Lieutenant William Frederick Nelson Sharpe Plaque

In Prescott Ontario the plaque commemorating Lieutenant William Frederick Nelson Sharpe occupies a place on the southwest corner of Water Street West and Edward Street South.

Lieutenant William Frederick Nelson Sharpe 1892 - 1915
A Canadian Military Aviation Pioneer

One of Canada's first military airmen during the Great War (1914 - 1918) was Prescott's native son, William F. N. Sharpe. His pioneering role in our country's earliest attempt to organize an air force has earned him a place in Canada's military history.

William Sharpe was born in Prescott on December 6, 1892, to Frederick and Ida Bell (née Mills) Sharpe. When Sharpe was quite young, he moved with his family to Ottawa where he received his education. Powered human flight became a reality during his childhood and, as a young man, Sharpe received his flight instruction from the Curtiss Flying School in San Diego, California.

Sharpe's name appears on the Prescott Cenotaph.

When Canada, as part of the British Empire, entered the war in Europe on August 4, 1914, Sharpe returned to Canada to offer his services as an airman. As a trained pilot, Sharpe was one of the three personnel appointed to the newly established Canadian Aviation Corps in September 1914, Canada's early attempt at organizing an air force to serve in Europe.

Given the rank of lieutenant, Sharpe was sent to Europe where he received instruction in military aviation. On February 4, 1915, while on a solo flight training exercise with Britain's Royal Flying Corps in Shoreham, England, Lieutenant Sharpe's bipland crashed, killing the young pilot.

With that tragedy, Lieutenant Sharpe became Canada's first military airman casualty of the First World War.

Lieutenant Sharpe's remains were repatriated and on March 22, 1915, he was given a funeral in Prescott with full military honours. The funeral cortege, let by a caisson bearing the glag draped coffin, was the largest ever seen in Prescott. Large crowds of mourners, including his parents and his young widow, Alma Keating (née Tompkins) Sharpe, all gathered to pay their respects to this pioneer aviator who died in service to his country.

Lieutenant Sharpe was laid to rest in Prescott's Sandy Hill Cemetery. Sharpe's courage and sacrifice were recognized with a Memorial Cross, granted since 1919 to grieving mothers and widows as a memento of personal loss. In 1996, Lieutenant Sharpe's grave received a new monument from teh Commonwealth War Graves Commission. In attendance was the 661 Squadron of Prescott's Air Cadets, whihc in 1997 was renamed in honour of Lieutenant William F. N. Sharpe.

Sharpe's name appears on the Memorial Fountain on Henry Street West.

Sesquicentennial Time Capsule, Prescott

In Prescott Ontario, the city's Sesquicentennial Time Capsule occupies a place on the north side of the entry path to Shakespeare's Gardens just west of the Prescott Lighthouse on the south side of Water Street East.

SESQUICENTANNIAL TIME CAPSULE
1984 — 2084
DONATED BY
DON GIBSON, GIBSON FUNERAL HOME
NORMAN TENNYSON, PLANE'S CONCRETE

Capture of Ogdensburg Plaque

To get to the Capture of Ogdensburg plaque in Prescott, Ontario, I had to go to the south end of Sophia Street and then go further south around a building where I found the plaque on the waterfront, where rough water from and extreme wind flooded the waterside walkway.

CAPTURE OF OGDENSBURG 1813
On the morning of February 22, 1813, Lieutenant-Colonel "Red George" Macdonell of the Glengarry Light Infantry set out from Prescott with a force of some 480 regulars and militia to capture the strong United States military post at Ogdensburg. The attack was made in retaliation for the recent American raid on Brockville and was contrary to the orders of the commander-in-chief, Sir George Prevost. Advancing across the ice, Macdonell's force presented an easy target for the enemy artillery, but after a fierce battle of about two hours the American garrison of some 500 men was routed and Ogdensburg fell.
Erected by the Ontario Archaeological and Historic Sites Board

Prescott Lighthouse

The Prescott Lighthouse stands on the south side of Water Street East, east of Edward Street South, in Prescott, Ontario.

THIS LIGHTHOUSE RESTORATION PROJECT
WAS SPONSORED BY
THE ROTARY CLUB OF PRESCOTT
AS A 50TH ANNIVERSARY PROJECT
IN CO-OPERATION WITH THE TOWN OF PRESCOTT
AND THE FAMILY OF THE LATE
G. JUDSON NEWELL
A PAST ROTARIAN
AND
A FRIEND OF THE TOWN OF PRESCOTT
1989

The Lighthouse
Ice Cream & Gifts

Justus Sherwood Plaque

In Prescott, Ontario, South of King Street West, on the waterfront, just east of Merwin Lane, stands the Justus Sherwood Plaque.

JUSTUS SHERWOOD 1747-1798

Born in Connecticut, Sherwood settled in Vermont in 1774. On the outbreak of the American Revolution he was arrested as a Loyalist, but escaped to join the British as Crown Point. He was taken prisoner at Saratoga in 1777, and after being exchanged was commissioned as a captain in the intelligence service. From 1780 to 1783 he had charge of secret negotiations which, it was hoped, would result in Vermont's rejoining the British Empire. Sherwood, who took up land in this township in 1784, played a leading role in its settlement. One of the District's first magistrates, he was also a member of the local land board until his death.

Archaeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario

Major James Morrow Walsh Plaque

In Prescott, Ontario, on the south side of Water Street East at it's easternmost end stands the Major James Morrow Walsh Plaque.

MAJOR JAMES MORROW WALSH 1840-1905
Born and educated in Prescott, Walsh was trained at military schools at Kingston and by 1873 had attained the raind of Major in the militia. In that year he was commissioned in the newly formed North-West Mounted Police. While in charge at Fort Walsh, in present-day Saskatchewan, he became known for his influence and friendship with Sitting Bull, chief of the approximately 5,000 Sioux who sought refuge in Canada 1876-77, and for his role in the negotiations for their return to the United States. Walsh retired in 1883 but fourteen years later, at the height of the Klondike gold rush, he was appointed first Commissioner of the Yukon and Superintendent of the North-West Mounted Police there. in 1898 he retired to his home in Brockville.
Erected by the Archaeological and Historic Sites Board, Archives of Ontario

Great War Memorial Drinking Fountain

In Prescott, Ontario, on the south side of Henry Street East between Edward Street South and Centre Street, in front of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 97, stands a drinking fountain dedicated to the memory of those who gave their lives in the Great War.

IN MEMORY OF
THE MEN OF PRESCOTT
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES
IN THE GREAT WAR
1914 — 1918

LEST WE FORGET

BAKER, ARTHUR E.
BAKER, HOWARD
BLACKLOCK, PHILIP U.
BOVAIRD, CECIL
BURKE, WARD W.
DAVY, JOHN H.
DOYLE, JACOB S.
EWART, HAVEY G.
GLASGOW, IRA H.
HURLBERT, ALBERT
KINGSTON, ROYAL W.
LANE, WILLIAM E.
LINDSAY, ROY

MACDONALD, JOHN A.
MCGREGOR, HAROLD PH.
O'LEARY, CHARLES H.
O'SHEA, GUY C.
PATTERSON, GEORGE
PATTERSON, EDWARD
PETERSON, JAMES
ROBINSON, WILLIAM
SHARPE, WILLIAM F.
SMITH, HARRY J.
TYNER, JOHN R. W.
WARD, STANLEY W.
WHITE, WILFRED L.

"WHOSOEVER LIVETH
AND BELIEVETH IN ME
SHALL NEVER DIE."