Simon Fraser & the Nor'Westers

a tour run by the St. Andrew's Society of Ottawa, 17 June 2000
- this page last updated 05 June 2000 -

Williamstown has been selected by the St. Andrew's Society of Ottawa for this year's family Scottish Heritage Destination. With the theme Simon Fraser and the Nor'Westers, this is also an opportunity to see Ontario's oldest wooden and stone buildings. The tour will be based in the Irvine Hall, adjacent to St Andrew's Church, Williamstown, which was founded in 1787, and is one of the earliest congregations of what was to become Upper Canada.

Arrival is by private car, but arragements for a ride can probably be made. Events start in the Irvine Hall, adjacent to St. Andrew's Church, from 10.00 am, after a welcoming coffee and fresh-baked scones. During the morning there will be walking tours of St Andrew's Church: the Rev. John Bethune, or Beaton, from Skye, was the first minister; the present building dates from 1812. The churchyard has a gravestone for Clan Chief John MacGillivray, an MP for Upper Canada. John Matheson, one of our Guardians, now in Gananoque, has kindly agreed to introduce us to the area: many of his forebears are buried in the churchyard.
     In the morning there will also be a walking tour to the Bethune-Thompson house, part of which is the oldest log home in Ontario. After being the Manse for Rev. Bethune, the house was occupied for many years by David Thompson, the well-known explorer and cartographer.
       David Anderson, another Guardian of the Society, lives in the house with his family, and will show visitors around. One exhibit is an old Gaelic Bible from the 1850s, owned by a forebear of John Matheson. The Bethune- Thompson House is an interesting home with a remarkable history.
      Lunch in Irvine Hall will be provided by the ladies of the Williamstown Social Committee: home-made soup, a light lunch with fresh home-baked bread and oatcakes. The hall has modern facilities and wheelchair access, with adjacent parking. After lunch it is an 8-minute walk to the Nor'Wester museum, which occupies a not-too-small schoolhouse built in the 1860s, near St Andrew's church. Those with small children may prefer to drive their cars. The upstairs gallery of the Nor'Wester Museum is full of Voyageur exhibits - canoes, transport items, beaver pelts and survival items; there is an interesting United Empire Loyalist gallery on the ground floor, and the museum has full service facilities. David Anderson has kindly agreed to give a presentation Simon Fraser and the Nor'Westers during the afternoon.
      If numbers warrant, there will be a special interpretive programme for the children, both in the morning and at the Nor'wester museum in the afternoon. After a short walk back from the Nor'wester Museum to the Irvine Hall about 4 pm, a light tea will be available. There will be a benefit Scots concert in St. Andrew's Church 5-6 pm, featuring the fiddlers of the Glengarry Reel &Strathspey Society, co-ordinator Donaldson Macleod; included will be melodies of the "other" Simon Fraser from Scotland.
     Then it is goodbye to Williamstown. A 20-minute drive to the west will take you to the small community of St Andrew's West, where the original 1790s old stone church, with the "Spanish Altar", still stands. Arrangements are being made for access to both this building, now used as a church hall, and the adjacent St Andrew's Roman Catholic Church, from 6.30 - 7 pm. Simon Fraser's grave is in the church cemetery across the road.  For those that wish, an excellent supper awaits at Quinn's Inn, St Andrew's West; it is probably a good idea to park in the Inn's parking lot while visiting the Church. Quinn's Inn dates from the early 1800s and has an interesting history, as it was owned by John Sandfield MacDonald, Premier of Upper Canada, for many years. The dining room has the charm of old stonework, and meals are reasonably priced. The drive back to Ottawa from St. Andrew's West is a little over an hour: north on Hwy 138 which runs through the community and then 417 West.
   Fees for the day - adults $30, children under 12, seniors and non-income $18; under 6 - no charge. The 5 pm concert is a separately-charged benefit event. For further details contact Hugh Reekie h.reekie@ieee.org