Curlers do their part to celebrate Prescott's bicentennial this year

January 14, 2010

EMC Events - An upcoming bonspiel at the Prescott Curling Club will incorporate an important aspect of the club's history, as well as that of the community.

On Friday, Jan. 22 and Saturday, Jan. 23, the club will host the Wiser Cup Mixed Invitational Bonspiel as part of the organization's activities in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Prescott this year. Up to a dozen teams are expected to participate in the bonspiel, which includes a wine and cheese event and supper.

But it is the top prize in the event that is of special interest to curlers, according to Neil Dufour who is organizing the bonspiel. The winning team will have its name engraved on the prestigious Wiser's Cup which was donated to the club more than 100 years ago by one of the town's most prominent families.

Dufour, who is a member of town council and the 200th anniversary committee, has been a member of the Prescott Curling Club since 1965 and thought it would be appropriate to hold a special bonspiel this year. As a director of the curling club, he also felt it would be appropriate for curlers to vie for the Wiser Cup, which was donated to the club by the leading Prescott family in 1906 and was the first competition trophy ever received by local curlers since forming their organization in 1893.

"Years ago, the cup was used during the regular club playdowns but it hasn't been used for a number of years," said Dufour.

Most of the 48 available spots for the bonspiel have now been filled but there is still room for two more teams, he said. The cost of entering the bonspiel is $30 per person, which also includes a lasagna dinner on Saturday evening. Curling will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 22. A wine and cheese gathering and karaoke will also be held that evening starting at 8 p.m. Non-curlers can attend this event for a fee of $10. Curling will resume at 10 a.m. on Saturday and conclude later in the day.

"This will be the main bonspiel of the current curling season, which will finish at the end of March," said Dufour.

Members of four teams in the competition will receive either a shirt or sweater. These prizes will be awarded on the basis of random draws so that everyone participating in the bonspiel will have a chance to win a prize.

But competition is expected to be keen for the privilege of winning the striking silver Wiser Cup.

"It is a beautiful, large trophy and we had the tarnish removed and now have it on public display at the club," said Dufour.

The cup was given to the club by John Philip Wiser who built a distilling empire in the town between the middle of the 1800s and the early 20th century. Wiser was born in 1825 in Trenton, New York, a small Oneida County community northeast of Syracuse. He initially worked for the Aversell and Egert distillery in upstate New York. When that company purchased the Payne Distillery in Prescott in 1857, Wiser was appointed general manager of the operation.

In the late 1850s, Prescott had developed as a major distillery operation with no less than four distilleries and other companies brewing beer. The town's location on a major water route and with access to major rail routes contributed to the growth of the distillery industry.

Five years after arriving in Prescott, Wiser purchased the distillery he had been sent to manage. It was a fortuitous move since the Civil War raging in the U.S. had seriously crippled the distilling industry in that country. Canadian distilleries found a huge market for top quality whiskey in the U.S.

Even after the war had ended, Wiser's business continued to grow and by 1873, the company was paying an incredible $2,000 a day in excise taxes for whiskey it was selling. At its peak, Wiser's was the third largest distillery in Canada.

Wiser also incorporated other businesses into his empire which once employed 140 workers in Prescott. Along with the distillery operations in the west end of town, Wiser had a nearby farm to produce the grains used in whiskey production and he owned a huge beef cattle operation in Kansas. He also owned some of the finest race horses in Canada.

Along with his business operations, Wiser also served in politics, first as a member of town council and then as Liberal MP in the House of Commons for Grenville South from 1878 to 1882. Wiser died in 1911 but the company, now known as Wiser's and Sons, continued under the direction of the firm's shrewd treasurer and businessman, Albert Whitney. However, with his death in 1917, the company was sold to the Corby's Distilling Company and, in 1932, production was moved to Belleville. Three whiskeys continue to be sold under the Wiser's and Sons label.

More information about the Wiser's Cup Bonspiel can be obtained by calling Neil Dufour at 613-925-4659.

BICENTENNIAL BASH BEGINS

Posted By CHRISTINE ENDICOTT , R & T STAFF WRITER

Approximately 200 people packed the Prescott Legion Friday for the event that launched Prescott's bicentennial celebration.

"This is a phenomenal crowd," Mayor Suzanne Dodge remarked during the New Year's Day levee. "I'm really thrilled that everyone is here."

Dodge also said in an interview that she plans to run for mayor again in the 2010 election. "Obviously I am running again."

While growing up in the Fort Town on East and West Streets, Dodge had "never" anticipated becoming the mayor, she told The Recorder and Times. "It was just one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time."

Dodge was pleased with the turnout at the levee. "It's almost breathtaking to be mayor of the town you were born in and to see all the people.

"I love history," she It's a phenomenal history that we've got here, and it's so exciting that you finally get to see it all come to life."

Town crier Lawrence Levere began the official proceedings by giving historical facts about the town and added, "May we remember our brave troops far from home."

The crowd included military re-enactors as well as Edward and Gary Jessup, descendants of the town's founder, Col. Edward Jessup, to whom Dodge presented a framed 1810 town survey map. The mayor later explained that this was used to prove the town's age to the federal government's Heritage department.

"This year we are celebrating the fact that we have been founded as a town for 200 years, and it's just amazing," Dodge said.

Although the first settlers arrived in 1784, as noted on the town's welcome sign, the town was officially created when Jessup received one square mile of land parcelled off from Augusta Township in 1810.

Referring to that historical fact, Township Reeve Mel Campbell jokingly presented Dodge with a copy of a book on Augusta's history so she could learn about Prescott's past, a gesture that elicited loud laughter from the audience.

MP Gord Brown, Counties Warden Bill Thake and Edwards-burgh- Cardinal Mayor Larry Dishaw also offered their congratulations and received bicentennial pins.

"I feel blessed to be here today," commented Dishaw, who noted that he was born and raised in Prescott.

The town has some 40 events planned for the bicentennial year -and Dodge said she hopes that number can be increased to 200 events. The town has applied to Heritage Canada for a $68,000 grant to fund three main legacy projects: a mural depicting Prescott's 200-year history, three commercials to tell the story of Col. Edward Jessup and his descendants, and a book of interviews of Prescott citizens aged 90 and older.

"It's amazing how many stories there are in this town that aren't written down anywhere," said Dodge.

The mayor remarked that she hoped council will approve some funding for bicentennial events in its 2010 budget.

"We are just doing it simple," she explained, adding that the bicentennial committee will seek supporters.

Dodge noted that the Prescott Legion covered most of the expenses for the levee, which included a buffet and live entertainment.

Two of the main events will be in early July.

"My big event will be a Canada Day parade," Dodge said. "I remember when I was a kid and we had a Canada Day parade. All the kids got dressed up in costumes and decorated their bikes."

July 3 is the date for the bicentennial gala, a costume ball to be held at South Grenville District High School. "You can come in any costume... from the last 200 years," the mayor said.

Educational programming for children will include public speaking, posters and artwork, she added.

Gary Jessup, who with his wife Lise relocated from Ottawa to Prescott two years ago, said he was proud of the way his ancestor Col. Jessup created the town and enjoyed its "beautiful location" on the St. Lawrence River.

"It's a great retirement village," he said in an interview. "We are hoping more people come in and develop it, because we need more development, for sure."

Prescott's Bicentennial

Jim Reagen, Managing Editor for The Journal Advance News in Ogdnesburg, NY

Our good friends across the river in Prescott are celebrating their 200th birthday this year by capitalizing on their community¹s rich history.
It¹s an idea that Ogdensburg and other communities in St. Lawrence Countyneed to consider if we hope to grow and prosper in the years ahead. In Prescott¹s case, the Fort Town¹s history is actually Ogdensburg¹s history for most of its first century and a half of its existence. While we all have a tendency to focus on the early years when we fought a few wars, both real and undeclared, the reality is that both towns were settled by hardy pioneer families from across New York, New England and the Olds Country. While our two infant nations were going through difficult times, figuring out our rightful places, first as enemies, but later as allies, friends and business partners, a close reading of our shared history shows that even
when relations were at their worst, the ties of personal friendships between the residents of our two communities always found a way to transcend the international animosities of the moment.
From those first days in 1796 when American pioneer families landed at the mouth of the Oswegatchie, only to find their former Revolutionary War enemies building homes across the St. Lawrence, Ogdensburg and Prescott have found they¹ve shared a common bond that has tied their two futures together.
We would argue that since the construction of the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge 50 years ago, and the end of the ferry that dropped passengers directly in each other¹s downtown, Ogdensburg and Prescott have lost a great deal of the contact that made our two communities so important
to each other for so many years. Where we once shopped in each other¹s stores, drank at each other¹s bars, ate at each other¹s restaurants, and looked to each other¹s communities for romance and adventure, today most residents of our two communities can not
name any friends from across the river.The cost to both communities has been steep. We would argue that the economic decline of our two communities 50 years ago began with the closing of the ferry.
We hope that if Prescott and Ogdensburg renew their acquaintances during this Bicentennial year, the residents of our two communities can begin to reforge not just friendships, but the economic connections that once were integral to our commercial growth for most of our history.

January 4, 2010

Prescott Celebrates Bicentennial
Mayor Hopes To Capitalize On Shared Community History

BY JIM REAGEN, Managing Editor with the Ogdensburg Journal and Advance News.

PRESCOTT, Onario - Prescott Mayor Suzanne J. Dodge is hoping her community¹s celebration of its 200th birthday will help the town use its history to boost tourism and the local economy.
On New Year¹s Day, the town of Prescott kicked off its Bicentennial
celebration. Almost 200 people gathered at Prescott¹s Royal Canadian Legion on West Henry Street Friday afternoon for a traditional New Year¹s Levee that featured food, drink, historic reenactors, military veterans and Prescott well-wishers.
While its first settlers began arriving in 1784 with land grants from the crown, its founder began laying out the streets of modern day Prescott in 1810, Mayor Dodge said. Two centuries later, Prescott looks back on a colorful history, shaped by a
variety of forces.
- Military town - shaped by Fort Wellington and Canada¹s early wars with the U.S., Mayor Dodge points to the recently announced planned $2 million renovation project for Fort Wellington which today is the community¹s major tourist attraction.
- River town - Located on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, Prescott today boasts a major marina that helps draw boaters to the community during the summer.
- Railroad town - The arrival of the railroad in the mid 1800s connected the community to the rest of Canada.
- Distillery town - Prescott plans to devote several events this year to
celebrating its past history as the former home of J.P. Wiser, a major
Canadian whiskey company and a LaBatts brewery. Prescott also played a majorrole during the U.S. prohibition era supplying booze to thirsty U.S. citzens.
- Border town - Sitting just across the shore from Ogdensburg, Prescott¹s location on the U.S. - Canadian border has played an important role in shaping its history.
Mayor Dodge says she¹s hoping that Prescott¹s celebration of its
bicentennial will also help to draw attention to its 200 years of sharedhistory with Ogdensburg.
Mayor Dodge says that she believes the construction of the Ogdensburg-Prescott International bridge actually reduced contact between Prescott and Ogdensburg.
Before the construction of the bridge, 50 years ago, the ferry brought
people into the downtowns of the two communities. ³I can still remember taking the ferry to Ogdensburg and going downtown. I
can remember going to Newberry¹s and having a root beer float at thecounter,² she said.
³We have a shared history,² she said. ³Our founder Edward Jessup came from the U.S. J.P Wiser came from Ogdensburg.²
Mayor Dodge says the Bicentennial Committee has identified 76 historic buildings in Prescott. ³We have developed a walking tour. Each of them has a story to tell. ³
Mayor Dodge says she is hoping that in the coming year, Ogdensburg residents will visit Prescott to rediscover their two communities shared history.

January 3, 2010

Revolutionary War Refugees: Jessup¹s Rangers Settled Prescott

BY JIM REAGEN of The Ogdensburg Journal and Advance News

PRESCOTT - Two hundred years ago, Gary J. Jessup¹s great-great-great grandfather, Col. Edward Jessup laid out the streets of the modern day town of Prescott, establishing a community that has stood the test of time.
On Friday, Mr. Jessup and his brother, Edward, were at the Royal Canadian Legion in Prescott, helping the community their ancestor helped found celebrate its 200th birthday. ³I¹m pretty proud of my ancestor,² Mr. Jessup said. ³He showed a lot of foresight in the way he laid out the town. It¹s pretty much the way he laid
out the streets today.²
³I was lucky,² he said. ³My mom and dad brought us up aware of our ancestry. They used to bring us down here to Prescott to see the community the colonel founded.²
In 1784, after the Treaty of Paris officially ended the Revolutionary War and England had conceded victory to the rebellious Americans in the 13 colonies, Col. Jessup and the surviving members of his Jessup¹s Rangers were told they and other Loyalists who had fought for King and Crown against the rebellion would have to build new homes on the northern bank of the St. Lawrence River. Each were awarded Royal land grants to compensate them for their service and
their losses in the war against the revolutionaries. Mr. Jessup, one of the founders of ³Jessup¹s Rangers,² also known as the King¹s Loyal Rangers of New York, had lost his entire fortune in the war.
According to a history of the United Empire Loyalists Association by Myrtle Johnson, Col. Jessup was born in Fairfield, Conn. In 1735, he had moved to the Albany area as a boy. He later became a justice of the peace for both the town and county of Albany. He and his brother, Ebenezer, became prominent businessmen with extensive landholdings, 500,000 acres, under a crown grant in the Adirondack mountains. But when the Revolutionary War broke out, Mr. Jessup and his friends and family were branded as traitors and became known as Loyalists since they remained loyal to the British Crown.
Loyalists were harassed, denied the right to vote, sell land, sue debtors or to be lawyers, doctors or schoolmasters. Many had their land, businesses and farms confiscated and sold to support the revolution.
Col. Jessup had served with the British Army during the French and IndianWar, traveling with Sir Jeffrey Amherst¹s forces that captured Fort La Presentation and Fort Levis in 1760. The two weeks he spent at the mouth of the Oswegatchie River is believed by Jessup historians to have been his introduction to what would become the Prescott area.
Mr. Jessup and about 80 friends and family members fled their homes 45 miles north of Albany to Montreal where they helped organize a military unit known as Jessup's Rangers or the King's Loyal Rangers.
His corps served in Burgoyne's army which invaded upstate New York down Lake Champlain in 1777. His unit was attached to the Naval Department where he was in charge of the batteau (boat) service on Lake Champlain to provide transport for Gen.
Burgoyne¹s forces. After Burgoyne and his forces surrendered, Col. Jessup led his men back to Montreal where they were assigned to improving fortifications there in 1778.
In 1780 and 1781, Jessup¹s Rangers were attached to Gen. John Johnson who sent the rangers on raids in the Mohawk Valley.
³Approximately one-third of the estimated 250,000 colonists who had remained loyal to Britain fled to other British Possessions,² according to a website for United Empire Loyalists Associatin, Colonel Edward Jessup branch. ³About 40,000 traveled north to what was then British North America (Canada) with the majority settling initially in the Maritimes. The British settled an estimated 7,000 Loyalists in Upper Canada, now known as Ontario on land grants along the St. Lawrence River. In June 1784, many of these loyal families from military barracks near Montreal were provisioned, put aboard
large rafts and sent up the St. Lawrence River to what became known as the Royal Townships, stretching along the north shore of the waterway fromLancaster on the east to Elizabethtown (Brockville). ³Here they cleared land and established themselves on farms. Their presence had a profound and permanent impact on the nation that would become Canada.
Between four and six million Canadians, about one fifth of the population, can trace their ancestral roots back to one or more of those early Loyalistfamilies. - The United Empire Loyalists' Association,² the website said. ³Although he lost all of his land during the war, Jessup was able to rebuild part of his fortune. In recognition of his service to the Crown, the British government gave him a large grant of land in the southwest corner of Edwardsburgh Township. Here he built a home and founded the town ofPrescott in 1810,² according to a website on Col. Jessup. When Jessup's corps was disbanded on Dec. 24, 1783, many of the officers and soldiers retired on half-pay and settled on their land grants on the St. Lawrence. Settling the former military units along the St. Lawren River
provided the British with loyal English settlers along the frontier. Since the French residents of conquered Quebec had shown little interest in fighting the rebels, the settlements of former soldiers on the upper St. Lawrence River provided a military barrier against possible attacks from the rebels who would soon be arriving on the American side of the St. Lawrence River, according to Historical Narratives of Early Canada. ³Junior officers were allotted 500 acres. Settlers were given 12 months to make improvements on the property to receive a permanent land grant. If the land was settled after twelve months, a regular grant was to be given.
³During the summer, plots of land were cleared and rough log dwellings erected by the settlers working cooperatively. The dwellings were small, the largest not more than 15 by 20 feet, built of round logs notched at the corners and laid one upon the other to a height of seven or eight feet. The spaces between the logs were chinked with small pieces of wood, then daubed with clay. An opening was cut for one door and a window. The roof was made
of elm bark and the floor of split logs. The hearth was made of flat stones.
The chimney was constructed of field stones and clay as high as the walls. The top of the chimney was made of small round sticks plastered with clay,² according to a narrative of one of Prescott¹s early settlers. Col. Jessup was awarded a grant of land of 1,200 acres and was later also awarded 3.800 acres.

January, 2010

PRESCOTT PREPARED TO PARTY IN 2010

Posted By NICK GARDINER , STAFF WRITER

Eighteen months of preparation is coming down to an eight-day countdown.

That's when all the hard work of the Prescott Bicentennial committee begins to pay off with the first of more than 200 events scheduled to mark the Fort Town's 200th anniversary in 2010.

The party begins with the annual New Year's levee held in partnership by the town and Prescott branch of the Royal Canadian Legion which, this year, carries a unique designation of being first in line to recognize the bicentennial.

Period costume and welcoming remarks that reflect the historic occasion will be featured elements of the levee, which begins at 2 p. m., said bicentennial coordinatorHaileyMcLean.

"That's what makes this levee unique," McLean told The Recorder and Times.

"It's a secondary reason to celebrate. Just a salute to the coming year."

The scene at next week's event is one Fort Town residents should get used to over the next 12 months.

The coming year will see much more of local re-enactors dressed in historic costumes and reacquainting the town with its heritage at multiple events, assured McLean.

Many events are already established and, while not all are bicentennial specific, they will all incorporate the theme of the anniversary, she said.

Loyalist Days, for instance, is an annual celebration that will easily envelop the bicentennial agenda, said McLean.

She said two other events are scheduled for January.

One is the Prescott Curling Club's Wiser Cup Challenge, which in itself recognizes distilled spirits as one of the town's early industries.

The challenge is scheduled Jan. 23 and 24 and includes a wine and cheese reception the first day and a closing dinner on Day 2.

Another historic milestone will be celebrated Jan. 30 when the Grenville County Historical Society marks its 50th anniversary at its office in the converted rail station.

At the same time, a book on the bicentennial, Prescott Celebrates, 1810-2010, will be launched, said McLean.

She said the entire list of bicentennial events may be viewed on the Internet at www.prescottbicentennial.myevent.com.

McLean, a school teacher on call to supply locally, moved here with her husband from Essex last year.

She quickly became attached as co-ordinator of Prescott's bicentennial and has learned more history about the town than she could have imagined while preparing for 2010.

"It was an amazing way to dive into the town's history," she agreed.

McLean's term as bicentennial co-ordinator was scheduled to end Jan. 31, but town council voted Monday to look into a possible six-month extension.

Regardless, McLean vows to be a part of the celebration whether or not she's still on the job.

Mayor Suzanne Dodge expects to see a similar enthusiastic greeting to the bicentennial by other residents.

Dodge said many community partners have been involved in organizing for the bicentennial year as well as adding their own individual events into the mix.

"Everything from the food bank to the Rotary Club to the Walker House Ladies is involved," she said.

Working on a limited budget, but with an application out for a heritage grant, the community has to rely on local resources, she said.

"It's encouraging to see a group come together and make this happen."

She said the major celebration will be held the July 1 to 4 weekend, with a host of events including a Canada Day parade and bicentennial gala July 3.

The parade will include an old-fashioned element where children dress up and decorate their bikes and wagons as was common in the past.

"It's a way to step back in time and reflect on our heritage," said Dodge.

"There's just such a tremendous history here and it's kind of fun that we have a chance to celebrate our heritage and appreciate where we've been."

nickg@recorder.ca

PRESCOTT’S BICENTENNIAL FUNDRAISER HAS STYLE

PRESCOTT, Ontario, Wednesday, October 21, 2009 – Fine wines, hors d’oeuvres and two centuries of fashion are on the menu at Jessup’s Wine Fest and Dress, Nov. 14 at the Royal Canadian Legion in Prescott.

Mingling with the guests sampling Ontario grape and fruit vintages and locally prepared appetizers will be two dozen military re-enactors and heritage interpreters wearing historically accurate clothing spanning the Seven Year’s War to World War Two.

“As we approach the 200^th anniversary of the founding of Prescott by Colonel Edward Jessup, we are pleased to present this event for lovers of period costume, good wine and food selections from local restaurants,” said Prescott Mayor Suzanne Dodge. “We anticipate that those who join us will enjoy all that Prescott has to offer.”

The social is from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14. A narrated fashion show at 5:30 p.m. will enliven men’s and women’s styles from 1755 to 1945.

Jessup’s Wine Fest and Dress is a fundraiser for the Prescott Bicentennial Committee that is actively planning monthly commemorative events for 2010.

Tickets, $25 per person, are available from Hailey McLean, the Prescott Bicentennial Coordinator, by calling 613-925-1861 or emailing Hailey McLean prescottbicentennial@gmail.com.

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For more information contact:

Hailey McLean

Prescott Bicentennial Coordinator

613-925-1861