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Brockville (2001 population 21,375, metropolitan population 44,741) is located in the Thousand Islands region on the St. Lawrence River in eastern Ontario, Canada. It is the County seat for the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. Brockville is opposite the City of Ogdensburg in the State of New York, on the international border between Canada and the United States. It is located about mid-way between Cornwall in the East and Kingston in the West.
Originally settled by United Empire Loyalists in 1785 it was known as Buell's Bay in honour of the founder William Buell. Brockville was renamed in 1812 in honour of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock the national hero of the War of 1812. Brockville was Ontario's first incorporated municipality. The Port of Brockville was connected to the main line of the Grand Trunk Railway by a tunnel constructed beneath the municipality. This was a distinctive feat of engineering acomplished between 1854 and 1860. It is the oldest railway tunnel in Canada, having been inaugurated on December 31, 1860.
Brockville is now home to several industrial manufacturers.
William Buell granted the land for construction of the Courthouse. It is set at the top of a hill rising from the Saint Lawrence River. A broad boulevard extends to the main street. The Brockville Courthouse, one of the oldest in Ontario, was erected in 1842. It had originally been planned to build a courthouse in the township of Johnstown but the land there was too swampy for construction. The Courthouse was built in the township of Elizabethtown.
The figure of Justice, a blind-folded woman holding the scales of justice, was carved by Master Carpenter William Holmes in 1844. This statue was named‘Sally Grant' by Paul Glasford, chair of the building committee, in honour of the woman who posed as the model. It was erected in 1845. The statue was damaged by Hurricane Hazel and by 1956 the statue was rotting. The original statue is on display at the Westport museum. A replica carved by Robert Kerr of Smiths Falls was placed atop the Courthouse in 1982. County Courthouse
