The Village of Ridgeway

A Tiny Bit of History

   The aboriginal peoples had been here for thousands of years because of the great weather and excellent hunting and fishing. The Great Lakes had always been a natural transportation corridor. Ridgeway the town was first settled by Europeans in the very early 1800's. Many of the houses and commercial buildings from the 1800's still survive intact. The telling of the history of Ridgeway is best left to the professionals. The Historical Museum in Ridgeway (six buildings up from here) can be reached at: www.museum.forterie.ca/WebSite/museumweb.nsf/index.html. They are a very helpful group.

Local Shopping & Services
Our Bed & Breakfast lies in the heart of old Ridgeway, on a commercial strip just over a km. long that stretches from Hazel St. to Connection Dr.
    Many interesting stores and services are only a short stroll away. Parking is no problem, because you're already there! See the five maps at the bottom of the page for a complete list of who's here.
    The other commercial area of Ridgeway is Gorham Rd. (¾ km. west of Ridge Rd.) which includes the only gas station, grocery store, lumber and hardware stores, along with more great dining choices, and many other retail and service businesses.
    Other unique, quaint, weird, yummy or just useful stores and services are scattered around rural Ridgeway including Stevensville (7 km. north on Gorham Rd.) and Crystal Beach (1 km. south on Gorham Rd.). Something new is always opening up around here somewhere.

Leisure, Culture and Sports
The Friendship Trail (part of the Trans-Canada Trail System) is less than 150 m. from our front door. This trail forms the southern portion of the 140 km. Greater Circle Route trail system which loops around the waterfront of eastern Niagara — Lake Erie to the Niagara River to Lake Ontario and back down the Welland Canal to Lake Erie again. You pass through some of the prettiest and most interesting parts of Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, Niagara-On-The-Lake, St Catharines, Thorold, Welland and Port Colborne. All but the Lake Ontario section is 3m. wide, paved and off road. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
    1 km. south of us is the Public Library and a Public Ice Rink and Community Centre.
    Less than 3 km. south of us is the Public Beach (click here for water quality reports) and a public boat launch facility. Fishing charters are available (just ask your hosts). Boat rentals are available in Port Colborne.
Fort Erie is home to 5 golf courses, including Rio Vista, and the surrounding towns within the Region are host to dozens more — of every difficulty and price range.
    The actual old town of Fort Erie is about 15 km. east of here. Among its most interesting attractions are two professional theatre groups. Oddly enough, the Gypsy Theatre has a permanent facility on Central Ave., while the Garrison Little Theatre has moved around from venue to venue, specializing in dinner theatre. The Garrison Little Theatre is currently located in the Italo-Canadian Club behind Tim Buffet Chinese Restaurant, 1101 Dipietro Street, Fort Erie, Ontario.
    As well the town has the AMAZING Mildred M. Mahoney Doll's House Gallery on Phipps St., and the Railroad Museum, Firefighters Museum, Archaeological Museum and Old Fort Erie are all worth a visit.
    For those interested in gambling, we have live horse racing at Fort Erie Racetrack, slots at the OLG Slots, several major Bingo halls and in Niagara Falls (only 25 minutes by car) the two full service casinos.
    In the summer neighbouring towns have professional Motorcycle Racing and professional Stock Car Racing weekly.
At the Port Colborne/Welland border on the old Welland Canal lies the South Niagara Rowing Club — a world class rowing and canoeing facility.

Festivals
Ridgeway has two major festivals: the Ridgeway Summer Festival (the second weekend in July) when Ridge Road is closed to vehicular traffic for two days, and a Dickens Christmas (the first weekend in December). Crystal Beach, Fort Erie and the surrounding towns have so many festivals and events that it's hard to keep up. From antiques and heritage, to car and bike shows, celebrations of our unique farm and agricultural products, food and wine feasts, and music, art and theatre festivals of all kinds.
    The following tourism links will alert you to many of the local festivals and events. Sadly, most won't be listing 2010 events until close to summer. But most of the 2009 events will be repeated, and you can always email the town in question to ask about the future.

Links to other info

The Town of Fort Erie tourism web site is:
http://www.forteriecanada.com/   . Good Luck.

The City of Port Colborne tourism web site is:
http://www.city.portcolborne.on.ca/visitinghere/   . Again, Good Luck.

The City of Buffalo (less than 20 min. away) web site:
http://www.ci.buffalo.ny.us/

The Region of Niagara web site (which includes various tourism links) is:
http://www.regional.niagara.on.ca/home.aspx#

The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority web site is:
http://www.conservation-niagara.on.ca/

The Marshville Heritage Society (in Wainfleet) has a Heritage Village and falltime Heritage Festival that's one of my favourites!
http://www.marshvilleheritage.com/ . Check it out!

These five maps show the business community of downtown historic Ridgeway, stretching from Hazel to Connection, about 1¼ km. in total.
Note The Retreat Bed & Breakfast in the second map.