Wednesday 30 April 2025--My intent for my two days here was to spend one day in town, and the other out in the countryside. I never really settled on an itinerary for a driving tour. The Niagara region is lousy with wineries, but I'm not a wine person. There are other things...historic sites, the Welland Canal. I hear there's a scenic waterfall up the road. With a long drive ahead of me tomorrow, I don't feel like taking the car out. There is still plenty to see around town, especially since I didn't get around to much yesterday.

A short way upriver from Queens View Park, I find a marina, which once was Niagara-on-the-Lake's busy port. Front and rear range lights guided vessels safely into the mouth of the river; a captain would line up the two lights to assure that his line in was free of hazards. Nearby are the remains of a rail terminal--a ring of stone marking the location of a roundhouse, and a bit of track where the pit in a maintenance shed stood. The line was built in 1854 to portage freight between the port and Chippawa, above the Falls. Later it was extended to Port Erie, and then to Buffalo. Passenger service linked with a steamer from Toronto, across the lake. I've seen it suggested that Toronto was such a dull town in those days that folk would go to Buffalo for a bit of fun. That's pretty difficult to imagine. I suppose the real attraction was the Falls, drawing traffic from either end of the line.

Niagara River Range Rear Light. A captain or pilot guiding a vessel into a harbor at night would line up the front and rear lights to assure a safe approach.

The Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum provides insights on local history.