Sir Francis Hincks at Renfrew
Premier of the Province of Canada 1851-1854, Governor of Barbados 1856-1862, and British Guiana 1862-1865, Hincks was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1803, settled in Upper Canada in 1832, and was elected to the Assembly in 1841. He was prominent in the Reform campaign for Responsible Government and was a keen advocate of railway building. While Finance Minister, 1869-1873, Hincks framed the Bank Act of 1871 which laid the foundation of Canada's banking system. In 1853 he purchased property here, laid out a subdivison and provided land for building mills at the Second Chute of the Bonnechere River. Twice elected a Member for Renfrew, 1854 and 1869, he donated land for a public square. In 1874 he settled in Montreal, where he died in 1885.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Ontario Plaques. Full page here.