Aldershot Tweedsmuir Histories, Volume 1 [of 2 vols.], p. 15

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VILLAGE HISTORY ... churches, which are administered by the Rev. E. A. Chester. Adam Ferguson, who was to become a member of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada in 1839, was another of the earliest settlers in the district. The Ferguson homestead on the slopes of Waterdown Heights has been restored by its present owners, Mr. and Mrs. John B. McColl. George Unsworth and his son, Albert, who are the largest greenhouse tomato growers in the Aldershot district and are descendants of Giles Gordon Unsworth who began farming here in 1850. Robert Sinclair, who came from Belfast in 1856, was one of the first Aldershot pioneers to establish a store at the Aldershot corner, opening a shoe repair business on the south-west corner. Sinclairs have been connected with the corner ever since, Robert's son, George, opening the Post-Office and general store on the north-east corner. Bruce Sinclair, grandson of Robert is the present postmaster. In 1876, John Gallagher came to Aldershot and his grandsons now operate one of the last large apple orchards on the Plains Road, with over 3,000 fruit trees. The Black Horse Inn remains a land mark on the Plains Road. Owned by E. C. Davis, school trustee, this building was originally a school and dated back to 1870. The Applegarth homestead, known as Oaklands Park is one of the few remaining large farms, with several of the original buildings. The years immediately following the half-way mark of the nineteenth century saw a sudden influx of pioneers from overseas. The Easterbrooks, the Scheers, the Filmans, the Emerys, the Halls, the Lemons and the Homes are familiar names in Aldershot where descendants of these early settlers still take an active interest in community affairs. At a time when the Hamilton area was known as Burlington, the early settlers who preferred Burlington Plains to Burlington Heights the scene of a famous battle had already hewn their way into homesteads designed to become the most fertile bit in this garden of Canada. For years the farmers and gardeners of the Plains have supplied produce for local and long distance markets, focusing the interest of the agricultural world on this lovely valley below the Niagara Escarpment. It was here that U.E. Loyalists [United Empire Loyalists] settled, the first family in this immediate vicinity believed to have been that of Asahel Davis, whose land had been transferred to him, September 13, 1806, from Captain Joseph Brant, famous Indian Chieftain.

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