A Walking Tour of St. David`s
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Here we are in one of the little villages of Niagara. Known mostly for being simply a four way stop, this tiny village has a lot of history surrounding it during it's 225+ years of existance and it is one of the oldest surviving communities in Ontario.
Around 1784, this area was known as Four Mile Mills due to the large numbers of saw and grist mills in the vicinity. Peter Secord was credited with being the first non-First Nations farmer in Ontario and was granted an additional piece of land in the area.
The first St. David`s school was built around 1790 and the Warner Meeting House was the first Methodist Chapel west of Kingston, which was located on Warner Road just east of the QEW.
From 1782-1812, St. David`s, named after Major David Secord, grew to become an important milling center containing 4 grist mills, a sawmill, a tannery, shoe, soap, candle and barrel factories, as well as two churches, a school and approximately 40 homes and was larger than either Niagara Falls or St. Catharines.
During the War of 1812 and after the burning of York(Toronto), St. David`s was the Capital of Upper Canada and at various times, the headquarters for the British Army in Upper Canada and all of Canada.
During the midpoint of 1814, St David`s was burned by the retreating American troops and in retaliation for this, Washington DC was burned to the ground.
The first newspaper in the area, The Spectator, was printed here in 1816, the first steam gristmill in Ontario was built in 1818 and the first horse drawn railway in Ontario was completed in 1835 and ran between Queenston and Chippawa. Also in 1835, the Queenston Quarry opened and is the oldest continuing industry in Niagara on the Lake and the oldest operating quarry in all of Canada.
So needless to say, there is a lot of history in this village and now that your curiousity has been piqued, let`s take a little tour of St. David`s. All of the information you need can be obtained from the sidewalk. There is no need to trespass on any of these properties but most of the homeowners are very friendly and love to chat about the history of their homes.
You can take this tour in any direction, so I will just give a brief history on the houses you are about to discover.
The Secord Mill
This former grist mill was built in 1782 by Peter and James Secord and in 1796 acquired by Major David Secord. The mill supplied British and Canadian forces with flour during the War of 1812. It was not burned in 1814 because it was was well outside of the village at the time.
D = the number of letters in the current owner`s last name
W = the number of shutters on the front of the house
The Johnston-Wilkinson House
The house was built in 1902 by George Johnston on 10 acres of land. 4 years later, Mr Johnston fell down the main stairs and died of his injuries at 46 years of age.
B = The number of Austrian pine trees located just to the south east of the home.
E = the number of sections in the `half moon` in the center of the house near the roof, minus 1.
The Sleeman-Whitworth House
The house was built by John Sleeman (yes, that guy) after his return to the village in 1871 from Guelph. Mr. Sleeman founded the Stamford Spring Brewery in the village in 1836 and later the Sleeman`s Brewery in Guelph which is still in operation.
C - the last digit in the address of this home
S = the middle digit in the address of this home
`Woodbourne`
Built by William Woodruff in 1839, the ceilings are 9` high downstairs and 7` high upstairs and originally there were no closets anywhere. Each bedroom had hooks around the wall to hang clothes.
U = the number of trees which seem to share roots on the northeast side of the house.
The Secord-Murdock House
The south portion of the basement built in 1782-3 was the original home of Peter Secord, his wife and 5 children. The north portion of the house is thought to be built in 1786-90 also by Peter Secord. The stone walls are 2 feet thick and the beams and joists are all hand hewn and mortise and tenon joined. This house was not burned down in 1814 because it was being used as a hospital.
F = the number of chimneys on top of the house.
G = the number of windows on the front of the house.
Locust Hall
A frame house of the same style originally stood on this foundation but was burned down in 1814 by the Americans. Richard Woodruff decided to rebuild in brick and it has stood there ever since. The house fronts on Paxton Lane which was the main road through the village in 1820 and connected with the Portage Road in Niagara Falls. Locust Hall has been the residence of the Woodruff family since it was built and the current residents are the 6th generation to live in the house.
V = there are two initials on the horse hitch in front of the house. Convert the letters to numbers, add them together and subtract 29
The Lowrey House
Originally built in 1908 by E.D. Lowrey, this house has two large stained glass windows, chestnut trim, large crown molding on 10`foot ceilings, pine flooring, cut stone window sills, two fireplaces, double wall construction with exterior brick veneer. It was also constructed with indoor plumbing and a large water tank was located in the third floor attic into which water was pumped from an outside cistern. The weight of the water alone required extensive strengthening of the interior support walls.
In the days before electricity, the house was equipped with an acetylene gas lighting system. The generator is still in the basement in which calcium carbide made at the Cyanamide Plant in Niagara Falls, was mixed with water to produce acetylene gas. People would visit from afar to view the gas lights and chandelier ablaze on special occasions.
This house also had the first telephone in the village and as the story goes, a family member met his future wife over the telephone as she was an operator at the Niagara Falls Bell Exchange.
A = the number of legs on the animal depicted over the barn door.
St. David`s Spectator-Gill House
This was the home of The Spectator, the first newspaper in the area and first published in 1816 and edited by Amos McKenny. The floor beams are hand hewn logs with one side flat and the framing is all mortise and tenon joined.
The building currently contains two separate dwellings.
R = the last digit in the building`s address
The Woodruff-Rigby House
Built by Richard Woodruff in 1815 to replace a house that was burned down by the Americans in the same location in 1814, it is located on 1.5 acres of land purchased from Major David Secord in 1811 and was called `The Homestead`. The beams and joists are also hand hewn and mortise and tenon joined. The exterior walls are filled with brick for insulation.
The house has 6 large brick fireplaces and 12 rooms, many of which have their original chair rails.
T = the number of windows on the 3rd floor
X = the first digit in the address of the home
Now that you have all of that information, put all of your answers into the following formula to find the final cache:
North AB CD.EFG
West RS TU.VWX
The cache is a camo`d small container located a drive away from the village. Please bring your own writing utensil.
To approach the final cache, I would suggest coming at it from the north. This will make for some great exercise and a great view. This is the way I came in when I placed it.
Thank you for taking the time to take a walk through the history of this village. It is all too often that we just drive on by without looking at where we are.
I believe it was Ferris Bueller who said, `Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.`.
Have fun and happy caching!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
purpxfhz rdhnyf fvkgl