FIRST - The Mansion House - First Tavern in St. Catharines & Oldest Continually Licenced Bar in Canada
N 43° 09.365 W 079° 14.764
17T E 642599 N 4779640
Built during the reign of King George the Third (circa 1806), this Tavern is the First in St. Catharines and more importantly is the oldest continually licensed Tavern in all of Canada.
Waymark Code: WMGKT
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 07/06/2006
Views: 129
History:
In 1796 with a flourish of his quill pen and a nod of his majestic head, King George 111 set his name to the crown grant of his loyal subject, the Hon. Robert Hamilton. "The land upon which the Mansion House will in future stand shall hereby belong to Mr. Hamilton," the king intoned. Mr Hamilton bowed from the waist, as gentlemen were wont to do in those days and thanked His Majesty profusely.
View of the Mansion House
Well, perhaps it didn't quite happen that way. We're not sure. Whether a building- and specifically, a public house - was standing on William Street near St. Paul in 1806 is speculation, too. We prefer to regard it as speculation with a historical basis. Early accounts of St. Catharines indicate that buildings on the street were levelled when fire swept through the town in 1859. If the Mansion House's ancestor was destroyed in that blaze, the owners must have convinced some builders into work triple time.
Mural on side of Tavern
An advertisement in the St. Catharines Journal on June 15 of that year promises that the Central House (as it was then known) was "now fitted up in the best possible manner… for travellers or boarders." And we know that it continued to provide the best of friendly care because an 1868 announcement boasted of a "complete refitting of the Mansion House" inviting residents to enjoy the "oyster and game supplied in their season" The Mansion House has lived Niagara's history.
Side View of the Tavern
During the War 0f 1812 red- coated soldiers tramped the nearby fields, muskets over their shoulders. Citizens stood on this spot to watch the progress of the First Welland Canal, the dream of William Hamilton Merritt who once owned the Mansion House property. No doubt a few residents discussed Merritt's folly, the men contentedly smoking their pipes, the ladies stepping gingerly through the muddy streets in their hoop skirts. The Mansion House, long a popular meeting place.
Dedication Plaque
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The Blue Quasar
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