Johnston, Charles Murray, 1926-

Brant County : a history, 1784-1945 / C.M. Johnston.

Toronto : Oxford University Press, 1967.

x, 181 pages, 4 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations, maps (on lining papers) ; 24 cm

The people who lived at Brant's Ford, or in the countryside around it, have made a considerable contribution to Canadian history. Since Joseph Brant first established himself and the Indians of the Six Nations there in 1784, the region has been affected by, and has reacted to, great events in Europe and North America, and in the process has grown from a precarious pioneer settlement to a well-developed agricultural and industrial society. This book is an account of nearly two centuries of economic and social change in the Brant area. The author records the effects of these changes on Indian and non-Indian alike and relates them to developments in Ontario and the rest of Canada. He gives much attention to such notables as Joseph Brant himself, Hiram 'King' Capron (the founder of the town of Paris), George Brown, the politician-turned-farmer, and his 'agricultural factory', Alexander Graham Bell, Pauline Johnson, Sara Jeannette Duncan, and to such industrial and philanthropic families as the Veritys and the Cockshuts. Throughout the narrative colourful anecdotes reveal the character of the people and the landmarks in their history: the War of 1812 and, in particular, the Battle of Beaver Dam, where, according to one observer, the Caughnawagas did all the fighting, the British commander received all the praise, and the people of the Grand made off with most of the booty; the 'liberation' of Brantford by Allan Napier MacNab after William Lyon MacKenzie's defeat; the opening of the Buffalo-Brantford Railway, and the prophecy of Thomas Keefer, engineer and 'philosopher of railroads', that the iron horse would 'banish bigotry, suspicion and poverty'; the fermenting mixture of races in 19th century Brantford - British Yankee, Mohawk, and Negro - which made the streets and taverns so uproarious that timid travellers refused to stop there; the excitement of the citizens on bearing the first telephone call - from the Bell homestead to Paris - and their reluctance to invest in the 'ingenious toy' ; and the events of the Depression and the Second World War, which it was said, made the men of Brant 'hoboes yesterday, heroes today, and hoboes tomorrow'.

Brant (Ont. : County) History.
Ontario Brant (County)
Canada, Ontario, Brant History.

History

Location: Library main canada 19678
Call No.: PO11329 CAN; ID:87-B6847
Status: Available