Lincoln (Ontario)

Lincoln is a town in the Niagara Peninsula. It is a mostly rural town, but also encompasses the towns of Beamsville and Vineland and other smaller communities. It is best known for its dozens of wineries. The district is known as Twenty Valley.

Understand
Lincoln's location between the southern shore of Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment provides for a moderate climate with mild winters. The area is known in Canada for its orchards, vineyards, wineries and restaurants that feature local produce and wines. Fruit crops grown in Lincoln include cherries, peaches, apples and pears, and during the summer attract many tourists from all over Ontario, particularly Toronto. See also Wine Regions of Ontario.

The region is in the heart of Ontario's wine country and contributes greatly to the wine industry in the Niagara Peninsula. Wineries in Lincoln include Malivoire, Mike Weir Winery, Thomas and Vaughan, Thirty Bench, Angel's Gate, Peninsula Ridge, Cave Spring Cellars, Daniel Lenko Winery, Hidden Bench, Magnotta, Mountain Road Winery, Legends Estates, Crown Bench, Megalomaniac, Featherstone, Tawse, Vineland Estates and Corner Stone.

The township comprises the communities of Beamsville, Campden, Jordan, Jordan Station, Rockway, Tintern, Vineland and Vineland Station.

History
Lincoln's earliest known inhabitants were Neutral Indians. Archaeologists from the Royal Ontario Museum found evidence of a Neutral encampment with a long house about 2 km east of Beamsville, on Cave Springs Farm. Until vandals destroyed them about 30 years ago, there were a number of Indian faces carved in stone high on the Escarpment wall nearby.

The Neutrals were decimated by the Iroquois in 1653. When the first European settlers arrived in 1777, there were only a few semi-migrant native people living in the caves near Beamsville.

The earliest European settlers were ex-Butler's Rangers who had fought on the side of the Britain in the American Revolution. United Empire Loyalist Jacob Beam began what is now the town of Beamsville in 1788. Both of his homes - the original one on The Thirty (creek), and the one near downtown Beamsville - are still intact.

Mennonites (Pennsylvania Dutch) walking north from the United States in 1799 founded the villages of Jordan and Vineland. The First Mennonite Church in Vineland, adjacent to the cemetery at the corner of Regional Road 81 (former Highway 8) and Martin Road, organized in 1801, is the oldest Mennonite congregation in Canada.

Good hunting and fishing, and excellent soil and waterways attracted these early settlers. Agriculture flourished, and tanneries, grist mills, sawmills and woollen mills sprang up in Glen Elgin (now known as Ball's Falls), Tintern, St. Mary's, called Jordan after 1840, Rockway, The Thirty (now vanished) and Beamsville.

With a large natural harbour at the mouth of Twenty Creek, Jordan and Jordan Station became busy shipping centres for the export of logs for masts, tan bark, hides, ashes used in industrial centres for the manufacture of soap, as well as grain, flour, fruit and fruit products. A small ship building industry existed for a time on the banks of the Twenty.

Get in
It is off the QEW between Grimsby and St. Catharines, and is reached easily by taking the Ontario St. Beamsville exit (exit 64). Beamsville can also be reached via the old number 8 highway, a scenic drive that follows a traditional Native American trail and trade route. Beamsville is about an hour's drive from Toronto, and 30 minutes from Niagara Falls.

Get around
In order to see the various attractions around Beamsville, it's best to rent a car in Hamilton or St. Catharines, the closest cities.



See

 * Beamsville is especially gorgeous in the fall as it is on the government-protected Niagara Escarpment. Renting a bike and taking a ride can be extremely rewarding and entertaining.

Buy

 * Buy some local wine to share with friends and family upon your return. The wineries listed below all have retail stores on-site and most are open year-round.
 * You can also pick-your-own fruits at some of the farms in the area from about June to October. It's best to call first to see what's in season.

Wineries and breweries
Beamsville is in the heart of wine country and the "Beamsville Bench" appellation is home to some exceptional wineries that are well worth a visit. Many of Beamsville's wineries are smaller and less touristy than their well-known cousins around Niagara-on-the-Lake. Most offer tastings and have wine shops open year-round.



Sleep

 * Many bed & breakfasts operate within and around Lincoln. They are generally cheaper than those found in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Go next
Interesting places nearby include:


 * Niagara Falls - for the Falls, of course
 * Niagara-on-the-Lake - quaint, historic town with great little shops, restaurants, and (in the summer) the Shaw Theatre festival
 * Toronto - Ontario's bustling and multicultural capital
 * Buffalo