History
The Humber valley is both old and new. It was carved into the sedimentary rock of an ancient seabed only e few thousand years ago, yet we can see some of the world’s oldest fossils on our walk.
First Nations lived and traded here for thousands of years, but were grievously harmed by the reintroduction of diseases from Europe that had long been extinct here. Colonial and proxy wars, and the impacts of the fur trade, reduced their populations. Eventually, the last Nation to live here, the Mississauga nation, signed a land treaty and moved first to the Credit valley, and then to Brantford.
Settlers slowly moved up the Humber, building mills, quarrying the stone, harvesting the timber, and then creating farms. The impacts of the Dennis and Denison families are still evident.