Ontario, Oregon
Ontario was founded on June 11, 1883, by developers William Morfitt, Mary Richardson, Daniel Smith, and James Virtue. In March 1884, Richard Welch started a post office for the quarter of Ontario, so named by James Virtue after Ontario, Canada. Two months later Joseph Morton applied for a Morton post office at an island about one mile south of town, with Oscar Scott as postmaster. Unfortunately for Morton and Scott, merchants Morfitt and Richardson of Malheur City, gold miner Virtue, and lumberman Smith of Baker City acquired more land and were better financed. More importantly, Morfitt had negotiated a train depot for Ontario. All the settlers and speculators knew the railroad was coming and how important that would be to Ontario's future so Scott closed his Morton post office and built a hotel at present-day Ontario. By December, Scott was Ontario's postmaster.
Coat of arms of Ontario
In celebration of the bicentennial of the first meeting of the legislature of Upper Canada at Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) on September 17, 1792, a petition was made by the then-Speaker, David Warner, to the Chief Herald of Canada for the granting of a unique coat of arms which would emphasize the distinctive character of the Legislative Assembly and to distinguish the Assembly's identity from the Government. Up to that point, the Assembly had used the coat of arms of the Government of Ontario. The petition was granted and the new coat of arms was presented by then Governor-General Ramon Hnatyshyn at a ceremony in the Legislative Chamber on April 26, 1993. The Legislative Assembly of Ontario is the first legislature in Canada to have a coat of arms separate from the provincial coat of arms.