Murphy Orchards Peace Garden

— Dedicated June 1, 2012 —

War of 1812 Battles Were Fought Upon the Land of This Farm Arriving in 1807, James McClew was among the first handful of non-Native American settlers to come to this area. Only a few pioneers had settled in what is now the Town of Newfane before 1812. All clustered around Hopkins Creek, which flows through the land of this farm, Eighteen-Mile Creek, the easterly boundary of the property, or the Lake Ontario shoreline near the mouths of these two creeks. During the War of 1812, British ships are known to have anchored at the mouth of Eighteen-Mile Creek to enable soldiers to row up the Creek in small boats to seek out and attack pioneer settlers. The local settlers lived in terror of the marauding groups of British soldiers from Canada and accompanying Naive American, who would "march upon them to burn, murder and devastate. The inhabitants took from their houses and little barns everything they could spare, storing them in shelters they built in the thickets out of sight, leaving them there for weeks and months," Souvenir history of Niagara County, New York, Niagara County Pioneer Association, 1902. Archeological evidence indicates that portions of the stone foundation of our barn are much older than the wooden superstructure that you see today, which was built in 1850, indicating that an older barn once existed on the site. It may well be that the concealed room beneath our barn was originally built by the McClew family as just such a secret hiding place for their provisions and for themselves, before it was later put into use to hide people trying to escape from slavery in the United States and seeking freedom - and peace - in Canada. Peaceful Reward for Fruitful Labors There is no peace or satisfaction more profound than that of a man of the soil overlooking the results of a day well spent in hard, productive labor conducted in harmony with the living earth. Four generations of the McClew family farmed this land, contemplated the beauty and intricacy of life, and celebrated the joy and dignity of hard physical work. In their endeavors, they weighed choices, and learned to treat their fellow men as they treated their land and plants - with understanding, moral conviction and social responsibility. Building A Binational Legacy: A Permanent Trail Linking Canadian & U.S. Heritage, Architecture & Garden Sites & Events.

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McClew Farm
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