Prescott is a town on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in the province of Ontario, Canada. The town is a part of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. In 2021, it had a population of 4,078. The Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge, east of Prescott at Johnstown, crosses the Canada–United States border and connects the town with the city of Ogdensburg, New York.
Prescott was founded in the early 19th century by Edward Jessup, a Loyalist soldier during the American Revolution, who named the village after a former Governor-in-Chief, Robert Prescott. Before 1834, the town was a part of Augusta township; however, in that year, the town became a police village and severed its ties with Augusta. The land here was ideal for settlement during the 18th and 19th centuries as it was situated between Montreal and Kingston along the St. Lawrence River at the head of the rapids.
History
French period
thumb|left|1760 French map depicting Fort de Levis near Prescott, Ontario
Before the arrival of Europeans to the Grenville County area, it was inhabited by the St. Lawrence Iroquois. The French began occupation of the area in the late 17th century, starting with a supply depot and fortified outpost named La Galette en route to Fort Frontenac (Kingston), which was built in the 1670s. Some sources place La Galette at Prescott, while others place it at neighbouring Johnstown. though they soon abandoned it in favour of the older Fort de La Présentation, which they renamed Fort Oswegatchie. In 1796, provisions of the Jay Treaty led to a British evacuation from Fort Oswegatchie, as the land had legally become a part of the United States. Within months, this area was soon occupied by American settlers, who named it Ogdensburgh (later Ogdensburg) after Samuel Ogden, a prominent landowner and speculator.
Fort Wellington
In 1810, Jessup and his son laid out a townsite within Augusta Township near Johnstown, which they named Prescott in honour of General Robert Prescott, who had been governor-in-chief in The Canadas and had participated in British campaigns in the area, being the aide-de-camp tasked with delivering the news of the fall of Fort Lévis fifty years earlier. Jessup began to take the first steps toward building a concentrated settlement by constructing a log schoolhouse along with a teacher's residence, which was built from stone.
Industry
RCA operated a television assembly plant in Prescott, established in 1953 for the Canadian market. It was closed in March 1997.
Transport
Prescott's harbour developed considerably in the early 19th century, supporting the growing Great Lakes shipping industry. It became notable for its freight forwarding businesses, as local forwarders shuttled Great Lakes freight between Prescott and Montreal. This was commemorated at the Forwarders' Museum, which was housed in a building originally constructed in the 1820s by local forwarder William Gilkinson.
By the mid-19th century, however, the forwarding industry began to decline. Navigability of the Saint Lawrence had improved, allowing more Great Lakes ships to reach Montreal directly. Soon, Upper Canada experienced a railway boom, which provided competition for the maritime shipping industry. This was followed by the construction of the Grand Trunk Railway mainline between Toronto and Montreal, which connected to the Bytown and Prescott Railway at Prescott Junction. With parallel railway development occurring across the river in Ogdensburg, railway car ferry services began between the two towns, which later evolved into the Canadian Pacific Car and Passenger Transfer Company. When the investigation concluded, the total victim count was 275 (including 113 adults who disclosed that they were abused as children), and the total perpetrator count was 119. The case was sensationalized as an example of Satanic ritual abuse, though it was never linked to a satanic cult, but rather, "a group of adults of limited intelligence who lived on the margins of society."
Demographics
thumb|right|King Street, Prescott
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Prescott had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
| 1921 |2636
| 1931 |2984
| 1941 |3223
| 1951 |3518
| 1956 |4920
| 1961 |5366
| 1966 |5176
| 1971 |5165
| 1976 |4975
| 1981 |4670
| 1986 |4583
| 1991 |4512
|1996|4480
|2001|4228
|2006|4180
|2011|4284
|2016|4222
|2021|4078
Mother tongue (2021): The offerings of the Festival are based on two mainstage shows that run from mid-July to mid-August (often, but not always, both plays by Shakespeare) as well as additional productions that are presented in shorter runs of fewer performances.
Cemeteries
Prescott contains two cemeteries, Prescott Cemetery (known as Sandy Hill) and St. Mark's Roman Catholic Cemetery. Prescott Cemetery is located along Edward Street across from South Grenville District High School and is one of the oldest burying grounds in the area. The land for this cemetery was given to the town in 1830, in Edward Jessup III's will, which stated the area then known as Sand Hill was to become a “burial ground for the different churches in the town of Prescott.”.
St. Andrew's Presbyterian church is located on the corner of Centre and Dibble Street in Prescott. The first St. Andrew's Presbyterian, located on the same site as the current church, was constructed in 1821 and dedicated in 1822. The first church was a frame structure built on land donated by Susannah Jessup. This church was replaced in 1850 by a stone church, which burned in 1892. The present building that replaced it was constructed in 1893. Prior to this church, the Presbyterian congregation met in the schoolhouse at the corner of West and King Street. St. Andrew's is still in use today.
thumb|View of the original St. Paul's Church Prescott in 1890
St. John's Anglican Church in Prescott is located at the corner of James and Centre Street. The original St. John's Church on this site was a frame building constructed in 1821. The land for the church was donated by Susannah Jessup. The present church, which is still in use, was constructed in 1860 in a Gothic style to replace the original frame building. Some parts of the building are currently being renovated into apartments. Sometime after the fire, a new St. Paul's United Church was built to serve the congregation; this school is still used today.
thumb|right|Prescott waterfront and marina
Notable people
- Leo Boivin, ice hockey player and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame
- Jean Casselman Wadds, politician
- James Morrow Walsh, North-West Mounted Police officer
- Ben Hutton, ice hockey player
- Thomas Pope, mayor of Quebec City 1861–1863
- Alaine Chartrand, figure skater
- Sir Richard William Scott, politician and cabinet minister
- Bruce Hutchison, author and journalist
- Edward Jessup III, politician
- Hamilton Dibble Jessup, doctor and politician
- Earl Roche, professional hockey player
- John Philip Wiser, Canadian distiller