A gigantic map of all the cool plaques in the world. A project of 99% Invisible.

Silver Mining in Canada

Silver has been an important mineral product for Canada's economy ever since the Cobalt boom which followed the discovery of rich veins of the metal near here in 1903. Although the production of...

Silver has been an important mineral product for Canada's economy ever since the Cobalt boom which followed the discovery of rich veins of the metal near here in 1903. Although the production of...

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  • ontario
  • alan brown

Sir William Mackenzie 1849-1923

Born near here, Mackenzie became a successful local merchant and contractor on Ontario railways. He built this house in 1888. After 1886, with associates, he obtained major construction contracts...

Born near here, Mackenzie became a successful local merchant and contractor on Ontario railways. He built this house in 1888. After 1886, with associates, he obtained major construction contracts...

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  • ontario
  • alan brown

The Seigneury of L'Orignal

This area, the present township of Longueuil, was granted in 1674 to François Prevost, Town Mayor of Quebec, and was the first seigneury in what is now Ontario. Known originally as the seigneury...

This area, the present township of Longueuil, was granted in 1674 to François Prevost, Town Mayor of Quebec, and was the first seigneury in what is now Ontario. Known originally as the seigneury...

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  • ontario
  • alan brown

The St. Clair Tunnel

This was the first subaqueous tunnel in North America and one of the great engineering feats of the 19th century. Built in 1889-1891 to link the Canadian mainline of the Grand Trunk Railway with...

This was the first subaqueous tunnel in North America and one of the great engineering feats of the 19th century. Built in 1889-1891 to link the Canadian mainline of the Grand Trunk Railway...

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  • ontario
  • alan brown

Silver Islet 1868

Off this shore lies Silver Islet, once a barren rock measuring about 25 metres in diameter, where silver was discovered in 1868 by Thomas Macfarlane. The claim was purchased in 1870 by a company...

Off this shore lies Silver Islet, once a barren rock measuring about 25 metres in diameter, where silver was discovered in 1868 by Thomas Macfarlane. The claim was purchased in 1870 by a company...

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  • ontario
  • alan brown

The Six Nations

Commemorating the loyal services and unswerving fidelity of the Six Nations of Iroquois Indians to the British Empire in the Seven Years War, the War of the American Revolution, and in the defence...

Commemorating the loyal services and unswerving fidelity of the Six Nations of Iroquois Indians to the British Empire in the Seven Years War, the War of the American Revolution, and in the defence...

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  • ontario
  • alan brown

The Slomans and the CNR School on Wheels

In 1922 veteran educator J.B. MacDougall urged the provincial government to establish railway car schools to serve residents of Northern Ontario's outlying regions. Four years later two cars, the...

In 1922 veteran educator J.B. MacDougall urged the provincial government to establish railway car schools to serve residents of Northern Ontario's outlying regions. Four years later two cars,...

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  • ontario
  • alan brown

Sir William Buell Richards 1815-1889

Born at Brockville and called to the bar of Upper Canada in 1837, Richards represented Leeds in the Legislative Assembly (1848-53) and served as Attorney General for Canada West in the...

Born at Brockville and called to the bar of Upper Canada in 1837, Richards represented Leeds in the Legislative Assembly (1848-53) and served as Attorney General for Canada West in the...

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  • ontario
  • alan brown

Sir Charles Bagot 1781-1843

Born in Staffordshire, Bagot commenced a distinguished career in the diplomatic service of Great Britain in 1807. As ambassador to the United States he signed the important Rush-Bagot Convention...

Born in Staffordshire, Bagot commenced a distinguished career in the diplomatic service of Great Britain in 1807. As ambassador to the United States he signed the important Rush-Bagot Convention...

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  • ontario
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Sir Charles Edward Saunders 1867-1937

Born at London, educated at Toronto and Johns Hopkins, Saunders was Dominion Cerealist at the Experimental Farm, Ottawa (1903-22), and there, in 1904, developed the famous Marquis wheat which was...

Born at London, educated at Toronto and Johns Hopkins, Saunders was Dominion Cerealist at the Experimental Farm, Ottawa (1903-22), and there, in 1904, developed the famous Marquis wheat which...

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  • ontario
  • alan brown

Sir Edward Wentworth Beatty 1877-1943

Born in Thorold, Beatty attended the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall. In 1898, he joined the legal department of Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in Montreal and became the company's first...

Born in Thorold, Beatty attended the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall. In 1898, he joined the legal department of Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in Montreal and became the company's...

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Sir John Alexander Macdonald 1815-1891

From this soil, home of the Loyalists, he drew inspiration to weld together the weak and scattered colonies of his day into a strong and ambitious Dominion, equal partner in the far-flung British...

From this soil, home of the Loyalists, he drew inspiration to weld together the weak and scattered colonies of his day into a strong and ambitious Dominion, equal partner in the far-flung British...

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  • ontario
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Sir Sandford Fleming 1827-1915

Engineer and an ardent imperialist, Fleming was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. In 1845 he came to Canada, where he became survey and construction engineer for the Intercolonial Railway (1863-76) and...

Engineer and an ardent imperialist, Fleming was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. In 1845 he came to Canada, where he became survey and construction engineer for the Intercolonial Railway (1863-76) and...

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St. Paul's Church

In 1828 Richard Duncan Fraser, the son of an early Loyalist settler, Thomas Fraser, donated land here for the building of a church to serve the Anglicans in this area. Their minister, the Reverend...

In 1828 Richard Duncan Fraser, the son of an early Loyalist settler, Thomas Fraser, donated land here for the building of a church to serve the Anglicans in this area. Their minister, the Reverend...

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Stephen Butler Leacock 1869-1944

This internationally-known author and humorist is buried in the churchyard. Born in Swanmore, Hampshire, England, Leacock came with his family to this township in 1876. Graduating from the...

This internationally-known author and humorist is buried in the churchyard. Born in Swanmore, Hampshire, England, Leacock came with his family to this township in 1876. Graduating from...

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  • ontario
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Smiths Falls Bascule Bridge

This Scherzer Rolling Lift bascule bridge is an outstanding early example of a novel concept in movable bridges, developed by William Scherzer, an American engineer. It combines the balanced...

This Scherzer Rolling Lift bascule bridge is an outstanding early example of a novel concept in movable bridges, developed by William Scherzer, an American engineer. It combines the...

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  • ontario
  • alan brown

St. Andrew's Church

This building, the oldest remaining stone structure in the province erected as a church, was completed about 1801. Many of the pioneer settlers in this area were Roman Catholic Highlanders,...

This building, the oldest remaining stone structure in the province erected as a church, was completed about 1801. Many of the pioneer settlers in this area were Roman Catholic...

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  • ontario
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Sir Byron Edmund Walker, C.V.O., LL.D., D.C.L. 1848-1924

Born in Haldimand County, Walker joined the new Canadian Bank of Commerce at an early age, transforming it into one of Canada's leading financial institutions. He helped to author the Bank Act,...

Born in Haldimand County, Walker joined the new Canadian Bank of Commerce at an early age, transforming it into one of Canada's leading financial institutions. He helped to author the Bank Act,...

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  • ontario
  • alan brown

Samuel Thomas Greene 1843-1890

Samuel Greene was the first deaf teacher to teach deaf children in the Ontario school system. An American by birth, he was educated at the National Deaf-Mute College, now Gallaudet University, in...

Samuel Greene was the first deaf teacher to teach deaf children in the Ontario school system. An American by birth, he was educated at the National Deaf-Mute College, now Gallaudet University,...

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  • ontario
  • alan brown

Sir William James Gage 1849-1921

Born near Brampton, educated there and at the Toronto Normal School, Gage taught for a time and studied medicine for a year before joining, in 1874, the publishing house of Adam Miller and Co. In...

Born near Brampton, educated there and at the Toronto Normal School, Gage taught for a time and studied medicine for a year before joining, in 1874, the publishing house of Adam Miller and Co. In...

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  • ontario
  • alan brown