The original site was a Neutral Nation village known as Onghiara. In 1781 the British government established Butlersburg which later became known as West Niagara. Many of the first inhabitants were Loyalists who fled the United States during and immediately after the American Revolution.
In 1792 the village was incorporated as the Town of Newark and was named the capital of the Province of Upper Canada. The town lost that distinction to York (now Toronto) in 1797, as Newark's proximity to the United States presented a danger. The town was renamed Niagara in 1798. During the War of 1812, American forces captured and later destroyed the town before they withdrew. The British rebuilt, however, and today it has retained much of its historical charm. The present name was adopted around 1880 as a Postal Address to distinguish the town from Niagara Falls. The name was not officially adopted until 1970, when an act of Parliament joined the Town of Niagara, and the Township of Niagara as one.
Niagara-on-the-Lake (2001 population 13,839) is a Canadian town located near where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region of southern Ontario. It is located across the Niagara river from Youngstown, New York.
