as axes, wheelbarrows, and shovels. The men worked for around 14 hours and were paid 50 cents each day. In 1897 new locks were built along the canal. Some parts of the canal reached in length and were the longest in Canada at the time. In the 1950s the Saint Lawrence Seaway was created and new locks were built in Iroquois for large, ocean going ships. Present day, Galop Canal is a popular location amongst locals for swimming and picnics, as well as diving. The wreck of Weehawk is located in Lock 27 at Galop Canal; divers are able to view this site and drift with the current of the Saint Lawrence River to the nearby Conestoga dive site.

The township of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal is dotted with many old, rural hamlets and communities, most of which date back to the early 1800s. Most of these hamlets are tiny and only ever had a few farms and less than twenty businesses. The communities of Brouseville, New Wexford, Crystal Rock, Ventnor, Hyndman, Mainsville, Groveton, Campbell's Corners, McCarley's Corners, The Island, McReynolds, Pittston, Van Allens, Glen Smail and Shanly are all a part of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal. Each hamlet usually had its own schoolhouse, cheese factory, and churches; many had their own general stores, burial grounds, as well as grist or saw mills.

Brouseville, Ontario is a small rural hamlet located approximately 4 mile (6 km) north of Cardinal. The central location of the hamlet is the intersection of Brouseville Road and County Road 22. Brouseville extends easterly to the township boundary, and Kain Road is considered to be the southern boundary of the community. Brouseville, formerly known as Bolton's Corners, was renamed in 1872 after Dr. William H. Brouse, a local travelling physician. Brouse took over the South Grenville seat in the 1872 federal election which prompted residents to change the name in his honour. Brouseville was settled many years later than neighbouring settlements of similar size; until the mid 1800s, the community consisted of solely homesteads or farms established by a handful of families. At this time, the community was called Bolton's Corners after the Bolton family, a notably large family who were amongst the first to settle here. By the 1860s, Brouseville became a thriving community with many businesses in operation typical of the era; Brouseville had a hotel, a jewellery store, four grocery stores, a pump shop, a blacksmith, as well as a carriage repair shop in operation. Sporting events became popular with the creation of an outdoor "arena", operated and maintained by locals. Brouseville organized its own hockey team, as well as a soccer and softball team, which competed against the teams of neighbouring communities. These events were highly organized and results were reported by local media. A notable piece of architecture belonging to the hamlet was an octagon house that once stood on Byers Road. The house was believed to have been built by a "Mr. Wright" in 1873, following the fad of octagonal houses built in the United States. The house remained abandoned for many years after it was purchased by the Land Bank. Numerous efforts were made to have the distinctive house designated a heritage building in order to preserve it, however the outcry was largely ignored. On October 31, 1995, the house was destroyed by fire and later completely demolished. In the early 1900s, Brouseville established its first school, fairly late into its settlement. Prior to this, students had to travel long distances to neighbouring communities. Residents of the community demanded their own school section but were met with opposition from neighbouring schools, which relied on the revenue provided by Brouseville taxpayers. In 1905, Brouseville was finally designated its own school section, #6; the school was dubbed S. S. #6 Brouseville School. In the early 1900s, Crystal Rock sustained all its early businesses and trades apart from the limekilns. The last lime was produced here in 1904 and sold to Canada Starch Company (CASCO) in Cardinal. lived in Crystal Rock for most of her life. In the 1970s she turned her home in Crystal Rock into the Crystal Rock Art Room, which was a gallery for her original works. At the time of her death she had self published three books including an autobiography and two local histories, one of which was about Crystal Rock. It was published in 1994 and titled Crystal Rock History (Its Rocky Twists and Turns). One of Cameron's paintings was presented to Queen Elizabeth II by the Town of Prescott in the 1980s during her visit to Fort Wellington.

Glen Smail, Ontario is a rural community located approximately 2 mile (3 km) south of Spencerville along County Road 44 near its intersection with Glen Smail Road. The settlement was first called Cowdrey's Hill followed by Hunter's Settlement before receiving the name Glen Smail; Cowdrey, Hunter and Smail were all surnames of the first prominent settlers in succession. Settled mainly by Scottish immigrants, Glen Smail began as an agricultural community with most residents supporting themselves through family farms. By the 1850s, some pioneer businesses and trades began to operate from the village. A lime kiln was also built, which provided area farmers with a supplemental income. The hamlet is located along the Saint Lawrence River banks, and Ontario Highway 2. By the time Prescott became an established town and the War of 1812 had ended, The King's Highway (Ontario Highway 2) had become a rapidly improving, main corridor between Montreal and Kingston. This showed much potential for the people who held the land at the outskirts of Prescott. The Battle of the Windmill, a skirmish with American rebels in 1838, was fought in the hamlet. The battle was named for a windmill built as well as the promontory and converted as a lighthouse in 1873. Eventually, by the 1850s, the railway had advanced through Prescott and the surrounding area, which generated further interest amongst the landowners to form a community. The land in New Wexford was divided and granted to various loyalists in the late 1700s, and changed hands many times until the early 1800s. Around 1835, Dr. Thomas Gainfort, who already owned land in the area, became heir to two more lots of land in close proximity to his existing property. After Gainfort's death in 1854, his three spinster sisters inherited all of his land; it is around this time the railroad and highway were beginning to develop and the settlement began showing growth potential. By 1860, the Gainfort trio had commissioned someone to lay out a town plot on their property to be called New Wexford, as the family is said to have emigrated from Wexford County, Ireland. The most successful early business established in the village was a slaughter house owned by the King family, which remained thriving until the Great Depression. Originally, the community was called Riddell's Settlement, as the Riddell family headed six households and owned much of the land here. The village of Pittston was settled as an agricultural community, with most of its residents running family farms as their main source of income. When the township was divided by school sections, Pittston was section number ten with its school being accordingly named S. S. #10 Pittston School. The proposed village was to be where the current of the Battle of the Windmill National Historic Site is located, often referred to as Windmill Point. The Crown originally granted the land to two Loyalists, John Dulmage and Thomas McIlmoyle, who sold the land to a farmer named Joseph Bass in 1809. Bass held onto the land for five years before selling it off to Solomn Snyder in 1814. Snyder divided 27 and a half acres of his water front property into town lots, declaring this was to become a new town called Newport, Ontario. At the time, the King's Highway (Ontario Highway 2) would have run parallel to the shoreline past the windmill. At its peak, Newport had around ten stone buildings or structures including the windmill, all of which would've been located on what is now Windmill Road. These structures included a stone, one room schoolhouse, which was called S. S #3 North Channel School, a three story stone building which contained both a tavern and general store, as well as a storehouse and two storey carriage barn. The remainder of the structures here were family homes. In 1838, the village was attacked by a group of American invaders from Ogdensburg attempting to "free" Prescott of perceived British oppression; known as the Battle of the Windmill. Although the Americans were ultimately defeated, the town of Newport experienced great loss. During the battle, two civilian lives were lost; a mother and her two children had been hiding in their cellar after their home was seized, with the intention of fleeing at dusk. When the trio exited the cellar, they were immediately spotted by the invading Americans who held their fire, however when they arrived close to the Canadian lines, shots were fired. All three were hit; the mother and her four year old son died on the battlefield, while the seventeen year old daughter, despite being shot through her jaw, managed to crawl to safety. After the battle, the bodies of fifty American men were buried in a mass grave near the battle site. Most of the buildings that once stood as Newport were burned or destroyed by both cannon and gun fire during the battle, and were not rebuilt. In 1873, the windmill was converted into a lighthouse, and the village of Newport began to fade into obscurity. The village was never registered and little mention was ever made of it even existing, apart from a popular lighthouse keeper using the name "Newport" to occasionally specify the location of his lighthouse in the late 1800s.

Prescott Junction was a planned town located east of Prescott, about a kilometre north of New Wexford. The town had triangular boundaries, which at the time were the Grand Trunk Railway line, the Bytown and Prescott Railway line as well as Reynolds Street, a now non existent road. most of which are over a century old. It is believed there are potentially many small family plots from the late 18th, and early 19th centuries that remain unknown within the township, as mortality rates in this time were much higher and early settlers needed to bury their dead quickly and easily; most people at this time were buried on the family property. Grave robbing was also an issue faced by early settlers, as fresh bodies could be sold for profit to those looking to practice medicine; burying the bodies of loved ones close to the homestead decreased the likelihood of anyone being tempted to steal the body. The grave and stone belong to Jerusha Plumley, who was buried here in 1801. One of the earliest known burials in the area took place in the same cemetery a few years prior, in 1796. The grave is that of John McIlmoyle Sr., and though the dates were recorded the stone marker is no longer there. Along what was formerly The Front, the family of John Driver (d.1896) are buried along with Henry Bolton (d.1856), who was once a fairly prominent local figure; the burying place is known as Driver Cemetery. Many of the Holmes family stones are too decayed to read however the earliest confirmed interment was in 1849, and the most recent in 1910. In 1880, the grandson of Isaac Wilson built a small fence around the cemetery however the stone markers were later moved to Adams cemetery in Ventnor where they remain today. Near Clover Hill, a pioneer man named William Bush and his wife are buried on what was once their homestead.