Laura Secord Legacy Trail is a 32-kilometer (20 mile) trail as a monument to

Laura Secord Laura Secord (; 13 September 1775 – 17 October 1868) was a Canadian woman involved in the War of 1812. She is known for having walked out of American-occupied territory in 1813 to warn British forces of an impending American attack. ...

's journey and legacy. It includes the Laura Secord Commemorative Walk that was established in 2013. Secord embarked on a journey in June 1813 during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

from the Secord Homestead in

Queenston Queenston is a compact rural community and unincorporated place north of Niagara Falls in the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered by Highway 405 to the south and the Niagara River to the east; its location at the eponym ...

Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York (state), New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the R ...

to deliver a message on 22 June 1813 to Lt.

James FitzGibbon James FitzGibbon (16 November 1780 – 10 December 1863) was a public servant, prominent freemason of the masonic lodge from 1822 to 1826 (holding the highest position in Upper Canada of deputy provincial grand master), member of the Family ...

at the DeCew House in

Thorold Thorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The Welland Canal passes through the city, featuring lock 7 and the Twin Flight Locks. History The first surv ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Secord's journey

During the

, Laura Secord's husband was wounded, yet she left him and their six children to travel to

to spread the word of an impending attack by Americans. She took the journey on 22 June 1813 through the "war-ravaged countryside" to notify Lieutenant James Fitzgibbon of approaching troops from the United States. As a result, British troops and the

Kahnawake The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory (, in the Mohawk language, ''Kahnawáˀkye'' in Tuscarora) is a First Nations reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawà:ke on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, across from Montreal. Establi ...

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people (Kanien’kehá:ka), an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language (Kanien’kéha), the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a ...

were able to resist the invasion and defeat the Americans during the

Battle of Beaver Dams The Battle of Beaver Dams took place on 24 June 1813, during the War of 1812. A column of troops from the United States Army marched from Fort George and attempted to surprise a British outpost at Beaver Dams, billeting themselves overnight i ...

(24 June 1813).

Trail

The trail, located along the

CanadaWide Great Trail The Trans Canada Trail is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans. The trail extends over ; it is now the longest recreational, multi-use trail network in t ...

, can be hiked in five stages along modern sidewalks, footpaths, bridges, and ancient forested trails of

Indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

. A 20–metre pedestrian bridge was built at Twelve Mile Creek and completed by June 22, 2013, the 200-year anniversary of Secord's journey. Interpretive signs are placed along the trail, which is divided into five stages: # Laura Secord Homestead to Firemen's Park # Firemen's Park to

Niagara College The Niagara College of Applied Arts and Technology (frequently shortened to Niagara College and branded as Niagara College Canada) is a public College of Applied Arts and Technology partnered with the private Toronto School of Management withi ...

# Niagara College to the Rodman Hall Art Centre on St. Paul Crescent in

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

# Rodman Hall to Rotary Park # Rotary Park to DeCew House Caroline McCormick, the three times great granddaughter of Secord, initiated and has been involved in the trail and walk, as well as the Friends of Laura Secord group. She began her efforts in 2010 when she realized that there were no plans to honor Secord in the upcoming bicentennial commemorations of the War of 1812. The trail was reconstructed based upon input from Alun Hughes, a cartographer and historian at

Brock University Brock University is a public university, public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The ...

. Students from the geospatial information systems (GIS) program at Niagara College helped map the trails based upon information of Secord's journey supplied by Hughes. A walk is held every June. The trail overlaps with the Bruce Trail in the eastern part of the trail.

Mural on Welland Canal Trail

Murals along the Welland Canal Trail in Thorold recognize the contributions of Canadians, like Laura Secord. It was created in 2005 by artist Shawn Reimer and volunteers from the community and it is the largest string of murals in the country, totally over 1800 square metres. The mural of Secord depicts her crossing the Twenty Mile Creek, meeting with Native Americans, and informing FitzGibbon of the news. The Welland Trail, a 45 kilometre trail from St Catharines to

Port Colborne Port Colborne is a city in Ontario, Canada that is located on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. The original settlement, known as Gravelly Bay, dates from 1832 and was renamed after ...

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

, parallels the

Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. The canal traverses the Niagara Peninsula between Port Weller, Ontario, Port Weller on Lake Ontario, and Port Colborne on Lak ...

References

External links

Turn-by-turn directions for the Laura Secord Legacy Trail
Friends of Laura Secord Legacy Trail
Laura Secord Legacy Trail map
Friends of Laura Secord Legacy Trail {{Authority control Canadian folklore Canada in the War of 1812 Pre-Confederation Ontario National Historic Sites in Ontario Trans Canada Trail Aftermath of the War of 1812