The Event

In 1784, Loyalist refugees fleeing the aftermath of the American Revolutionary War were granted territory on the north bank of the St. Lawrence River, from Lancaster to Brockville, establishing the Royal Townships. Join us as we celebrate the 240th anniversary of the founding of New Johnstown & the Royal Townships.

1784 Heritage Village, SD&G Historical Society 1784 240th Anniversary of New Johnstown, Lamoureux Park, Cornwall, Ontario June 2024

Living History

Living History groups presented by the 8th Regiment of Foot - Light Company and the Civilians of Canada will “rebuild” the original encampment at New Johnstown. They and their families will live as the people lived in 1784 and host interactive-educational demonstrations. The group will also conduct Tactical Manoeuvres of that era. Of great interest will be the re-enactment of the Loyalist Landing and Drawing for the original 1784 land allotments.

Living History regiments from the 1784 era that will be attending:
  • 8th Regiment of Foot Light Company and the Civilians of Canada
  • 24th Regiment of Foot
  • 34th Regiment of Foot
  • King’s Royal Regiment of New York
  • Niagara Indian Department
  • Butler’s and Claus’ Rangers
  • Loyalist Corps
  • Herkimer’s Bateau Company
  • Royal Artillery
Topics for Living History presentations:
  • The loyalist appearance: clothing and grooming
  • Housing the settlers and their families: brush shelter and habitat construction
  • Sustenance in the post-war era: fishing, foraging, and hunting
  • Midwifery and nursing: demonstrations on women’s roles in sustaining life in the new world
  • Means and ways: merchants and the vendors of the military and the post-war settlements
  • Naval life and the frontier: the trades and duties of those operating on the water
  • Coffee culture: coffee culture in colonial North America
  • Sullivan’s Dark Legacy: an examination of the impact of the Sullivan Campaign
1784 Heritage Village, SD&G Historical Society 1784 240th Anniversary of New Johnstown, Lamoureux Park, Cornwall, Ontario June 2024

Heritage Village

More than 25 local history/heritage organizations will share the area’s rich heritage in a large tent erected parallel to Water Street, one of Cornwall’s main thoroughfares. English, French, and Mohawk groups will set up interactive displays, as well as present performances, and demonstrate crafts showcasing local history and heritage.

Learn more about our history and the people and places that influenced our life today.

Open Friday, June 7 and Saturday, June 8 from 10 am-5 pm daily.

School tours Friday 10 am – 3 pm
Akwesasne Travel is the official Destination Marketing and Management Organization (DMMO) for Akwesasne, based in the Office of Economic Development of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in Akwesasne, New York.

Akwesasne Travel and the Native North American Travelling College will be hosting cultural demonstrations, performances, and information booths. Click to see schedule.

Groups Participating:

ACFO SDG

Akwesasne

Bishop’s House

British Home Children

Carman House

Chesterville Heritage

Cornwall Tourism

Dalkeith Historical Society

 

Dundas County Archives

Friends of Chrysler Farm

Genealogie St-Laurent

Glengarry Light Infantry

Glengarry Pioneer Museum

Heritage Cornwall

Kahwatsire Genealogy

Lost Villages Museum

Martintown Grist Mill

Nor’ Wester Museum

SDG Historical Society

St Raphael’s

SDG Counties Tourism

Société des Filles du Roy

Sir John Johnson Manor

UELAC St Lawrence Branch

Upper Canada Village

Presentations:
  • Early life in the Royal Townships
  • The History of our Area and Communities

  • And more

Demonstrations & Performances:

Heritage Crafts and Arts – weaving, quilting, spinning, hunting

Connect with the History of the Area

Traditional Music and Song, Dances, Storytelling

Concerts at the Bandshell

Friday and Saturday evenings will feature concerts showcasing a mixture of local performers, including but not necessarily limited to the Scottish, English, French, and Mohawk cultures.

Schedule
Photos credit: 8th Regiment of Foot Light Company.
Cornwall Community Museum, Cornwall, Ontario

Cornwall Community Museum

The Museum will unveil its new permanent exhibit on 1784 - the Founding of Cornwall and the Royal Townships. In addition, visitors will have the opportunity to learn about Cornwall and SDG’s rich history via self-guided tours.

Photos credit: 8th Regiment of Foot Light Company.

Landing of the Loyalists

All ages will learn from watching, visiting and participating in the re-enactments, demonstrations and performances throughout the weekend.

Photos credit: 8th Regiment of Foot Light Company.

Drawing of the Lots

Early in the fall of 1783, in accordance with instructions from the British government, Sir Frederick Haldimand, Governor-General of Canada, sent surveyors to lay out lands for Loyalist settlement in the country along the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario above Montreal. Before winter the Bay of Quinte district had been surveyed and divided into lots and townships. Next spring the lands along the St. Lawrence were laid out. By the early summer the Loyalists were on their way to their new homes.

Photos credit: 8th Regiment of Foot Light Company.

Schedule of Events

 

NEW JOHNSTOWN
Living History Presentations Throughout the Weekend

Housing the settlers and their families: brush shelter and habitat construction.

Sustenance in the post-war era: fishing, foraging, and hunting. 

Midwifery and nursing: demonstrations on women’s roles in sustaining life in the new world.

Means and ways: merchants and the vendors of the military and the post-war settlements.

Naval life and the frontier: the trades and duties of those operating on the water.


SD&G Historical Society 1784 240th Anniversary of New Johnstown, Lamoureux Park, Cornwall, Ontario June 2024, Heritage Village, Evening Concert, Living History Groups

Friday, June 7

9:30 am - Heritage Village Opens

9:30 am - Museum Opens

9:30 am - 2 pm - School Tours in Heritage Village

5 pm - Heritage Village Closes

7 pm - Evening Concert at Bandshell

Photos credit: 8th Regiment of Foot Light Company.
Native North American Travel College

Friday, June 7
7 pm - 9 pm

North American Travelling College Dancers & Singers

Louis Racine Group – Francophone Entertainment

Hadrian’s Wall with the MacLeod Family

Presentation Stage in Heritage Village Tent

Friday, June 7th

12:30 – 2 PM
Les Filles Du Roi – Presentations

2 PM – 3 PM
“In Search of One’s German Ancestral Roots: The Palatine Loyalist Pioneers of Stormont and Dundas Counties” by Murray Barkley

The Loyalist settlers and founders of Cornwall and Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry were quite an ethnically mixed group, and those of German origin were the largest, followed by the Scottish. It is significant, because Canada eventually became an ethnically diverse country, and perhaps in this diversity lies much of our strength.

SD&G Historical Society 1784 240th Anniversary of New Johnstown, Lamoureux Park, Cornwall, Ontario June 2024, Heritage Village, Loyalist Arrival, Drawing of Lots, Living History Encampment, Heritage Demonstrations, Military Tatical Manoeuvres, Closing Ceremonies

Saturday, June 8

9:30 am - Heritage Village Opens

9:30 am - Living History Encampment Opens

9:30 am - Museum Opens

12:30 pm - Official Ceremonies

1 pm - Loyalist Landing

1 pm - Drawing of the Lots

7 pm - Evening Concert at Bandshell

Photos credit: 8th Regiment of Foot Light Company.

Presentation Stage in Heritage Village Tent

Saturday, June 8th

10 AM to 11 AM
“The Loyalist Appearance: Clothing and Grooming”, by Trisha da Cunha

A professional tailor by training, and a renowned historian on matters of colonial fashion, beauty, and culture, Trisha da Cunha (owner and operator of Timbrell Cockburn Cunha – Bespoke Tailoring) will lead us on an examination of loyalist and 1770s-1780s fashions, beauty trends, and methods as would have been made use by loyalist men, and women.

11 AM to 12 PM 

“Pre-1784: The Akwesasne Story” by Darren Bonaparte

2 PM to 3 PM

“The Veteran Regiments of 1784”, by Stuart Manson

Join historian Stuart Lyall Manson as he relates the fascinating background and campaign histories of the regiments represented by Cornwall and area’s settlers of 1784. Included are Loyalist, British, German, and other military units.

3:30 PM to 4:30 PM

“After Saratoga: The Agonizing Odyssey of Burgoyne’s Royalist Corps”, by Todd Braisted

Writer and historian Todd Braisted, writer of many texts examining the loyalist cause and their associated military expeditions, will examine the service and tribulations of the Royalist Corps, as under the command of General Burgoyne, their struggles and successes from Saratoga to disbanding.

MacCulloh Dancers Glengarry Ontario

Saturday, June 8
7 pm - 9 pm

Bear Fox & the Mohawk Women Singers

MacCulloch Dancers

Louis Racine Group

SD&G Historical Society 1784 240th Anniversary of New Johnstown, Lamoureux Park, Cornwall, Ontario June 2024, Heritage Village, Loyalist Arrival, Drawing of Lots, Living History Encampment, Heritage Demonstrations, Military Tatical Manoeuvres, Closing Ceremonies

Sunday, June 9

10 am - Heritage Village Opens

10 am - Parade to Church Service

10 am - Living History Encampment Opens

1 pm - Military Tactical Manoeuvres

3 pm - Closing

Photos credit: 8th Regiment of Foot Light Company.

Presentation Stage in Heritage Village Tent

Sunday, June 9th

10 AM to 11 AM
“Exploring 18th Century Apothecaries; Women’s Healthcare and Midwifery”, by Anne-Marie Russel

Step into the captivating world of 18th-century apothecaries amidst the tumultuous backdrop of the American Revolution. Explore the vital role of apothecaries as custodians of health and wellness with their intricate practice of medicine. Understand the practices of general health and reproductive care, illuminating the intimate intersection of medicine and society. Join us on a journey through time, where apothecaries not only healed bodies but also shaped the course of history.

11 AM to 12 PM
“Why Some Remained Loyal”, by David Moore

David Moore, leader of the recreated King’s Royal Regiment of New York, will present an examination of the root reasons for the continued loyalty of loyalist men, and women, during the course of the war, despite substantial pressure from rebel administrators to support the newly established colonial government.

12 PM to 1 PM
“The History and Role of Chocolate in the 18th Century”, by Michele Gabrielson

Chocolate played an essential role in the pivotal events leading up to and throughout the American Revolution. Historian and educator Michele Gabrielson of Claus’ Rangers will discuss the process of the cultivation and distribution of cacao, as well as its economic, social, and cultural impact.

2 PM to 3 PM

“The Loyalists: Lies, Legends, and Levity”, by Murray Barkley

The Loyalists of the American Revolution not only suffered persecution and exile but were frequently consigned to oblivion or unfairly vilified by their Patriot rivals, whose descendants prolonged the struggle with pen and paper for decades. This perceived misrepresentation led Canadians of Loyalist descent or persuasion to spin their legends, frequently linked to Canada’s heroic defense in the War of 1812, thus underscoring much of 19th and early 20th-century Canadian nationalism.