Johnstown is a community in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville

Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario

The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville are located Ontario, Canada. The population, as of the 2006 census, was 99,206. The United Counties have a land area of . Leeds and Grenville are located in the subregion of Southern Ontario named Eastern Ontario, and front on the St. Lawrence River and...

, in eastern Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, part of the township

Township (Canada)

The term township generally means the district or area associated with a town. However in some systems no town needs to be involved. The specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country, usually to describe a local rural or semi-rural government within the county...

 of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal

Edwardsburgh/Cardinal, Ontario

Edwardsburgh/Cardinal is a township in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville of eastern Ontario. It includes the villages of Cardinal, Johnstown and Spencerville, as well as several smaller communities....

. It is located at the Canadian terminus of the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge

Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge

The Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge, also known as the St. Lawrence Bridge and the Seaway Skyway, is a suspension bridge connecting Ogdensburg, New York in the United States to Johnstown, Ontario in Canada...

 and at the southern terminus of Highway 416 and Highway 16.

History

In 1789, the town site was surveyed, and laid out with a plot of 1 square miles (2.6 km²). The lots were colonized by settlers from Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, and by many Loyalists

Loyalist (American Revolution)

Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...

, including Sir John Johnson. A sawmill and gristmill were constructed. In 1793, Johnstown was made the administrative seat of the Eastern District

Eastern District, Upper Canada

Eastern District was one of four districts of the Province of Quebec created in 1788 in the western reaches of the Montreal District and partitioned in 1791 to create the new colony of Upper Canada. Known as Lunenburg District until 1792, it was abolished in 1849...

, leading to the construction of a courthouse and gaol. The court of quarter sessions (the district's government) alternated it meeting location between Johnstown and Cornwall

Cornwall, Ontario

Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...

.

Between 1792 and 1795, John Graves Simcoe

John Graves Simcoe

John Graves Simcoe was a British army officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791–1796. Then frontier, this was modern-day southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior...

, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, resided in Johnstown. In 1808, the courts were moved to Elizabethtown (now known as Brockville). No longer district seat and having a shallow harbour, Johnstown failed to develop further.

In 2006, it was announced that Canadian ethanol producer GreenField Ethanol had plans to build a new high capacity ethanol production plant in Johnstown's industrial park. Construction commenced in 2007, and operations at the plant began in December of 2008. By early 2009, the plant had reached full production levels. The plant can produce 200 million litres of ethanol per year, making it the largest ethanol plant operated by GreenField.