However, it has been argued by Canadian socialist historian Ian McKay that "[t]he builders of the short-lived colony named Maxwell that Jones planted near Sarnia may well have been the first people in North America to call themselves 'socialists'."

In the 1970s, the Ontario Heritage Foundation erected an historical plaque recognizing the site with the following text: In 1829, Henry Jones of Devon, England, a retired purser in the Royal Navy, brought a group of more than 50 emigrants from the United Kingdom to this area where he established a settlement on a 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) tract of land on Lake Huron.

[sic] Jones named the settlement "Maxwell" and organized the community on the basis of common ownership and collective living.

The settlers built a large log house with community kitchen and dining-room but separate rooms for each family.

Within a few years, however, disappointing harvests and the burning of the log house led the colonists gradually to abandon the enterprise.

Faethorne was interested in race horses, imported trees to beautify his property and took an active part in the militia.

Bands that performed at the dance hall include Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton.