Augusta Township is a township in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, located in eastern Ontario, Canada. Augusta is situated along the St. Lawrence River, and extends back into rural hamlets. The township is located between the city of Brockville to the west, and the town of Prescott to the east.
The hamlets and villages within Augusta were established prior to the 1900s; primarily by the United Empire Loyalists. There are plenty of buildings and homes still standing in the township today that were built by early settlers; many of these historic homes are even still occupied by direct descendants of the first settlers.
In 2013, it was discovered that Samuel Bass, the Canadian abolitionist mentioned in Solomon Northup's 1853 memoir 12 Years a Slave, was from Augusta Township. According to early census records, Bass was born in Augusta in 1807; while here, he married Lydia Catlin Lane, with whom he fathered four children. His wife and children remained in the area, and some of his descendants still reside here to this day. Bass' grandparents were among the first Loyalists to settle in the area, and his parents are buried at Maynard.
Geography Augusta Township is located within the St. Lawrence Lowlands region; its southernmost boundary is the shoreline of the St. Lawrence River. Much of the area is situated on top of large layers of limestone and grey sandstone, which formed between 500 and 75 million years ago during the Paleozoic era and the Ordovician period. There is not much known about the period directly following the Ordovician period except that there were long periods of erosion followed by marine invasions. The last glaciation occurred around one million years ago which was responsible for many of the present-day landscape features. During this glaciation the entire area of what would become Augusta was covered in a sheet of ice around two to three miles in thickness. This ice sheet melted around 12,000 years ago as a result of climatic changes. A few thousand years after it melted the Ottawa—St. Lawrence Valley was flooded by an arm of the Atlantic Ocean to a depth of around ; geologists refer to this flooding as the Champlain Sea. The retreat of the Champlain Sea around 9,500 years ago left excessive stone surfaces in many areas. The bedrock and boulder clay in the eastern portion of the township are covered by beds of sand which are likely glacial-fluvial in origin; before the forest could take root many dunes were formed just north of the town of Prescott. The area has many pockets of clay and peat around the banks of the South Nation River and the South Kemptville Creek.
Topography The township of Augusta is situated at the confluence of three distinct physiographic regions: the Glengarry till plain, the Smiths Falls limestone plain and the Edwardsburgh sand plain. The limestone plain accounts for around 50% of the townships total area. This area is level with a thin covering of soil, less than a foot in depth resulting in limestone outcroppings. The limestone plain supports a hardwood forest with the sugar maple being the most dominant species. Oak and pine are also common in this region as well as elm, ash, soft maple and cedar in the poorly drained areas. This land was not ideal for farming and has remained largely untouched; most of the plain is still covered in peat deposits and forest. The Edwardsburgh sand plain extends into the township from the east. The water table is generally situated close to the surface in this plain resulting in shallow bogs. Most of the area has been cleared, however elm, ash, beech, oak, and soft maple once grew in this region. Today, the area has been somewhat reforested with pine trees, such as in Limerick Forest. The front of the township is covered by the Glengarry till plain, which forms a drainage divide between the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa basins. This till can be described as loamy in texture and stoney. Well drained sections of the Glengarry till plain are suitable for grain crop production.
The soils along the Nation River contain mostly plant matter due to the poor drainage and are therefore of limited use. Another effect of the poor drainage in the region is the formation of large swamps which are common in the township and frequently drained. The soils in the entire township vary greatly due to the fact the township is situated within a variety of physiographical regions; the two most common soils in Augusta are Podzolic and Gleysolic. Podzolic soils are low in fertility and acidic while the Gleysolic soils are high in agricultural value.
Climate The climate of Augusta Township is determined by its latitude, however it is influenced heavily by frontal systems which are the result of air masses coming out of the north and south. Westerly winds are the most prevalent wind system affecting the township. Augusta's climate can be described as humid continental with an average temperature range; ranges in temperature go from the average low of to the average high of . The total average amount of precipitation for the year in the township of Augusta is around annually. The climate has changed drastically since 1850. From 1550 until 1850 the area was in the grip of a minor ice age; average temperatures were much cooler and there was more precipitation. By 1885, a warming trend began which lasted until the middle of the twentieth century.
History The township of Augusta was not fully settled until the late 1700s and into the early 1800s, when the Loyalists received their land grants throughout the area and began building homesteads. Most of the residents living in the township today are direct descendants of these Loyalists. Just prior to this in the mid-to-late 1700s, the French had occupied some of the land in the region, including Pointe au Baril in Maitland, Ontario. Before European settlement, many cultures of native individuals briefly occupied the entire region.
Prehistoric era The earliest human activity around the region encompassing Augusta township according to archaeologists can be traced back to around 11,000 years ago. During this era, known as the Paleo-Indian period, retreating glaciers exposed inhabitable land for the first time. The cultures which are believed to have inhabited this region during this time are the Clovis people and the Plano people.Edwardsburgh Historians (1995) Edwardsburgh Township History. Henderson Printing Inc. p. 7 These cultures left behind very little evidence of their existence; their impact on the area was relatively small as population density was very low. No human remains have survived from this time period meaning we cannot determine the Clovis or Plano's physical appearances. The largest piece of evidence to suggest that these cultures inhabited this region of Eastern Ontario are the numerous stone arrowheads and other weapons discovered in the region which can be attributed to these cultures and dated to the era. The Clovis arrowheads found near the township vary greatly in construction, reflecting centuries of progression and a rapidly changing environment. Earlier arrows were shorter while later Clovis arrows were longer and more spear-like; this is indicative of a mass migration of larger animals into the area.
From 5000 to 1000 BC during the time known as the Archaic period, the entire region of Eastern Ontario was dominated by the Laurentian Archaic people, who were direct descendants of the Plano culture. This culture was far more sophisticated than its ancestors due to the warmer climate and the emergence of modern flora and fauna; polished stone tools were used instead of chipped tools for both hunting and woodworking. Human remains from the Laurentian Archaic culture have survived, and according to archaeologists indicate the culture was both violent and ritualized. Some bodies found from this period were found to have skull fractures, stone projectiles embedded into the bones, or were found to have been decapitated. Other bodies were found to have been sprinkled with red ochre and buried with a wide range of goods seemingly to represent one's status within the culture. Some of the artefacts buried alongside the Laurentian Archaic people are not native to this region, meaning the Laurentian Archaic people must have traded goods with individuals outside of their own culture. It is presumed by archaeologists that the brutalized remains found alongside the ritualized burials are those of outside traders who may have threatened, attacked, or otherwise harmed the Laurentian Archaic people.
Around 500 years ago, the area which would become Augusta Township was inhabited by a St. Lawrence Iroquoian agricultural community with a population of around 1,600 individuals. The main habitation site is located near Indian Creek, slightly north of present-day Roebuck, Ontario. Archaeological excavations conducted at this site suggest that there were around 40 communal longhouses stretching around in length within their village. The native Iroquoian farmers grew corn, beans, squash, sunflowers and tobacco. The village located at Roebuck is believed to be similar to Hochelaga, the native village situated in present-day Montreal which was visited by Jacques Cartier in 1535. A second St. Lawrence Iroquoian village, known as the McKeown site (BeFv-1), is located near what is now Maynard.
When the European settlers arrived, the native populations began to decline steadily before all but disappearing from the township. There is some archaeological evidence to suggest survivors of European settlement were absorbed by the Hurons situated along the Trent River system.
French period The eighteenth century saw a period of French occupancy in what was to become Augusta Township. The township is conveniently situated along the St. Lawrence River, which was a common trade route at the time; in order to travel from present-day Montreal to Fort Frontenac (now Kingston) one would have to pass through present day Augusta. The French traded with the native populations at various trading posts along the St. Lawrence; valuable furs were exported back to France. The French eventually established a shipyard with the intention of building ships capable of navigating the rapids of the river. The shipyard was located at what the French referred to as Pointe au Baril, which is present day Maitland, Ontario, and had a sheltered bay ideal for their purposes as well as a thick forest of oak and pine that could be harvested for ship building. For protection against the British, the French also established a star-shaped fort at Pointe au Baril. Two ships were built at the French shipyard, Iroquoise and Outouaise, both of which were constructed and launched around 1759. The following year, the French settlement as well as the ships were captured by General Amherst, and the French were forced to leave the settlement. After this, Pointe au Baril was left abandoned for two decades; no attempt was made to colonize the area and the workmen who lived within the fort were weary of both the natives and the British. Upon the arrival of the Loyalists, only one building remained from French occupation, a single log building which had once been the officers quarters. The building was converted into the township's first schoolhouse.
Loyalists