Канаданың Ниагара-он-те-Лейк қаласының тарихы мен ерекшеліктері

Niagara on the Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York, United States. Niagara on the Lake is in the Niagara Region of Ontario and is the only town in Canada that has a lord mayor. It had a population of 19,088 as of the 2021 Canadian census. Niagara on the Lake is important in the history of Canada: it served as the first capital of the province of Upper Canada, the predecessor of Ontario. It was called Newark from 1792 to 1797. During the War of 1812, the town, the two former villages of St. David's and Queenston, and Fort George were the sites of numerous battles following the American invasion of Upper Canada, and the town was razed. Niagara on the Lake is home to the oldest Catholic church, the second oldest Anglican church in Ontario, and the oldest surviving golf course in North America. Today, Niagara on the Lake draws tourists with its colonial style buildings, the Shaw Festival, Fort George, wineries, an outlet mall on the highway, and its proximity to Niagara Falls. The Niagara Region has the second highest percentage of seniors in Ontario.

Before the British settlers came, the point where Fort Mississauga is situated was inhabited by at least three Native American tribes: the Neutral (15th century); Seneca (late 17th century); and Mississauga (18th century). The settlement was founded in 1781 as Butlersburg in honour of Colonel John Butler, the commander of Butler's Rangers. It was later renamed West Niagara to distinguish it from Fort Niagara. It was a British military base and haven for pro British loyalists fleeing the United States during the volatile aftermath of the American Revolution. Renamed Newark by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe in 1792, it was the first capital of Upper Canada (now the province of Ontario). The Upper Canada legislature first met at Navy Hall on September 17, 1792, and met there four more times until June 1796. In 1797, Simcoe moved the capital to York because Newark was very close to the border with the U. S. Newark was renamed Niagara in 1798. Fort Mississauga was built starting in 1813 but was not completed until after the war in 1816. During the war, the settlement of Niagara was razed and burnt to the ground by American soldiers as they withdrew to Fort Niagara. (Afterwards, on December 19, 1813, the British captured Fort Niagara.) The citizens rebuilt Niagara after the war, with the residential quarter around Queen Street and toward King Street, where the new court house was rebuilt out of range of Fort Niagara's cannons.</blockquote>

In 1859, the town built its first public school, Niagara Public School. The town's present name of Niagara on the Lake was adopted around 1880 as a postal address to distinguish the town from Niagara Falls. The name was officially adopted in 1970 when the Town of Niagara and the Township of Niagara merged. Critical battles in defence of Upper Canada took place here, and at nearby at Queenston and St. David's, both now part of Niagara on the Lake. In one of these, Laura Secord gained her fame (She is known for having walked 32 km out of American occupied territory in 1813 to warn British forces of an impending American attack). The town was both as a stop on the Underground Railroad for those travelling further into Upper Canada and as a refuge in its own right. Its stock of regency and classical revival buildings, considered the best in the country from the post War of 1812 period, led the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada to recommend the town's historic district be designated a National Historic Site of Canada, a designation which was approved in 2003. The historic centre had been designated as a provincial Heritage Conservation District under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1986. Although it did not make the final list, the historic district was considered for nomination as a World Heritage Site. The town has other National Historic Sites of Canada within its boundaries: the Battlefield of Fort George and nearby Fort George, Butler's Barracks, Fort Drummond, Fort Mississauga, the site of the Mississauga Point Lighthouse, the Niagara Apothecary (the oldest apothecary in Canada), the Niagara District Court House, Queenston Heights, Queenston Chippawa Hydro electric Plant, Willowbank and Vrooman's Battery. The Gate House, built after 1849, was the site of the former Wilson's Hotel and the inaugural meeting of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1797. John "Irish John Wilson (1744 ~1798) was a sergeant with the Butler's Rangers and Loyalist from New Jersey. The stone foundation of the Gate House is the remains of the hotel after 1849 fire. His son John Wilson Jr. built the nearby Wilson Guy House. St. Mark's Church, the oldest Anglican Church in Ontario after the Mohawk Chapel; St. Vincent de Paul, the oldest Catholic Church in Ontario; the McFarland House, the oldest building in town; the Niagara Public School, built in 1859; and the Niagara Golf Club, the oldest golf course in North America still in use.

In addition to the primary town site of Niagara on the Lake (the Old Town), the town also includes the settlements of Colemans, Homer, McNab, Mississauga Beach, Queenston, St. Davids, and Virgil. Glendale is located near the junction of the Queen Elizabeth Way QEW, Highway 405, and Highway 55, and adjacent to the Welland Canal. It is home to the Niagara on the Lake campus of Niagara College and a large outdoor shopping mall. Virgil, just southwest of the Old Town of Niagara on the Lake, is the area most visited by tourists. The community has a large Mennonite community, who settled in the area from Russia in the early to mid 20th century. Virgil has a large sports park, serving as the centre of Niagara on the Lake's bustling hockey, softball, lacrosse and soccer leagues, two arenas, three baseball diamonds and a skate park. Once a year, on the Victoria Day weekend in May, the community holds its "Virgil Stampede." The festival includes rides, attractions and its annual soccer start up tournament. Virgil's educational institutions are St. Michael's Elementary School and Crossroads Public School, which opened in September 2011, amalgamating the now closed Virgil and Colonel John Butler Public Schools. The town's only secondary school, Niagara District, was closed by the District School Board of Niagara in 2010. The Old Town also had an elementary school on King Street: Parliament Oak Public School. It was on the site of the signing of the Act Against Slavery of 1793, by the first legislative session of the parliament of Upper Canada. The school was closed on June 25, 2015. St. Davids Public School serves Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 students in the southern part of the municipality. St. Michael Catholic Elementary School serves Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 students in the southern part of the municipality. Crossroads Elementary School serves Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 students in the northern part of the municipality. High school students now take a bus to Laura Secord in St. Catharines or to A. N. Myer in Niagara Falls.

The town is home to the Shaw Festival, Canada's second largest producing theatre and a repertory company featuring the works of George Bernard Shaw, his contemporaries, or plays about his era (1856–1950), running from April to December. The festival operates four theatres in the centre of town: the Festival, The Jackie Maxwell Studio, The Royal George, and the Court House Theatre. The Festival produces over 750 performances annually, featuring its lauded repertory ensemble and employs over 520 artists, artisans and artsworkers locally. Along the Niagara Parkway is RiverBrink Art Museum in Queenston. It is home to a collection of over 1,400 artworks and artifacts by Canadian and international artists assembled by Samuel E. Weir. Completed in 1970, the building features Georgian style architecture, including a mansard roof and gabled windows. It served as Weir's country residence and was converted into an art museum following his death in 1981. Niagara on the Lake is home to many shops, restaurants, wineries, and a growing number of breweries. Historic Old Town is a popular shopping and dining destination. In 2014, Niagara on the Lake also opened an open air outlet mall, the Outlet Collection at Niagara, which is Canada's largest open air outlet mall.

Niagara on the Lake can be reached by the Queen Elizabeth Way, a highway that stretches to Fort Erie to the south, Hamilton to the west and curves around Lake Ontario to Toronto. Public transportation is served by Niagara on the Lake Transit.

Niagara on the Lake had a junior men's hockey team in the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League. The team was first registered in the 2018–19 season and played in the Meridian Credit Union arena located in Virgil. The team was named the Nationals and sponsored by the local bar Bricks and Barley. It was announced that the team would fold after their first season due to poor attendance. Niagara on the Lake also has a Men's soccer team, the Lakers, which plays in the Peninsula Soccer League (PSL). The team was formed in the 2019 season and sponsored by a local bar, Sand Trap. Niagara on the Lake also has a rich history in the sport of lacrosse.

The Town of Niagara was the site of the 8th World Scout Jamboree in 1955. Over 11,000 Scouts from 71 countries attended the Jamboree. It was the first to be held outside Europe and had the theme "Jamboree of New Horizons." Niagara on the Lake was named the Prettiest Town in Canada in 1996 by Communities in Bloom, a nationwide beautification programme. The town is now a popular tourist destination, located at the northern terminus of the Niagara Parkway, a scenic drive and biking/walking path.