History & Heritage

Major Edward Jessup (1735-1816) was awarded the 1200 acres on which Prescott is located by King George III for his loyalty to the Crown during the American War of Independence. Jessup led his troops to Augusta Township, which was established in 1784, along with the other seven Royal Townships along the St. Lawrence River from Cornwall to Kingston. Jessup decided to convert a portion of his farm in Augusta into a town site in 1810 and surveyed the land in order to sell town lots. He named the town after General Robert Prescott, governor of Canada from 1796 to 1799.

Prescott was a strategic site on the St. Lawrence River for various reasons, including the fact that it stood at the head of the series of rapids between it and Montreal. All boats and ships between Montreal and York (later named Toronto) had to transfer goods and people at Prescott between smaller and larger vessels. Prescott's first major business was the forwarding trade to facilitate these transfers. When war broke out in 1812 between America and Britain, the British decided to build a fort at Prescott to safeguard the border and maintain the flow of traffic along the St. Lawrence River. Fort Wellington was built between 1813 and 1815 to accommodate British soldiers on land that had been owned by Major Jessup.

Identifying properties of cultural heritage value and cultural heritage interest are an essential part of a municipality's role in heritage conservation. Please see the Municipal Register of Heritage Properties for more information.

Historic buildings provide us with physical reminders of our past and a greater understanding and appreciation of our local identity. 

Prescott Podcast - Canadian History Ehx - May 2022