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Kingston Mills is a "dispersed rural area" in the former Kingston Township in Frontenac County in Ontario, Canada. Since 1999 Kingston Mills has been located in the City of Kingston.
Kingston Mills, located approximately north of downtown Kingston, Ontario, is the southernmost lockstation and one of 24 lockstations of the Rideau Canal system. Kingston Mills is a component of the Rideau Canal National Historic Site, and along with the rest of the Rideau Canal, is a World Heritage Site. The site is managed and operated by Parks Canada. [edit] History
Kingston Mills developed because of a series of falls (known as Cataraqui Falls) on the Cataraqui River. In 1784, a grist mill and saw mill were built by the British government on the falls to serve the residents of the growing Loyalist settlement at Cataraqui, now Kingston. Under orders from Major John Ross who was in charge of the Cataraqui settlement, Lieutenant David Brass of Butler's Rangers built a road to the falls from Cataraqui. This was the first road built in Upper Canada. "King's Mill", the area's original name, became a major location for settlers to bring produce. Several mills were built over the years; the structures were often damaged by fire or water, or left abandoned. After the War of 1812 Kingston's naval base on Point Frederick was deemed vulnerable to American attack. Since Kingston Mills was considered to be better protected from attack because of its inland position, land was acquired and surveyed at Kingston Mills for a naval stores depot with accompanying fortifications. The depot was never built, however, since British priorities changed from improving Kingston's naval infrastructure to building military fortifications around Kingston. Beginning in 1827, the site was cleared to begin building locks for the Rideau Canal. The locks would enable boats to bypass the falls. Four locks (Nos. 46, 47, 48, and 49) were constructed, all of which have a lift of 3.6 metres. A defensive blockhouse was constructed beginning in 1832. It housed militia and British regular troops from 1838 to 1841. It is one of four situated along the Rideau Canal. The blockhouse has been restored to the condition it may have looked like in the 1830s. In 1853 a wooden railway bridge was built by the Grand Trunk Railroad over the lower locks. The Canadian National Railway replaced this bridge with a steel bridge in 1929. Since 1909, several bridges over the canal along Kingston Mills Road have been constructed and replaced. The last bridge, a steel swing bridge, was built in 1988.
Other structures that were built at Kingston Mills include storage barns, stables, railway buildings, living quarters, and the lockstation office, which was once a store house. The only buildings still existing, other than the generating station and the blockhouse, are the lockstation office and the original lockmaster's house which is now a visitor centre known as Lockmaster Anglin's Visitor Centre. Kingston Mills was designated a National Historic Site in 1925, and a World Heritage Site in 2007. In 2009, four women were found dead in a car underwater at Kingston Mills. It was determined that the four had been murdered. Family members of the deceased were convicted. [edit] Research TipsThe primary source for basic documents (vital statistics, land records, wills) for people who lived in the Province of Ontario is the Archives of Ontario, 134 Ian Macdonald Blvd, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M7A 2C5. [edit] Early RecordsCivil registration did not begin in the province until 1869. Before then there may be church records of baptisms and burials. For the most part these are still held by the denomination who recorded them. Copies of marriage records made pre-1869 had to be sent by individual clergymen to the registrar of the county in which the marriage took place. These marriage records are available through Ontario Archives, on micorfilm through LDS libraries, and on paid and unpaid websites, but because they were copied at the registrars' offices, they cannot be considered a primary source. [edit] Vital Records after 1869Birth, marriage and death registrations are not open to the public until a specific number of years after the event occurred. Births to 1915 are now available [October 2014]; dates for marriages and deaths are later. Birth and death registration was not universally carried out in the early years after its adoption. Deaths were more apt to be reported than births for several years. The more rural the area, the less likely it would be that these happenings were reported to the authorities.
[edit] Land Records and WillsInformation on how to access land records and wills is best sought on the Archives of Ontario website. An ancestor's land holding might be found on Canadian County Atlas Digital Project if he was in occupancy circa 1878. Association for the Preservation of Ontario Land Registry Office Documents (APOLROD). A list of Land Registry Offices for all Counties of Ontario. [edit] CensusesThe original censuses are in the hands of Library and Archives Canada, known to Canadians as "LAC". Copies of original microfilms are online at the LAC website for all censuses up to 1921. Each census database is preceded with an explanation of the geographical area covered, the amount of material retained (some census division material has been lost), the questions on the census form, and whether there is a name index. Census divisions were redrawn as the population increased and more land was inhabited. [edit] Hard-to-Find Places
[edit] E-books, Books and Newspapers
[edit] Some websites with more local information on Frontenac County
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