Prescott (Ontario)

Prescott is a town of 4,000 people (2016) in the Seaway Region of eastern Ontario, Canada.

Understand
Like Brockville directly to the west (and countless other "founded 1784" towns), Prescott was established by United Empire Loyalists soon after the American Revolution (1776-1783) to house the King's loyal subjects. The town's location on the St. Lawrence River at a narrows directly opposite Ogdensburg, New York, made it strategically important in the War of 1812 as the river was a key supply line. A US attack on Gananoque from Sackets Harbor on September 21, 1812 led to retaliation in which Prescott's 1812-era Fort Wellington attacked Ogdensburg on February 22, 1813.

A second Fort Wellington was built on the same site in 1838 as a response to an unsuccessful domestic rebellion.

Before the Seaway opened in 1958 to bypass rapids downriver at Long Sault, Great Lakes vessels would unload grains and cargo in Prescott-Ogdensburg for onward shipment by rail to Atlantic seaports. Rail lines were also constructed from the region to Ottawa to provide that city with access to river cargo; the Prescott-Ottawa line is now gone (except for a few fragments within Ottawa) but Brockville-Smiths Falls-Ottawa remains in use for passenger service to Toronto.

By car

 * From Montréal and Toronto, Prescott is on the Windsor-Quebec corridor as Highway 401 exit 714 (Edward Street)
 * From Ottawa, take Highway 416 southbound to the 401 (exit 721). Prescott-Ogdensburg is the first town upriver (west) from the international bridge.
 * From Watertown (New York), take NY 37 to Ogdensburg, then cross the bridge to Johnstown (401 exit 721). Prescott is 7 km (4.5 mi) upriver.

By train

 * The train no longer stops in Prescott; the town's limestone 1856 Grand Trunk wayside station (a National Historic Site) now houses the local historic society. VIA Rail service is available to Brockville from Montréal, Toronto and Ottawa; Montréal-Toronto buses also stop in Brockville.

By plane

 * The closest major airport is Ottawa Uplands, about 40 minutes north by car. There's a small airport in Ogdensburg with a few flights a day to Albany; another alternative is Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

Go next
Staying in Canada, Merrickville and the Rideau Canal.

Crossing the border to the USA, Ogdensburg.