King’s Portage List of Carriers, 1817-1818
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Authors
Adams, Anne
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Abstract
1 handwritten 1 1/2 page list of carriers in the King’s Portage. The three companies listed are: Grant and Kerby, Robert Hamilton and Thomas Dickson.
Description
Portaging of goods at Niagara began as a pre-Revolutionary economic activity. The principal users were the military and fur traders. An 11 mile portage was created. This ran from Queenston, over the Niagara Escarpment, descended at Goat Island and went to Chippawa Creek. Storage and docking had to be created at Queenston, Chippawa and Fort Erie.
The British military took over the financing and creation of major facilities for the portage in 1791. They built wharves, storehouses and guardhouses. The king’s vessels carried government goods to and from the portage. The portage was a profitable business because the number of merchants involved in portaging was restricted.