112 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



constable, two assessors, perhaps the same number of collectors, 

 three poundkeepers, six fenceviewers or overseers of highways, and 

 two town or church wardens.^ 



By 1795 the town plot of Niagara contained 412 numbered lots, 

 although only 150 names of grantees appear in the list of this year. 

 In a letter of the time, written by John Small, the statement is made 

 that many of the lots had been forfeited. The town seems to have 

 contained scarcely more than 100 houses in 1795. Many who came, 

 however, were supplied with tents until they could find locations and 

 get roofs over their heads, Simcoe being occupied much of his time 

 with the care of these newcomers until his departure for England in 

 in 1796. Mr. D. W. Smith, a prominent resident of Niagara at the time, 

 records in his notebook the arrival of 19 covered wagons filled with 

 families who intended settling "in the vicinity of Lincoln County." 

 Their wagonbeds, he adds, had been well caulked and were used as 

 boats in conveying the occupants and the detached wheels of the ve- 

 hicles to the western side of the river. By 1806 Niagara contained about 

 200 houses, these being ranged along spacious streets laid out at right 

 angles. Fort George lay nearly a mile to the southward on high 

 ground. Beneath it on the bank of the river were several buildings, 

 including storehouses, barracks, and the Navy Hall, and on Missis- 

 saugua Point stood a lighthouse, which had been recently erected. 

 Many of the buildings were of brick and stone, among them being 

 two churches, an academy, six taverns, a jail, and about 20 drygoods 

 stores, whose prices were said to be no higher than those prevailing 

 in Montreal.^ 



In June, 1800, the Niagara Library was established by the action 

 of about two score persons, some of whom were residents at Fort 

 Niagara, Grimsby, Stamford, and Thorold. Each of the original 

 subscribers agreed to pay annually a sum not exceeding four dollars 

 to be used in buying books. It is interesting to note that the first 

 30 volumes purchased were all of a religious nature, a few others being 

 poetical and historical works. In the second year of its existence the 

 library possessed 150 books, and by the fall of 1812 the number had 

 been increased to 827, a large proportion being in circulation in both 

 the town and the township.^ 



^ Carnochan, Hist, of Niagara, 8. 



2 Niagara Hist. Soc, No. 4, 5, 6, 15; No. 11, 35-37; Carnochan, Hist, of Niagara, 

 17, 22, 97; Canniff, Settlement of Upper Canada, 528; Carnochan, Niagara One 

 Hundred Y'ears Ago, 9, 16. 



^ Carnochan, Hist, of Niagara, 46-51. 



