[Plan of the Village of Inverness in Burlington, Ontario]

Description

Sheet 1 of 2, south sheet. This plan does not include a scale, title, date, author or directional arrow. It is a copy (with less detail) of the "Plan of the Village of Inverness" by Thomas Allen Blyth, P.L.S. as prepared for Andrew Mackenzie Chisholm. The map depicts an area near the former community of Aldershot; the south east corner of the former Township of East Flamborough [present day Burlington, Ontario]. Subsequent historical maps of the area show a different configuration of streets and lots, indicating that Chisholm's plan was never built and the "Village of Inverness" never materialized. The map includes the following roads: "Hamilton and Nelson Gravel Road" [now Plains Road]; "Argyle St" [now King Road]; "Ontario St" [now approximately Francis Road]; and "Albert", "Nelson", and "Mary" streets [now all non-existent]. Most of the land shown in the map is now used for commercial or industrial purposes. The "Burial Ground" drawn in the southeastern corner of the plan is a loyalist cemetery still in place today and known as the Job's Lane Cemetery or the Union Burying Grounds. It was established in 1848 by a number of loyalist families who were members of the Methodist Union. The railway spanning the southern portion of the map is another feature that is still located in place today. Remnants of the land owner, A.M. Chisholm, remained in the creation of Inverness Avenue (approximately following the outline of "Mary Street") and the survival of the historic "Inverness" House (found at King and Plains Roads). The house was built by Andrew's father George Chisholm in 1832 and was eventually demolished in 1987. The archives of the Burlington Historical Society indicate that Andrew had the family property surveyed and auctioned off as the "Plan of the Village of Inverness" in 1856. By 1875, Lot 1 and Lot 2 of Concession 1 were owned by the Easterbrooks, who held the land until it was sold in the 1980’s. Chisholm himself moved to Elizabeth Street in Wellington Square and had a new home built in that same year.