Ramsbottom Grant Arms Hotel in Market Place was the home of William and Daniel Grant, 19th century industrialists closely associated with the rise of the town and reputed to be the inspiration for the Cheeryble brothers in "Nicholas Nickleby" by Charles Dickens. The Grants' employees were paid in tokens that had to be redeemed at a public house owned by the company. The landlord converted the tokens into cash, but only after deducting threepence per person, which had to be spent on beer, a variation on the truck system. A network of roads and railways routed through Ramsbottom allowed for a
Dickens in America in 1827. Miriam sees many of the same items Dickens saw. There are about 1,700 pieces of taxidermy. Dickens also visited Old Fort Niagara which was a British Garrison with a rich history. Ron Dale from the National Historic Sites of Canada gives Miriam a tour and explains how the fort helped prevent Canada from falling to the marauding American army thirty years before Dickens visited. Miriam visits the monument to General Isaac Brock who died in 1812 at the Battle of Queenston Heights. The first monument was severely damaged by explosives in 1840. The monument Miriam sees was built