2025 The Wilderness / The Niagara Foundation

Welcome to The Wilderness. You're in a place where Indigenous, military, political, and horticultural history come alive. This site also retains elements of pre-history: first-growth Carolinian woods—a unique ecosystem on the edge of an oak savannah known as The Commons. Lieutenant Robert Pilkington-one of four crown grantees—eventually obtains all five acres in 1796. Exchanging with Pilkington for 10,000 acres on the Grand River, Chiefs of the Six Nations gift the four contiguous lots to Ann Johnson Claus in 1799 for "kindness shown to them" by the Sir William Johnson family. Circa 1900, the name "The Wilderness" appeared, reflecting the serene, natural backdrop.