NIAGARA AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 1792-1805

NIAGARA AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 1792-1805

The first organization devoted to the improvement of agriculture in Ontario was founded at Niagara. Its original name, the Agricultural Society of Upper Canada, reflected Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe's hope that it would become a province wide organization. Its members, mostly merchants, politicians, clergymen and gentlemen farmers, met regularly for dinner and discussion. They imported new varieties of fruit trees to the Niagara peninsula in 1794 and sponsored the province's first agricultural fair in Queenston in 1799. The society folded in 1805 and left its collection of reference books to the Niagara Library. Although the society was short-lived, its scientific approach to farming anticipated the work of regional agricultural societies run by farmers after 1820.

Ontario Heritage Foundation, an agency of the Government of Ontario

Sarah J. McCabe

2017-09-01