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History
“Our first residents, and those with the longest tenure Ironically, it is they who have left the fewest signs in passing.” The book Time Present and Time Past, A Pictorial History of Pickering, reminds us we must never make the mistake of assuming the story of Pickering begins with the pioneers. Long before the first European families settled here, aboriginal groups made these fertile lands their home. In the dawn of history, following the ice age, the climate warmed and boreal forests gave way to the mixed forests we know today. Early nomadic groups, precursors of Algonquian-speaking tribes such as the Ojibway and Mississauga followed the seasons, foraging in these forests and waterways throughout the region. In time, a mere millennium ago, a new cultural group built the first permanent communities on the shores of the great water they called “onitariio”, ‘beautiful lake’. These people, the Lake Ontario Iroquois, eventually joined together to become the Huron, the Six Nations, and others who share the Iroquoian language group. The Miller Site, a village excavated in the late 1950s, was home to these people c1125. Following the arrival of French and English adventurers in North America, tribes aligned with each nation became involved in wars for the rich fur trade. The Huron were eventually driven from this area and were replaced by the peoples of the Iroquois Confederacy, who were in turn displaced by an alliance of Algonkian people. By the time of the first white settlement in the early 19th century, there were few aboriginal peoples still living on the lands we call Pickering. There were no Indian Wars, as in the settlement of the United States, but rather the native population signed treaties with the incomers and were moved to reservations in a process that many today consider to be a national shame. For further information on the First Nations in this area, visit:
Ironically, rebellion and resistance have been part of the history of North Pickering almost since the arrival of the earliest European settlers. Refugees in large part, many were United Empire Loyalists who had sided with the British in the American Revolutionary War. Others were seeking a new life, free from religious persecution. At the turn of the 19th century these Loyalist, Baptist, Quaker and Mennonite pioneers (the latter settling mostly in Altona) set to work clearing the vast forests and ploughing the fertile fields of North Pickering, living in harmony for the most part, founding their churches and communities, and (in the case of the Loyalist military families) joining the British fight against the Yankees in the War of 1812. 
The Matthews Hotel was built by a relative of Peter Matthews, hanged after the rebellion of 1837. It was still standing on Hwy. 7 at the time of expropriation and although listed as 'must be saved' , was among the first to be demolished. Today there is only a plaque. But their harmony was ripped apart during the Rebellion of 1837 when most of the settlers of North Pickering Township followed the reform leader, William Lyon Mackenzie in armed revolt against the colonial government. The Matthews and the Barclay families in particular joined the fight, with Peter Matthews becoming the leader of the Pickering contingent. The future community of Brougham became known as Radical Corners, and Matthews was hanged for his involvement. The Barclay brothers and many others were arrested. In a move that would echo the expropriations a century and half later, the Matthews family’s land was taken by the Crown in perpetuity, despite the fact that it had been a Loyalist grant and that father and sons had all fought for the British in the War of 1812. The Matthews, with few exceptions, returned to the United States. In the years that followed, the crossroads of Concession Six and the Brock Road – land owned by the Matthews family – was first named Bentley’s Corners in recognition of the prosperous family who settled on the south side of the concession, founding several businesses and eventually building one of the grandest homes in the Township. That home, ironically, now houses the offices of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and is the only structure on the federal lands that has been granted official heritage status and restored to its former glory. 
A skating party in Brougham, circa 1906 As the geographic centre of the Township and because of its location at a major crossroads, the community grew and prospered, eventually changing its name to Brougham. For over a century it was the heart of the Township, had a thriving commercial area, was a centre for sports and culture, and home to the municipal council in the community hall built by the residents in the 1850s. That historic hall is now home to Land Over Landings. Brougham continued to thrive until the dark day in 1972 when residents read in the paper and heard on the evening news that every community and farm and business on 18,600 acres of North Pickering had been expropriated for the proposed Pickering International Airport. The next battle was about to begin. For more information on the early settlement of North Pickering, visit http://www.pada.ca:
"I hope that opposition to this affront against It should be. It can be." Scott Young, 1972 Life continued in North Pickering as in all rural communities until a fateful day in 1972 when, from out of the blue, the New Toronto International Airport Project was announced jointly by the provincial and federal governments. Over 18,600 acres were to be expropriated. Residents were stunned. Reaction was swift. The following is a brief timeline of the years leading up to the announcement and the reaction of an outraged community. 1961 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 
One of the largest actions was a march on Queen's Park with masses in black hooded cowls, carrying coffins that mourned the death of Mother Nature. Busloads came in from Pickering Township. It made front page in the Star. 1972 March 1 – Federal-provincial agreement is signed. Pickering is to be the site. March 2 – The North Pickering Development Project, declaring the expropriation of 18,600 acres for an airport and a further 25,000 acres for a city to the south, known as Cedarwood, is announced jointly by Ottawa and Ontario. The site is described as “ideal”, and presented as the logical choice after elimination from a list of 59 possibilities – neglecting to mention that it was never on the original list. March 3 – Protestors meet at Melody Farm (Ever Green Villa, original home of Eli Barclay). People or Planes is born. March 6 – Pickering Township passes resolution protesting site. 1973 
A dairy farmer makes a silent protest 1974 1975 August 13 – Despite on-going concerns expressed by provincial government the first phase of construction - the demolition of houses - begins. Province protests. Demolition of four houses is stopped, but barbed-wire fences and barricades are erected to keep out protestors. Sept. 15 - POP party at home of Ernie Carruthers, scheduled for demolition. Three women occupy the historic farmhouse as the world watches. On Sept. 24, after hundreds are expropriated and dozens of family homes and heritage structures are demolished, the airport is finally stopped. Mirabel Airport is opened. For further reading on the North Pickering Airport, the expropriations and POP resisitance: Walter Stewart's 'Paper Juggernaut: Big Government Gone Mad'; McClelland and Stewart, 1979.
New Protests - VOCAL & Land Over Landings 1975 on... 1994 2001 2002 
No Pickering Airport 2004 2005 LAND OVER LANDINGS is formed as tenants refuse to leave, choosing to fight eviction. Demolitions begin again. Local councillors object and MP Mark Holland obtains a temporary halt while the community scrambles to protect heritage structures and family homes. On March 12 this moratorium ends and demolitions resume. In October the federal Liberal caucus supports an immediate moratorium on evictions and demolitions until the entire process can be reviewed and the management of the lands taken out of the hands of Public Works. The same month Pickering City Council approves heritage designation of five buildings on the federal lands, including the Brougham Hall and the old Brougham schoolhouse. Tullis Cottage tops the list. Council asks Transport Canada to immediately rescind the order to evict the Barclays and demolish their house. 
The Brougham Uprising in front of the GTAA office in Brougham Land Over Landings stages the Brougham Uprising to prove ‘we’re not dead yet’! 2006 The newly elected Harper Conservative government reneges on Transport Canada’s promise to the Liberals to implement a peer review of the GTAA’s next proposal, instead granting the GTAA the right to review itself. There is public outrage. Meanwhile, in every successive federal, provincial and municipal election the proposed Pickering Airport tops the list of local election issues, with the majority of the public and almost every politician at every level of government now voicing their unequivocal opposition to any airport. Land Over Landings and all concerned citizens now await the next GTAA report supporting the building of an airport on prime farmland in North Pickering, as the world economy crumbles, an international food crisis looms and airlines go bankrupt. And in February, 2006, in a move reminiscent of the “Blunderland’signs in Brougham at the time of expropriation, the Montreal Airport Authority announces Mirabel Airport will be turned into a giant amusement park. 
The Pickering Fusiliers (Bill Lishman & Michael Robertson) return 2007 to present Properties continue to be maintained and for the first time in years, tenants are offered other homes on the lands if houses are deemed too expensive to repair. Sadly, attrition by families moving or growing elderly and passing on has meant that houses continue to be boarded up as no new tenants are allowed to move in. and the population on the lands continues to decline. A new business opens in Brougham in the old hardware store, but closes within months. Another business takes its place and a restaurant opens in the old commercial building next door, as the government continues to allow new tenants in commercial buildings. Pickering Council votes to have the need for an airport on the next municipal ballot. The strangest irony of all concerns the two Bentley Houses, both built in the 1850s by brothers – one a magnificent rural farmhouse, the other the beautiful edifice that graces the corner of Highway Seven and Brock Road. In the autumn of 2009, with no announcement, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority moves out of its office in the magnificent Bentley House in Brougham. But before LOL can fully investigate or indeed celebrate, they are hit with the news that the tenants of the Bentley-Carruthers House have been moved out. The “Last Stand” house occupied by three People or Planes women in 1975, thus bringing the airport to a grinding halt, is to be boarded up after 160 year of continuous occupancy. As we head into 2010 the future of the house continues to be debated by LOL, the municipal and federal governments. For further reading on the North Pickering Development Project and POP, see:
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