On behalf of the people of Canada, the Parks Canada Agency protects and presents nationally significant examples of Canada’s cultural heritage, and fosters public understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of this heritage through the System of National Historic Sites of Canada. This system continues to grow as Canada’s history unfolds. Parks Canada is working with others to create a more representative system – one that truly reflects the rich history and heritage that define Canada. In recent years, Parks Canada has placed much effort in supporting national recognition of the history of women, Aboriginal peoples and ethnocultural communities in Canada. Achieving the goal of a representative system depends on the active participation of provinces, territories, heritage groups, the private sector and individual Canadians.

Parks Canada itself administers 150 National Historic Sites of Canada, and supports the HSMBC in the conduct of its business. The Director General of Parks Canada’s National Historic Sites Directorate acts as secretary to the HSMBC. Under the secretary’s guidance, Parks Canada conducts historical and archaeological research in support of nominations, provides a secretariat which handles administrative matters, and carries out the Government’s direction with respect to designations. The standard form of commemoration is a bilingual bronze plaque which is installed and maintained by Parks Canada. Additional forms of commemoration include monuments and agreements to ensure the protection and presentation of national historic sites. More information on Parks Canada’s role in supporting the System of National Historic Sites of Canada is available at www.pc.gc.ca.

The Historic Sites and Monuments of Canada

Since its creation in 1919, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC) has played a leading role in identifying and commemorating the nationally significant places, persons and events that make up the rich history of our country’s cultural heritage. Together, these places, persons and events comprise the System of National Historic Sites of Canada.

The HSMBC is an expert advisory body on historical matters. On the basis of its recommendations, the Government of Canada has designated more than 900 national historical sites, almost 600 national historic persons and over 350 national historic events. The HSMBC considers whether a proposed subject has had a nationally significant impact on Canadian history, or illustrates a nationally important aspect of Canadian history. Over 80 percent of nominations brought forward for the consideration of the HSMBC originate from interested Canadians.

The HSMBC is comprised of one representative from each province and territory, with the exception of Ontario and Quebec, which have two members each. The members, who are appointed by the Governor in Council for terms up to five years, include distinguished historians, archaeologists, sociologists, geographers and other specialists. The National Archivist of Canada and a representative from the Canadian Museum of Civilization are also members of the Board. More information about the HSMBC is available at www.hsbmc.cg.ca.

Niagara-on-the-Lake Historic District

The Niagara-on-the-Lake historic district conveys a remarkable sense of time and place through a combination of well-preserved historic buildings of compatible scale and design, an original colonial street plan and alignment of buildings to the streets, and landscape features that include views of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario. In fact, Niagara-on-the-Lake possesses the best collection of buildings from the period following the War of 1812 (1815 to 1859), especially houses, designed in the British Classical tradition as well as vernacular buildings with features derived from this tradition.

This British Classical tradition of architecture, with its direct link to Georgian England, became symbolic in Canada of British power and authority. Nowhere was this more evident than in Niagara-on-the-Lake, which had been settled by United Empire Loyalists after the American Revolution, and later became a strategic military site during the war of 1812. After the town’s destruction by retreating American forces in 1813, its citizens chose to rebuild in the British Classical tradition, reasserting their commitment to the British Crown and British values. The ensuing construction phase established and enduring architectural character dominated by symmetrical one and two-storey buildings with rectangular plans and anchored by landmarks such as the Anglican and Presbyterian churches and cemeteries. As a whole, the buildings and landscape components, including the placement of houses close to the streets that define the four-acre-block grid of the historic district, speak to the era when Niagara-on-the-Lake was a prominent and prosperous Loyalist colonial town.

Niagara-on-the-Lake’s decline as an economic and administrative centre in the early 1860s spared its colonial buildings from redevelopment pressures and eventually enabled them to become one of its greatest resources. The buildings within the historic district speak to the conservation movement in Canada, as many citizens have taken the initiative to have these buildings rehabilitated, renovated and/or restored to highlight their heritage character, expressing an exceptional commitment to the preservation of their town’s heritage.

Plaque Text

In 1778, Loyalist refugees began crossing from Fort Niagara to settle the west bank of the Niagara River. A town was laid out in a grid pattern of four-acre blocks and grew quickly, gaining prominence as the first capital of Upper Canada from 1792 to 1796. Following Niagara’s destruction during the war of 1812, the citizens rebuilt, mainly in the British Classical architectural tradition, creating a group of structures closely related in design, materials, and scale. Spared from redevelopment, the town’s colonial buildings eventually became one of its greatest resources. Beginning in the 1950s, residents rehabilitated and restored the old structures, demonstrating an exceptional commitment to the preservation of local heritage and making a significant contribution to the conservation movement in Canada. This collection of residential, commercial, ecclesiastical and institutional buildings, many on their original sites close to the street, is the best-preserved in Canada build between 1815 and 1859. With its early buildings and grid street plan, this historic district recalls the era when Niagara-on-the-Lake was a prominent, prosperous Loyalist town.