This land on which we learn, live, work, and play has a rich and complex history. It has sustained families, homes, and villages; hunters, farmers, and craftspeople; teachers and students. It has seen countless births and deaths; injustice and long-lasting peace; prosperity and tragedy. Countless generations have adapted to and transformed this land. As stewards of the land, we seek to respect and reflect on the stories of those who have come before us.
We begin, as a Christian institution and community, with the belief that the whole earth was created by and belongs to God
Living out of these convictions, we believe that examining the land’s history is part of our calling to take part in God’s renewing of all things (Rev. 21:5). Part of land stewardship is acknowledging the positive and the negative parts of its history, including the injustice and brokenness that are consistent themes in this land’s story. It is our prayer that telling this story as truthfully as we can will contribute to the pursuit of justice and reconciliation with First Nations and Indigenous communities.1
This History of the Land begins at the earliest known period of contact on these lands as evidenced by cultural belongings found in this place. The timelines used in this history are reflective of this time of contact and are not intended to represent a full summary or review of the various historic and archaeological periods of time.
First Nations oral tradition tells us that they were present on these lands since time immemorial. This narrative approach to record and preserve knowledge and history includes stories that illustrate significant moments within a nation’s history, such as creation, migration to traditional homelands, and first contact with Europeans.2 Western archaeologists have traditionally divided North American archaeological history into the Pre-Contact (ca. pre-1580), Contact (ca. 1580-1650), and Post-Contact (ca. post-1650) periods.3 In this history, Western-defined time periods will be used to orient the narrative, while First Nations community histories and oral traditions will be incorporated.
Within the Pre-Contact period in this part of Canada, some archaeologists name and date according to three major divisions: the Paleo Period (ca. 9000 - 8000/7500 BC), Archaic Period (8000/7500 - 900 BC), and Woodland Period (900 BC - 1650 AD).4 On the land where Redeemer is situated, archaeological evidence has been recovered from both the early and late Archaic Periods and from the Late Woodland Period. This evidence has been collected from the seven known archaeological sites around the property, through a series of surveys and archaeological assessments that have taken place across the campus since the 1990s.
The earliest documented evidence of human habitation on the land that is now Redeemer’s campus is estimated to be from the Early or Middle Archaic Period dating from 7500 BC to 2500 BC. This is demonstrated by a single projectile point from this period. Several other artifacts dating to the Late Archaic period, from 2500 BC to 900 BC, have also been found.5 The limited number of cultural belongings that have been recovered indicate that semi-nomadic people inhabited the land during this time, possibly in bands of 35 to 50 people who would settle in small dwellings for a few years and then move to another site.6 Cultural belongings that have been found from this time period include lithic tools such as scrapers, drills,7 and multiple types of projectile points. The projectile points were used in different ways throughout the Archaic period as spears, knives, and eventually arrows.8
The start of the Woodland Period is marked by the formation and use of pottery. Throughout the Woodland period, there is a shift towards sedentary community-based living and reliance on agriculture. This resulted in a notable increase in population, as well as the formation of cultural traditions and languages which formed the basis of contemporary First Nations in Ontario. Archaeological evidence documents the first Iroquoian-speaking populations in and around the Great Lakes after 600 AD.9 Traditional oral histories state that “the onkwe:honwe [people] soon began to multiply, and they began to contemplate moving as their resources were becoming depleted.”10 Some oral traditions and archaeological evidence suggest that Iroquoian-speaking people initially lived along the Ohio River and migrated as a single group to the Great Lakes region, at which point they divided into multiple nations, including those that made up the eventual Five Nations (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca), as well as the Attawandaron (Neutral), Teyonontatah (Tobacco), and Huron-Wendat.11 By the 14th century, the Attawandaron people were concentrated in what is now the Hamilton-Brantford-Haldimand-Niagara area.1213
of Nations
Within the boundaries of what is now the Redeemer campus, the largest First Nations settlement uncovered by archaeologists dates to 1280-1330 AD.14 An Attawandaron village was located on the north end of campus. The excavation of this site took place in 2008, resulting in the recovery of 51,127 cultural belongings.
The artifact assemblage included pottery, stone tools such as anvils, wedges, and whetstones, many items of worked bone, including beads, bracelets, hair pins, and gaming pieces, and significant amounts of debitage.15 Through the recovery and analysis of these cultural belongings, the archaeological team determined that the village was present during the 14th century. Of particular interest were three recovered artifacts made from Native copper, which is a raw material sourced from deposits in the Lake Superior Basin on the Canadian Shield. This is evidence that the Attawandaron people of this time had long-distance trading relationships with the Algonquian-speaking people far to the north.16
of the Land
The excavation revealed the layout of the village with over 2,800 post moulds found.17 These post moulds indicate that there were at least five longhouses, and possibly three more, within the village site. Each longhouse was around seven metres wide and ranged from 15 to 50 metres in length. The evidence for a palisade, or wooden fence, around the village is incomplete, but archaeologists estimate it enclosed around two-and-a-half acres.18
Uncovered in the Village
By the mid-16th century, European arrival and settlement began to have a significant impact on the First Nations people of Ontario. The first recorded contact between Algonquian-speaking people living in eastern and northern Ontario and Europeans dates back to the mid-1500s. In the Hamilton region, the earliest known European believed to come to the area is the Frenchman Étienne Brûlé, in 1615. Brûlé was a protege of Samuel de Champlain and travelled with a group of Wendat people to the western end of Lake Ontario via the Humber River in 1615.19 Oral tradition reveals that the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), who had heard about the Frenchmen through their trading connections with eastern First Nations, “were not sure if they were coming for war or peace.”20
It was around this time that the term “Neutral” was given to the Attawandaron, as the French observed their impartiality amongst the wars and raids that were regularly taking place between the Huron-Wendat and the Haudenosaunee. In the 17th century, the Haudenosaunee continued to expand their territory in southwestern Ontario, in pursuit of trade partnerships with the Europeans.21 During this same period, the French began to assert their claim over the area as part of their colony of New France, based in the St. Lawrence Valley, although they seldom visited southern Ontario and had no permanent settlements here. By the late 17th century, the Mississaugas were well established in the western end of Lake Ontario.
The smallpox epidemics of the 1630s, introduced by European settlers, devastated First Nations peoples in Ontario. Records indicate that these epidemics killed half of the Huron-Wendat population alone. The Haudenosaunee also experienced significant loss,22 which may have partly motivated their raids against other groups, since taking women and children captive helped to rebuild their own population.23
of Smallpox
The intense competition for pelts, driven by the colonial fur trade, also led to an increasing need for hunting territory. The most desired pelt was the beaver, and it quickly became rare in both Huron-Wendat and Haudenosaunee territories due to overhunting.24 As well, the Haudenosaunee were at a disadvantage because the best beaver hunting territory was north of Lake Ontario, which was Huron-Wendat territory. The combination of factors including competition for control over the fur trade, population loss from the small pox epidemics, and exacerbated historic conflict with rival nations led to further.25 The Haudenosaunee mounted attacks against the Attawandaron people as well as the Huron-Wendat and their allies, the Anishinaabe people living around Georgian Bay. By the 1660s, the Haudenosaunee had defeated, absorbed or expelled smaller nations in the region and controlled the land from Huronia (now Barrie) to Lake Erie and south into what is now New York, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.26 The Haudenosaunee lived on the land until the end of the 17th century and then moved to concentrate their territory within what is now upstate New York. There are differing interpretations for the Haudenosaunee's departure. Some highlight their defeat by the Anishinabe, and some focus on diplomatic agreements between the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee.27
In the mid 17th century, the Mississaugas, an Algonquian-speaking group located with other Anishinaabe nations in the Upper Great Lakes, moved south to reclaim their territories in southern Ontario. While the exact dates of these inter-nation conflicts cannot be confirmed, historians generally agree that the Mississaugas were established in seasonal villages along the Credit and Humber Rivers of southern Ontario by 1695.2829 They settled on the land between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie and took up approximately four million acres as their territory.
When the American Revolution ended in 1783, approximately 7,000 early loyalists arrived at the north shore of Lake Ontario, via the St. Lawrence River.30 The British crown had established the Royal Proclamation of 1763,31 recognizing the existing sovereignty of the First Nations inhabitants over the lands they occupied. This meant that treaties needed to be made with First Nations before British settlers could legally move into these territories.
The Between the Lakes Purchase,32 a treaty between the Mississaugas of the Credit and the British Crown, was negotiated in 1784 and amended in 1792 to include the Credit River Mississaugas. The treaty, which reads like a real estate transaction, covers approximately three million acres of land between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.3334 Many historic treaties established in Canada were written in English, with a colonial understanding of land ownership that was rooted in property law and individual possession of pieces of land. The European interpretation of these treaties involved First Nations people ‘surrendering’ their land, while First Nations people were open to ‘sharing’ the land.35
European settlers began to arrive in what was previously known as the Ancaster region in 1789. These early settlers were called “squatters” or “petitioners” because their names have been found on a petition dated 1793. The petition, signed by 22 men known as “James Wilson and Associates,” states that men were encouraged to settle on the land as soon as they arrived, although it wasn’t formally surveyed and split into lots until 1793. The land board agreed to their petition, and Ancaster Township was established in 1793, with 22 retaining the land they had claimed and built on.36 At this point, the village of Ancaster already contained a grist and saw mill, store, tavern, blacksmith shop, and distillery.37
One of the original 22 men who ‘squatted’ was Isaac Horning (1766-1827), a United Empire Loyalist.38 Horning was born in Holland in 1766 and immigrated to Montgomery County, Pennsylvania in 1787. He came to Ancaster Township in 1789, and settled on what would become Lot 49, Concession 3, Ancaster Township, establishing a 200 acre farm.39 This is the lot on which much of Redeemer’s campus is situated. Horning had seven children, and his son Peter went on to help found Copetown. Additionally, Horning is listed as one of the founding members of Bowman United Church, which was established in 1804 and is located on Garner Road, across from Redeemer.40
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the land continued to be primarily zoned as farmland. Isaac Horning split his land in 1835, selling 100 acres to his son Jacob and 100 to another son, Philip. Jacob’s land was eventually sold to William Filman in 1853 (another direct descendent of one of the 22 ‘squatters’) and then to Henry Wilson in 1892.41 Wilson sold the farm to his son-in-law, Henry Daniel Epps, in 1908, who then deeded it to his daughter, Elizabeth C. Whaley, in 1943.42 Philip deeded his 100 acres to his daughter, Almira, who married John F. Filman; it was then passed down to their daughter, Irene Smith, and remained in the Smith family until the 20th century.43 Throughout this time, the land changed hands but remained largely unchanged topographically.
It required a significant amount of labour for early settlers to create fields large enough for crops. As more people settled along Concession 3, trees were chopped down, crops were planted, and eventually houses and roads were built. Over time, numerous churches were built along Concession 3, which later was named Garner Road and nicknamed “Methodist row.”
In March 1984, the newly established Redeemer College had formed a facilities planning committee, appointed by the Board, with the mandate to find a campus space for Redeemer in the greater Hamilton area.44
The first site proposed was a piece of land available on Highway 53 (Garner Road) close to Fiddler’s Green Road, the site of the Ancaster Christian Reformed Church (now Grace Community CRC). The church was interested in using part of this land for a training institution or charitable organization. Unfortunately, this land was zoned agricultural and, due to the history of zoning issues in this area, it was not likely to be an easy request.45
The committee learned that Allarco had decided to sell a portion – 50 acres – of the land they were planning to develop for housing. The land was being sold for $7,000-12,000 per acre, but the developer was willing to sell it for $3,500 per acre, which was the same price it was purchased for in 1967.46 One special consideration was that there was an old farmhouse on the property which had previously been partly destroyed by fire. A single farmer, Mr. Vivyan Whaley, lived there and also owned 26 acres of land that adjoined the 50 acres Allarco was selling. Redeemer proposed to buy the 26 acres of Whaley land alongside the 50 acres, but Mr. Whaley wasn’t in agreement. To complete the purchase, Redeemer made a counter-offer: If Mr. Whaley sold the 26 acres, Redeemer would provide him with a small home, and he could continue to live on the land and farm a small portion of it. He agreed, and ultimately ended up living on Redeemer’s campus until 1995, alongside a small flock of chickens.47
Between 1985 and the mid-2000s, the footprint of Redeemer’s campus continued to change as the institution grew. The original 78 acres purchased from Allarco and the Whaley farm was a long, narrow strip down the middle of the current campus, and the desire for more frontage on Garner Road led to the purchase of the “Blue Castle” at 723 Garner Road East and the “Three Tired Sisters,” which were three run-down houses on Garner Road, just east of campus.48 These houses were beyond repair, but the Blue Castle is still owned by Redeemer, and has housed many students, staff, and faculty over the years. Other additions to campus have been negotiated with various developers in Meadowlands, including the area to the west behind Calvin Court, the Whaley Teaching Garden, the Guest House (formerly President's Residence), and a two lot parcel swap with Meadowlands Church for more land on the northeast corner of campus.49
Today, Meadowlands development continues and a once rural campus is surrounded by suburban homes. Throughout its history, many people have lived, worked, and raised their families on this land. We are grateful for those who have stewarded the land with care before us, and we are committed to continuing to steward the land well as we seek to serve God’s purposes for the land, Redeemer’s community, and the surrounding communities of Meadowlands and Ancaster.
- In this history, we look at the widest picture possible, aiming to make true statements about the previous presence on the land, as far as the current state of historical knowledge permits, verified through careful historical research and consultation from reliable scholarly sources. We acknowledge that there will be limitations to any re-telling of history, due to the implicit biases that exist in historical sources and scholarship.
- Brian Rice, The Rotinonshonni (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2013) 12.
- Jeff Bursey et al., “Summary of Ontario Archaeology,” Ontario Archaeological Society, accessed July 26, 2022; Neusius, Sarah W. and G. Timothy Gross (2014). “Seeking Our Past: An Introduction to North American Archaeology.” Oxford University Press.
- Bursey et al., “Summary of Ontario Archaeology.”
- New Directions Archaeology Ltd., “Stage 4 Archaeological Assessment of the New Spring Site (AhGx-419), Redeemer University College Property, City of Hamilton” (Ancaster: New Directions Archaeology Ltd., January 2006), 20.
- Bursey et al., “Summary of Ontario Archaeology.”
- New Directions Archaeology Ltd., “Stage 3 Archaeological Assessment of the Whaley I (AhGx-115) and Whaley II (AhGx-116) Sites,” 149 Stonehenge Road, Town of Ancaster, City of Hamilton” (Ancaster: New Directions Archaeology Ltd., April 2007), 15-16.
- New Directions Archaeology Ltd., “Stage 3 Archaeological Assessment of the Whaley I and II Sites,” 21-23.
- Jon Parmenter, The Edge of the Woods: Iroquoia, 1534-1701 (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2014), xliii.
- Rice, The Rotinonshonni, 167.
- Rice, The Rotinonshonni, 167-170.
- New Directions Archaeology Ltd., “Stage 3 Archaeological Assessment of the Whaley I and II Sites,” 23.
- “The Woodland Period, 900-BC to 1700 AD,” in Before Ontario:The Archaeology of a Province, eds. Marit K. Munson and Susan M. Jamieson, (Montréal & Kingston: Mcgill-Queen’s University Press, 2013), 56.
- New Directions Archaeology Ltd. conducted multiple archaeological assessments at Redeemer University between 1999 and 2014.
- New Directions Archaeology Ltd., “Stage 4 Archaeological Excavation of the Southern Part of the Redeemer College Site (AhGx-114), Redeemer University College Property, Town of Ancaster” (Ancaster: New Directions Archaeology Ltd., October 2008); New Directions Archaeology Ltd., “Stage 4 Excavation of the North Part of the Redeemer College Site (AhGx-114), Redeemer University College Property, Lot 49, Con 3, Geographic Township of Ancaster, City of Hamilton” (Ancaster: New Directions Archaeology Ltd., February 2012).
- New Directions Archaeology Ltd., “Stage 4 Excavation of the North Part of the Redeemer College Site,” 115.
- New Directions Archaeology Ltd., “Stage 4 Excavation of the North Part of the Redeemer College Site,” 7.
- New Directions Archaeology Ltd., “Stage 4 Excavation of the North Part of the Redeemer College Site,” 9.
- Talking Treaties Collective. A Treaty Guide for Torontonians, 14.
- Rice, The Rotinonshonni, 259.
- John Douglas Belshaw, Canadian History: Post-Confederation (Victoria: Bccampus, BC Open Textbook Project, 2017), 4.4 Wendake Huronia and the Fur Trade.
- Rice, The Rotinonshonni, 264.
- Belshaw, Canadian History: Post-Confederation, 4.4 Wendake Huronia and the Fur Trade.
- Belshaw, Canadian History: Post-Confederation, 4.4 Wendake Huronia and the Fur Trade.
- Talking Treaties Collective. A Treaty Guide for Torontonians, 2nd ed (Toronto: Art Metropole, 2022), 35.
- Belshaw, Canadian History: Post-Confederation, 5.7 The Five Nations: War, Population and Diplomacy; Talking Treaties Collective, A Treaty Guide for Torontonians, 14.
- Talking Treaties Collective, A Treaty Guide, 47.
- Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation. “The History of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.” 6.
- Talking Treaties Collective, A Treaty Guide, 14.
- Belshaw, Canadian History: Post-Confederation, 7.4 Revolutionary British America.
- Library and Archives Canada and Government of Canada, Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, Royal Proclamation, 1763, October 7, 1763, Image, University of Toronto Library Archives, October 7, 1763.
- Daniel Laxer et. al. “A Short History of Treaty Nomenclature in Ontario,” Active History, November 5, 2018.
- “Between the Lakes Treaty (No. 3),” Hamilton Civic Museums, 2021.
- Full treaty text.
- Michael Asch, On Being Here to Stay, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2014), 77
- T. Roy Woodhouse, “Survey and Settlement Method,” in Ancaster’s Heritage: A History of Ancaster Township (Ancaster, Ont.: Ancaster Township Historical Society, 1973), 6
- Woodhouse, “Survey,” 3.
- United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada, “Isaac Horning, Loyalist,” United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada - Loyalist Info (United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada), accessed July 22, 2022.
- T Roy Woodhouse, “The First Actual Settlers,” in Ancaster’s Heritage: A History of Ancaster Township (Ancaster, Ont: Ancaster Township Historical Society, 1973), 12.
- Ancestors Family Search - Ontario, Founder’s Plaque in the Bowman United Church (Founded in 1796), Image, Ancestors Family Search Ontario, accessed August 13, 2022.
- Ontario Land Registry Access, Parcel Registry Book, Hamilton Wentworth (62), Ancaster, Book 266. Concession 3, Lot 48-50, 70-71.
- A McCulloch, “Lot 49, Conc. 3,” in Ancaster’s Heritage: A History of Ancaster Township. (Ancaster, Ont.: Ancaster Township Historical Society, 1973), 276.
- Ontario Land Registry Access, Hamilton Wentworth (62), Ancaster, Book 266. Concession 3, Lot 48-5, 70-73.
- Henry R. De Bolster, Stepping Forward in Faith : Redeemer University College, 1974-1994 (Belleville, Ont.: Guardian Books, 2001), 125.
- De Bolster, Stepping Forward, 127.
- De Bolster, Stepping Forward, 129.
- De Bolster, Stepping Forward, 130.
- Justin Cooper, Interview by Nicole Benbow. August 17, 2022.
- Cooper, Interview.
- William N. Fenton, The Great Law and the Longhouse: A Political History of the Iroquois Confederacy (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998), 55.
- Belshaw et. al., Histories of Indigenous People in Canada, 5: “Colonial” Wars Looking East.
- Onondaga Historical Association, “Oren Lyon’s PBS Interview,” YouTube Video, 55:26, May 17, 2015.
- “Clan System,” Haudenosaunee Confederacy, accessed September 5, 2024.
- Parmenter, The Edge of the Woods, xlv.
- Assembly of First Nations, “Our Laws Arise from the Land,” AFN, November 20, 2019, video, 8:05.
- Parmenter, The Edge of the Woods, xliii.
- Fenton, The Great Law and the Longhouse, 152.
- Bursey et al., “Summary of Ontario Archaeology.”
- Belshaw et. al., Histories of Indigenous People in Canada, 4. Human Occupation to ca. 1300 CE.
- William C. Noble, “The Neutral Confederacy,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, November 20, 2015.
- “The Woodland Period, 900-BCE to 1700 CE,” in Before Ontario: The Archaeology of a Province, eds. Marit K. Munson and Susan M. Jamieson. (Montréal & Kingston: Mcgill-Queen’s University Press, 2013), 56.
- New Directions Archaeology Ltd., “Stage 4 Excavation of the North Part of the Redeemer College Site (AhGx-114), Redeemer University College Property, Lot 49, Con 3, Geographic Township of Ancaster, City of Hamilton” (Ancaster: New Directions Archaeology Ltd., February 2012), 1.
- New Directions Archaeology Ltd., “Stage 4 Excavation of the North Part of the Redeemer College Site (AhGx-114),” 126.
- Fenton, The Great Law and the Longhouse, 20.
- New Directions Archaeology Ltd., “Stage 4 Excavation of the North Part of the Redeemer College Site,” 15.
- Semi-subterranean sweat lodges are sometimes referred to as turtle pits.
- New Directions Archaeology Ltd., “Stage 4 Excavation of the North Part of the Redeemer College Site,” 48.
- New Directions Archaeology Ltd., “Stage 4 Excavation of the North Part of the Redeemer College Site,” 20.
- New Directions Archaeology Ltd., “Stage 4 Excavation of the North Part of the Redeemer College Site,” 28.
- Travis Tomchuk, “The Doctrine of Discovery,” Canadian Museum for Human Rights, May 11, 2023.
- Karl S. Hele, “Doctrine of Discovery,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, December 1, 2023.
- Belshaw et. al., Histories of Indigenous People in Canada, 5: “Colonial” Wars Looking East.
- Jon Parmenter, “After the Mourning Wars: The Iroquois as Allies in Colonial North American Campaigns, 1676 - 1760,” The William and Mary Quarterly, 64, no. 1 (2007): 39.
- Belshaw, Canadian History: Post-Confederation, 5.3 The Widowed Land.
- Nathan Nunn and Nancy Qian. “The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas.” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24, no. 2 (2010): 164.
- Michelle Filice, “Haldimand Proclamation | The Canadian Encyclopedia,” June 3, 2016.
- “Between the Lakes Treaty (No. 3),” Hamilton Civic Museums, 2021.
- “The Haldimand Treaty of 1784,” Six Nations Lands and Resources, Six Nations of the Grand River, 2008.
- “Statement of Claim,” Six Nations of the Grand River: Litigation, Six Nations of the Grand River, 2023.
- Fred Glover, “A Dish with One Spoon,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, March 31, 2020.
- Asch, On Being Here to Stay, 77.
- Asch, On Being Here to Stay, 77.
- Assembly of First Nations, “Our Laws Arise from the Land,” Assembly of First Nations, November 20, 2019, video, 5:26-33; 5:54-6:04.
- “About Us,” Woodland Cultural Centre, accessed November 4, 2022.
- Jeremy Parsons, “The Making of Meadowlands: How Ancaster’s Fields Became Hamilton’s Suburbs” (master’s thesis, McMaster University, 2015), 92.
- Portrait of the Mohawk Chieftain Thayendanegea, known as Joseph Brant, 1742-1807. Gilbert Stuart. 1786. Source: Wikipedia.
- Photo of longhouse at the Lawson Site, reproduced at the Museum of Ontario Archaeology, London, Ontario.
- Portraits (miniature; oil) of Peter Jones : painted by Matilda Jones in London, England, in 1832. Source: Digital Collections, UofT Victoria University Library.
- Sault Ste. Marie. Paul Kane. 1849-1856. ROM Online Collection.
- United Empire Loyalists Landing at the Site of the Present City of Saint John, New Brunswick, 1783. John David Kelly. 1935. Source: Library and Archives Canada.
- Archaeologists working on the Redeemer site in 2008.
