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Port Talbot was the name of a community located west of Port Stanley, about one hour's drive south from London Ontario, Canada where Talbot Creek flows into Lake Erie. The village was the original commercial nucleus for the settlement which developed on 5,000 acres (20 km²) of land granted to Thomas Talbot in 1800 by the Crown along the northwestern shore of Lake Erie. The settlement was one of the most prosperous of its time in Upper Canada, noted for its good roads, with Talbot keeping out land speculators and securing hard-working settlers. Talbot's authoritarian control of the settlers led to conflicts with the Executive Council of Upper Canada and a reduction in his powers. As a result of invading American forces during the War of 1812, the community was burned in 1814 in a series of raids and was never rebuilt. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1923.〔(Port Talbot ), Directory of Designations of National Historic Significance of Canada〕 ==History== Talbot had served under Lieutenant Governor, John Graves Simcoe, as personal secretary in 1793. On Talbot's behalf, Simcoe requested 2,000 hectares of land along the coastline of Lake Erie for the benefit of creating a settlement. Talbot returned to Canada from England and in 1803, landed at the spot that would become Port Talbot and established the settlement that would be his home for the remainder of his life. Two years earlier, he had attempted to secure a settlement at either Kettle Creek (now Port Stanley) or Catfish Creek but his land grant was detained which prevented his ability to settle in such an area. Upon his arrival in Port Talbot, he is reported to have remarked "Here will I roost and will soon make the forest tremble under the wings of the flock I will invite by my warblings around me!" Before long, he had erected a very functional log house on a hill facing the lake and with a view of the valley of Talbot Creek. At his own expense, he built the first water mill in the settlement at Talbot Creek and had it functioning by 1808. He provided the settlers to his community with seed for wheat, barley, peas and oats. In addition, to the standard grains, the settlers planted Indian corn.〔 Talbot was adept at finding individuals who had skill in infrastructure development. Roads were added to the new settlement by John Bostwick, starting with the Talbot Road in 1804. Bostwick was the son of the Reverend Gideon Bostwick, rector of the Barrington of Massachusetts. John was not a novice to road surveying, having apprenticed under the surveyor who had laid out Aldborough township. Later, John held the offices of high constable and sheriff of the London office and was the son-in-law of Joseph Ryerson.〔 James Witton was contracted to build log houses and Mahlon Burwell constructed a bridge over Talbot Creek. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Port Talbot, Ontario」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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