Adolphustown, Ontario

The township of Adolphustown lies in the south western portion of the county of Lennox, is triangular in shape, being bounded on the south and west by the Bay of Quinte, and on hte north east by the townships of north and south Fredericksburgh, and at its south western extremity is a Ferry across the Bay to Prince Edward Island.  The land is generally rolling, the soil a stiff loam or clay, and the lumber principally hardwood, with a little pine.  There are some good farms in the township, and it commenced settling about the year 1784, land being obrainable at that time for a shilling an acre.  It rose gradually in value, and in 1817 was stated to be worth for cleared land, four pounds per acre.  In 1850 the township contained 690 ingabitants, and 801 in 1861..." from the Mitchell & Co.'s general directory for the city of Kingston and gazetteer of the counties of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington for 1865 Toronto : Mitchell & Co., Publishers, 1865.

Scene in the bay of Quinté'. Artist/engraver/cartographer: Engraved by C. Cousen; Drawn by W.H. Bartlett. Provenance: "Canadian Scenery Illustrated"; from drawings by W.H. Bartlett, The Literary Department of N.P. Willis, Published by George Virtue, London. Type: Antique steel-engraved print 1842

Adolphustown was formed in 1784, one of several townships, granted to loyalist families who fought in the Revolutionary War on the side of the King's.  It is located on the Canadian shores of Lake Ontario, in a smaller inlet called the Bay of Quinte.  The French traded with the Cayuga Indians, whose village was called Kente, thus the waters around that area became known as the Bay of Quinte.
The town was known simply as Fourth Town until it was renamed Adolphustown in honor of one of King George's sons.

Major Vanalstine with his band of refugees were assigned to the area of Adolphustown.  Each family had been provided with a tent capable of accommodating eight or ten persons. Sufficient clothing for three years, of a coarse but suitable quality, had been given to each. To each two families was given one cow. The concessions were laid out in lots of 200 acres each; four lots covered a mile in frontage, and every two or three miles a strip forty feet in width was reserved for a cross-road.  The land was heavily forested, so much so that the first several years were dedicated to clearing the land for farms and pastures.  The waterways were the easiest way to travel until roads could be cleared, so that waterfront lots were highly desirable.  The Bay of Quinte also provided the settlers with plenty of wild rice and fish.  The first several years were hard and terrible.  The settlers had to make everything themselves with limited tools and resources, because merchants and peddlers would not arrive until much later.  Crops could not be planted until land was cleared, livestock was out of the question until stables and enclosures could be built, and clothing was made mostly from leather until flax could be grown.

The settlers wasted no time in forming a local government.  The first town meeting was held in 1792.
Some of the elected positions included Pathmasters, Fence Viewers.  These roles were important to a developing community because It must be borne in mind that Adolphustown was recognized as the most important center of civilization in Upper Canada at the time, and the representatives of this district were men of high standing whose counsels carried great weight.  The first traveling Methodist preacher, the Rev. Losee, arrived around the same time, preaching at various settlers' homes and staying with whomever had the spare room for him.  The first church was a Methodist church, built in, right off the Bay.  Many settlers would arrive by boat for the weekly sermons.  One year, a tragedy occurred, in which a boat of young people, heading to church, capsized just off the dock, and half of them drowned!

Old Hay Bay Church

Sources:

-Herrington, Walter S., "History of the County of Lennox and Addington", MacMillan Co, Toronto. 1913.
-Mitchell & Co.'s General Directory for the City of Kingston and Gazetteer of the Counties of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington for 1865, Toronto : Mitchell & Co., Publishers, 1865.