Tour Overview
Explore the history of the natural and built environment of the Moira River in Belleville, Ontario.
Archaeological remains show us that the river flowing through the City of Belleville has been a focus of human activity since the last Ice Age. To the Anishinaabe people, it was the Sagonaska, while Europeans have called it Singleton’s Creek, Meyers’ Creek, and the Moira.
The river has been a focus for industry; for powering grist and lumber mills, and as a mode of transport for the vast quantities of timber felled in its watershed during the 1800s. Its fish and its waters have supported human life, while its ice and floods have threatened it.
This tour was researched by John Lowry and produced by the Hastings County Historical Society and the Community Archives of Belleville and Hastings County. Its aim is to highlight the history of this stretch of river and the buildings that surround it.
Share your photos online with #RiverfrontStroll.
Stops
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Stop 1: Parking at Meyers' Pier
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Stop 2: Meyers' Pier
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Stop 3: The Thurlow Purchase
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Stop 4: Jane Forrester Park
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Stop 5: 16 South Front Street
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Stop 6: Sir Mackenzie Bowell monument
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Stop 7: Wharf Street Debating Club plaque
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Stop 8: 45-47 South Front Street (McIntosh-Ridley house)
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Stop 9: Turn left for a detour to Victoria Park
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Stop 10: Belleville plaque
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Stop 11: Canadian Pacific Railway bridge
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Stop 12: The Parrott Riverfront Trail
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Stop 13: Wilbur C. Purcell Bridge
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Stop 14: United Empire Loyalist monument
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Stop 15: Simpson's Tavern plaque
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Stop 16: Moira River
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Stop 17: 160 Front Street: Bogart-Carman building
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Stop 18: 169 Front Street: Belleville City Hall
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Stop 19: Belleville Bridge
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Stop 20: Quinte Consolidated Courthouse
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Stop 21: Billa Flint house
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Stop 22: J. B. (Ben) Corke footbridge
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Stop 23: 257 Coleman Street: Lanning Headwear
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Stop 24: Christ Church Anglican Church
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Stop 25: Moira Bridge
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Stop 26: Sagonaska Bridge
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Stop 27: Detour to 5 Moira Street: Belleville Chamber of Commerce
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Stop 28: 54 Station Street
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Stop 29: Captain John Walden Meyers plaque
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Stop 30: Lions Park
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Stop 31: Detour to Memorial Park
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Stop 32: Lott Dam
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Stop 33: Canadian National Railway bridge
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Stop 34: College Street bridge
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Stop 35: Riverside Park West
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Stop 36: J. H. McLeod Dam
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Stop 37: Lazier's Dam ruins
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Stop 38: Belleville Kiwanis Skatepark
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Stop 39: Belleville Yardmen Dam
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Stop 40: Rick Meagher Rotary Play Park
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Stop 41: Veterans Memorial Bridge
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Stop 42: Military organizations memorial
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Stop 43: Merchant Navy memorial
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Stop 44: Riverside Park East
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Stop 45: Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre
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Stop 46: Harry Mulhall Dam
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Stop 47: Riverside Park West parking