Edwardsburgh/Cardinal is a township in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville of eastern Ontario, Canada. It is situated along the St. Lawrence River and extends back into rural hamlets. Both Highway 416 and Highway 401 pass through the township, as well as the South Nation River.
The Township of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal was formed on January 1, 2001, through the amalgamation of Edwardsburgh Township with the Village of Cardinal. Edwardsburgh Township was first surveyed in 1783, and incorporated in 1850.Welcome to the Grenville County Historical Society Archival Resource Centre The township was part of the historical Grenville County before it merged with Leeds County to form the United Counties in the 19th century.
The township's main population centres are Cardinal, Johnstown, and Spencerville. The township's administrative offices are located in Spencerville.
Geography Edwardsburgh/Cardinal's southern boundary is the Saint Lawrence River's shore. To the west, the township ends at the boundary for Augusta Township and to the east is the neighbouring United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. To the north of the township is the township of North Grenville. The township covers an area of . The township belongs to the Great Lakes–Saint Lawrence lowlands region.
Despite the township's proximity to the Saint Lawrence River, only ten percent of the area's water drains into the Saint Lawrence, and ninety percent drains into the South Nation River. The flow of the South Nation River through this area is described as very sluggish with poor drainage, due to the fact there is little drop in elevation along the river; this leads to the formation of bogs and swamps, and also makes the area prone to seasonal flooding. The north-west section of the township is known as the Groveton Bog, and to the east is known as the Hellgate Swamp. The soils in the area range from sandy and dry, to dark and acidic closer to the swamp areas.
Topography The majority of the township is covered in only a very thin layer of soil, in spite of this, there are very few rock outcrops in the area. The only notable outcrop within the township is along the Saint Lawrence river in New Wexford. None of the bedrock in the township contains phosphates, metalliferous ores, mica or anything else of notable value; the sands in the area are also of little value as they are too silty and fine to be used as building material. There is, however, a high concentration of stones in much of the local soil, making it suitable for gravel. The area had a few limestone quarries, but the output of these quarries were small and only used locally.
Up until the 18th century, the land was covered with thick, mature, mixed forests. The original forest was almost completely cleared throughout the years and the forest that stands today is mostly secondary growth over previously cleared land. The forests in the area presently contain numerous types of deciduous, oak, birch, ash and maple trees. The common coniferous trees in the area include many types of pine and cedar as well as balsam fir and white spruce. In the darker, acidic soils around the bogs and swamps there are tamarack trees, as well as juniper and black spruce. Wild grape, Virginia creeper, and other woody vines are native to the area.
History
Prehistoric era According to archaeologists, the earliest human activity in the area surrounding Edwardsburgh/Cardinal can be traced back to approximately 11,000 years ago, after the retreat of a glacier first made the land inhabitable; this era is known as the Paleo-Indian period.
Numerous stone arrowheads have been excavated within the region and can be traced to the Clovis people, as well as the Plano people. Although no habitation sites have been discovered within the township boundaries, it is suggested that these cultures must have hunted in the Edwardsburgh/Cardinal area during this time. The Clovis arrows found within the region vary greatly, and reflect thousands of years of the Clovis people's progression and a changing environment. The earlier weapons were short dart-points, while two to three thousand years later, the Clovis people were mostly carving stone spear-points. This is indicative of an increase in larger game animals migrating into the area. There is little evidence of these cultures ever existing, as their footprint on the land was virtually invisible, and the population density during this period was very low. No human remains have survived from this time period making it impossible to determine the physical appearance of the cultures.
The period following the Paleo-Indian Period was known as the Archaic Period. From 5000 to 1000 BCE the eastern Ontario region was dominated by the Laurentian Archaic people, who were direct descendants of the Plano people. This culture was far more sophisticated than its ancestors; a result of a warmer climate and the emergence of modern flora and fauna. Current archaeological findings cannot show us any evidence as to how the culture housed or sheltered themselves. Although their diet consisted of mostly fish and plants, the Laurentians were also big game hunters of deer, elk, and even bear. In contrast to their ancestors who used rough, chipped stone tools, the Laurentians are known to have used polished stone tools for hunting and woodworking.
Excavations of human remains revealed they were a violent culture; humans remains from this period have been found to be decapitated, have skull fractures or stone projectiles embedded into the bones. These excavations also suggested that the Laurentian Archaic people were a ritualized culture as some of their dead were sprinkled with red ochre and a wide range of goods, which also presumably represented status within the culture. Some of the goods and artifacts found buried alongside the Laurentians were not native to the area, meaning they must have traded goods frequently with other people. It is likely that the decapitated or otherwise brutalized remains are those of outside traders who threatened or attacked the Laurentian Archaic people.
Later history In 1673, the French, working with indigenous tribes from the area, built a storehouse on Old Breeches River, now known as Johnstown Creek. This storehouse was used to hold supplies en route to upriver trading posts such as Fort Frontenac (now, Kingston) until 1758. In 1759, The French settlers built Fort de Lévis on Chimney Island, in the Saint Lawrence River just off of Johnstown, between it and Ogdensburg. The purpose of this fort was to protect the Saint Lawrence River from the British. It was captured by Major-General Jeffrey Amherst in August 1760 during the Battle of the Thousand Islands. The island on which the fort once stood was permanently flooded during the construction of the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
In 1784, British loyalists from the United States arrived, fleeing the American Revolution. The first settlement of 166 settled in Royal Township No. 6 (subsequently renamed Edwardsburg) at Johnstown, named after Sir William Johnson, an Irish-born British Army official in the British empire. By 1789, the loyalists had built a town site in one-acre lots, with streets named after the family of George III. It remains so today, with the exception of one street.
The drawing of lots in Edwardsburgh was unusual in that every loyalist head-of-household drew from a hat, giving one and all an equal chance at receiving the most desirable piece of land, close to the river at the front of the settlement.
Communities
In addition to the main population centres of Cardinal, Johnstown, and Spencerville, the township of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal is dotted with many rural hamlets and communities, including Brouseville, New Wexford, Crystal Rock, Ventnor, Hyndman, Mainsville, Groveton, Campbell's Corners, McCarley's Corners, The Island, McReynolds, Pittston, Van Allens, Glen Smail, and Shanly. Most of these hamlets date back to the early 1800s, and are tiny and only ever had a few farms and less than twenty businesses. Each hamlet usually had its own schoolhouse, cheese factory, and churches; many had their own general stores, burial grounds, as well as grist or saw mills.
Brouseville Brouseville, Ontario is a small rural hamlet located approximately north of Cardinal. The central location of the hamlet is the intersection of Brouseville Road and County Road 22. Brouseville extends easterly to the township boundary, and Kain Road is considered to be the southern boundary of the community. Brouseville, formerly known as Bolton's Corners, was renamed in 1872 after Dr. William H. Brouse, a local travelling physician. Brouse took over the South Grenville seat in the 1872 federal election which prompted residents to change the name in his honour.
Brouseville was settled many years later than neighbouring settlements of similar size; until the mid-1800s, the community consisted of solely homesteads or farms established by a handful of families. At this time, the community was called Bolton's Corners after the Bolton family, a notably large family who were amongst the first to settle here. By the 1860s, Brouseville became a thriving community with many businesses in operation typical of the era; Brouseville had a hotel, a jewellery store, four grocery stores, a pump shop, a blacksmith, as well as a carriage repair shop in operation. By the late 1800s, a post office had been established.
Sporting events became popular with the creation of an outdoor "arena", operated and maintained by locals. Brouseville organized its own hockey team, as well as a soccer and softball team, which competed against the teams of neighbouring communities. These events were highly organized and results were reported by local media.
In 1870, William Anderson constructed a horse-racing track on his property in Brouseville. Anderson was a well-respected horse trader who raised thoroughbreds and offered training at his track until 1900. Frank James, brother of outlaw Jesse James, frequented this horse track and maintained a friendship with Anderson; James was a regular customer, buying several horses from Anderson over the years and staying at his home during his visits.Leeds & 1000 Islands Historical Society – Newsletter #23 Spring/Summer 2005
A notable piece of architecture belonging to the hamlet was an octagon house that once stood on Byers Road. The house was believed to have been built by a "Mr. Wright" in 1873, following the fad of octagonal houses built in the United States. The house remained abandoned for many years after it was purchased by the Land Bank. Numerous efforts were made to have the distinctive house designated a heritage building to preserve it, however the outcry was largely ignored. On October 31, 1995, the house was destroyed by fire and later completely demolished.
By the end of the 1800s, Brouseville remained largely unchanged; the same businesses were still in operation with the addition of a long distance telephone line constructed by the Bell Telephone Company of Canada. In 1904, a manager was appointed and an office was built where the community could make or receive long-distance phone calls; residential phones were unavailable in Brouseville until later.A History of Edwardsburg. (1967). Spencerville, Ont.: The Committee.