Smith Township, Peterborough County, Ontario, is bordered on its east, north and west sides by Chemong, Buckhorn, Deer and Clear Lakes, and the Otonobee River. At its south end is North Monaghan Township. It was originally part of Newcastle District, which was created in 1802. The survey of Smith Township was completed in 1818 by Samuel Wilmot and Richard Birdsall. In the same year, a number of colonists, who had set sail from Cumberland, England, found their way to the region with the intention of forming a settlement. The colonists came to the newly founded Smith Township by the way of Rice Lake and the Otonabee River, as there was no road, only unbroken forest. These hearty pioneers slowly settled the region, overcoming many obstacles and hardships along the way. In 1827, a large saw and grist mill was built by the government on the banks of the Otonabee River. This new mill superceded two smaller mills which had been previously established within the township. In 1832, 100 pounds was granted by the Upper Canada Legislature to improve the communication road, which was the principle road that passed through the township. Both of these improvements, along with steamship transportation on Chemong Lake, connecting Smith Township with Victoria county, in the 1840's, greatly increased the number of settlers into the region. The locations of villages in Smith Township were influenced almost entirely by the lumber trade. Bridgenorth, Young's Point and Lakefield were all saw mill settlements, and although Selwyn didn't have a mill, it was located on the road north to the timber limits and was an important commercial centre for the men in the lumber trade. The 1840 census indicates that the total population of Smith Township was 1,286 and that there were 204 households. By the 1861 census, the population had grown to 3,426.
The Agricultural Society was established January 6, 1855 in Smith Township, Peterborough County, Canada West, by a group of farmers from the township. One of the aims of the society was to buy in bulk, seeds and other essentials and make these items available to members whose fees were paid. Later, in the 1860's, Harvey, North Douro, and North Monaghan Townships were invited to join the society. At this point it became known as the Smith, Harvey, North Douro and North Monaghan Branch Agricultural Society. In the 1870's the name changed to the Smith, Ennismore and Lakefield Agricultural Society. The Society held yearly agricultural fairs and ploughing matches.
Smith-Ennismore Historical Society was formed in 1983 and incorporated in 1985. The Society actively publishes historical works on the local area and provides research assistance to genealogists and school children.
The Society of Camp Directors was founded May 21, 1969, after a long gestation period, from about 1957, when the subject was first broached in the Ontario Camping Association. Members of the OCA who were camp directors were instrumental in the formation of the new society.
St. Andrew's Church, originally a Presbyterian Congregation, was formally organized in Peterborough in 1833 by Reverend J. Morrice Roger of the Established Church of Scotland. The first place of worship was a rented building located on the north side of King Street, west of Aylmer Street. On May 30, 1835, St. Andrew's Church received a Crown grant which included the land on which the church now stands. In 1836, the first church building was built, made entirely of stone quarried from property owned by the church. By 1884, it was decided by the congregation that a new church building was necessary. The cornerstone was laid June 29, 1885, and on May 2, 1886, the new St. Andrew's Church was formally opened and dedicated. In 1924, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church became St. Andrew's United Church.
St. Anne's Parish was established in 1956 at 859 Barnardo Avenue in Peterborough, Ontario. The Parish had the St. Anne's Catholic Women's League, sports activities such as hockey and softball leagues and the St. Anne's Boy Scout Association. They organized fun fairs and picnics. St. Anne's School was nearby for the parishioners to use.
In 1827 the first Anglican church service was held in Peterborough by Reverend Samuel Armour. It took place in a log Schoolhouse located where Central Public School now stands. In 1835, the first Protestant Church in Peterborough began construction with the assistance of a Crown grant. In 1853, buttresses and pillars were added to the exterior and in 1876 a parish hall was added. In 1911, the congregation presented the church with a set of bells for the bell tower. In 1957 the building was remodeled and renovated, and a new chapel was added. (Taken from: "Peterborough :Land of Shining Water." Peterborough: Published by the City and County of Peterborough, 1967.)
St. Regis mission was established by the Jesuits for the Iroquois in 1755 in the lower St. Lawrence Valley, Quebec. Today, St. Regis is a reserve mission of Valleyfield parish, located on the St. Regis Reserve, Valleyfield, Quebec.
The Church Missionary Society of the Church of England placed Reverend John Horden, the first Anglican priest in the region, at Moose Factory, formerly of the Diocese of Prince Rupert, on August 26, 1851. Over twenty years later, on December 15, 1872, he was consecrated the first Bishop of Moosonee. At this time Moose Factory became the episcopal seat of an immense diocese which covered a band of territory, two to three hundred miles wide, surrounding the the eastern, southern and western shores of Hudson Bay. St. Thomas Church was already in existence when Rev. Horden arrived in Moose Factory. The original church was built by Reverend George Barnley, of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, and it was replaced by a larger building in 1860, which was built by workmen of the Hudson's Bay Company. St. Thomas Anglican Church was the Pro-Cathedral of the Diocese of Moosonee from 1872 to 1903.
The Lintonia and the Empress were both steamships that plied the Trent-Severn waterway between Lakefield and Young's Point. The Lintonia was wrecked at Sturgeon Point. The Empress was captained by W.H. (Billy) Reynolds. (Taken from: 77-1013.)
Over a 25-year period beginning in 1985, politicians, bureaucrats and experts worked together to establish a municipal waste landfill site on a section of farmland in the County of North Simcoe, Ontario. The proposed 50-acre site, located in Tiny Township approximately 40 kilometres northwest of Barrie, was met with wide opposition and a campaign known as “Stop Dump Site 41” was launched. Area resident Stephen Ogden, recognized as the leader of the campaign, represented the group opposing the location and attended approximately 180 environmental assessment hearings pertaining to the proposed site. The campaign reached a successful conclusion in 2010.
A few years precipitating the search for the new site, a private site known as the Pauze Dump, located in Tiny Township, was identified as a source of drinking water contamination in the area, the cause being associated with legal and illegal dumping of industrial waste. Six communities in the County of North Simcoe subsequently came together to form the North Simcoe Waste Management Association (NSWMA), with a goal of finding a new waste landfill site.
The efforts of the NSWMA resulted in the selection of the location known as Site 41 in the southern part of Tiny Township. In 1989, an application for this site was rejected after 69 days of hearings by the Environmental Assessment Board. The NSWMA challenged the decision through the Lieutenant Governor in Council; an “Order in Council” was subsequently issued, allowing the proponent an opportunity to produce more evidence. In 1996, the Joint Board, after 110 days of additional hearings, approved the site. One of the approval conditions was that a Community Monitoring Committee (CMC) was to be created to oversee the development and operation of the site. The design and operational plans were approved by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) and a Certificate of Approval spelling out the rules of operation was issued. The County of Simcoe took over the responsibility for waste management for the entire County and this resulted in the elimination of the NSWMA. Through the actions of the CMC, the County and the MOE were obligated to respond to all concerns raised by citizens of the County.
On 31 October 2007, the County announced plans to open the new landfill site in 2009. Community resistance continued to build. First Nations opposed the site, along with many others including Maude Barlow, internationally known as an advocate of human right to water and also then national Chair of the Council of Canadians. First Nations, farmers, cottagers, and other citizens held protests opposite the proposed site and through a march to Queen’s Park and confrontations with police led to charges and arrests.
Under the weight of public pressure, the County of Simcoe passed a one-year moratorium in August 2009. A month later, the plan to build Site 41 was voted down by Simcoe County Council. In May 2010, the County asked the MOE to revoke the MOE Certificate of Approval and this request was granted. The County took action to ensure that the area known as Site 41 is never to be developed as a landfill or to have any associated use. The lands are now in private ownership and once again are being farmed.
The American Canoe Association was founded in 1880 in the United States and spread rapidly throughout North America. During the third year of its organization the American Canoe Club held its annual meeting and regatta at Juniper Point on Stoney Lake north of Peterborough.
The Stratford Festival is an internationally-acclaimed drama festival. It opened in July 1953 in a tent theatre beside the Avon River in Stratford, Ontario. Currently the Festival has three stages, and over 100 actors in its acting corps. Stratford Festival has gained a reputation as the leading classical theatre in North America.
The Community of Temagami (formerly Timagami) in the geographic township of Strathy is located at the tip of the Northeast Arm of Lake Temagami about 60 miles north of North Bay. Prior to the arrival of the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway (now Ontario Northland) the area was primarily an Indian settlement. Its inhabitants were trading at one of the Hudson's Bay Company's outposts, first situated on the south shore of Temagami Island, and moved in the 1870s to Bear Island. By the mid 1900s Temagami had become the centre of a popular tourist region with daily boat and seaplane service in the summer months to remote resorts on the lake. About that time copper was discovered on some of the lake's islands and by the late 1960s a large iron mining complex was taking shape a few miles to the north of Temagami. Today, Temagami is best known as a site of protest against the forestry industry. (Taken partially from: Mika, Nick and Helma. Places in Ontario. Belleville: Mika Publishing Company,1983.)
The Canadian Canoe Museum is a unique national heritage centre that explores the canoe’s enduring significance to the peoples of Canada, through an exceptional collection of canoes, kayaks and paddled watercraft. We’re an engaging, family-friendly museum with more than 100 canoes and kayaks on display. Visitors will enjoy interactive, hands-on galleries, a scavenger hunt, model canoe building and puppet theatre for children. Through inclusive, memorable and engaging exhibits and programs we share the art, culture, heritage and spirit of paddled watercraft with our communities.
Founded on a collection of the late Professor Kirk Wipper, and established in Peterborough, Ontario, in 1997, the museum’s holdings now number more than 600 canoes, kayaks and paddled watercraft. Together they span the country from coast to coast to coast and represent many of the major watercraft traditions of Canada.
The museum’s artifacts range from the great dugouts of the First Nations of the Pacific Northwest to the singular bark canoes of the Beothuk of Newfoundland; from the skin-on-frame kayaks of northern peoples from Baffin Island in the east to the Mackenzie River Delta in the northwest to the all-wood and canvas-covered craft manufactured by companies with names like Herald, Peterborough, Chestnut, Lakefield and Canadian. Over the years paddled watercraft from as far away as Paraguay and the Amazon have helped the Museum expand its reach and scope to include International examples.
The Peterborough Despatch (1845-1856) was published by George Haslehurst and had its offices at Hunter and Chambers Streets.
The Peterborough Ecology Strategy is a community-initiated project to identify and describe green space and natural areas in and around the City of Peterborough, Ontario, with the aim of developing strategies and policies for their protection (taken from the Report). The idea for doing an inventory of the City's green space was initiated by Professor John Marsh, Trent University. Over time the Peterborough Field Naturalists became involved, and later the Planning Division and the Parks and Forestry Division of the City of Peterborough. The draft interim report was submitted by project coordinator Jean Greig to the Ecology Strategy Steering Committee in 1991.
The Peterborough Examiner was established 1856 by Augustus Sawers as Peterborough's reform paper, taking over from the Despatch. Robert Graham and James Renfrew bought the paper in 1859 and in 1864 James Stratton bought it. From 1877 to 1914 James Stratton's son ran the paper. The Peterborough Examiner is still running in 2022.
The Peterborough Review was established in 1853 by Robert Romaine and his brothers-in-law, Thomas and Richard White. They owned the Review from 1856 to 1864. They bought the Despatch's files and equipment in 1856. The Review was sold to E.J. Toker and John Carnegie in 1878. The Review stopped publishing in 1921.
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada became a unit of the Active Militia of Canada by a General Order issued on April 26, 1860. They are allied with the Buffs, an East Kent Regiment in England. Active service for the Queen's Own Rifles commenced on Christmas Eve in 1864. Two companies were ordered to the Frontier (now the Canadian/United States border) in consequence of St. Alban's raid. In 1866 the Regiment received its baptism of fire at the Battle of Ridgeway. It also fought in the Red River Rebellion in 1870 and the Second Northwest Rebellion in 1885.On October 25, 1899 the Toronto quota of the first Canadian Contingent to the Boer War was despatched to the Front. In that group of men were a number of the Queen's Own Rifles. During World War I, 205 officers and 8 104 other ranks were sent from the Queen's Own Rifles before the enforcement of the Military Service Act. On February 3, 1923 the Queen's Own Association was established out of the Queen's Own Rifles Ex-Members Association which had been formed October 10, 1916 to assist, in the form of food and clothing, the men who were prisoners of war in Germany. It was also formed to consolidate and foster a strong sentiment of fraternity and good-will among the ex-members of the Regiment. At the 1923 meeting of the Association it was decided to allow members of the entire regiment to participate and not just ex-members. The objective of the new association was to bring together all men who had been, at one time or another, connected with the Regiment.
The Tillicum Crews operated in the 1920s. They were part of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) organized camps and only members of the YMCA could participate. The director of the Tillicum Crews was G.A. Anderson of Might Directories, a man knowledgable on the Temagami region. The Tillicum Crews were named Tillicum which came from the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush.
The Toronto Daily News claimed to be "the most readable and spicy newspaper published in Canada." (Taken from The Night Hawks of a Great City. Toronto: Edmund E. Sheppard, 1885. Introduction). The family newspaper was published daily and had a large national audience.
The Toronto Trade Assembly was a labour organization established in Toronto, Ontario, in 1871. In February 1871 the Coopers International Union No. 3 appointed a committee of three men: Mr. John Hewitt, Mr. E.S. Gooch, and Mr. James Judge to confer with the various organized Societies of Workingmen of the City of Toronto for the purpose of discussing the question of forming a Central Body to be known as the Toronto Trades Assembly. On March 27, 1871 a meeting of delegates from several unions of the City of Toronto took place. The unions involved in the initial meeting included Lodges no's. 159, 315 and 356 of the Knights of St. Crispen, the Bakers' Union, the Cigar Makers' Union, the Iron Moulders' Union, the Coopers' Union, and the Typographers' Union. On April 12, 1871, it was unanimously carried by all of the union representatives that the Toronto Trades Assembly be formed. It was also decided that non-union shops be allowed to join the Assembly. By 1872, 27 unions had joined the Assembly representing the following trades: wood working, building, carriage making, and metal making, as well as several miscellaneous trades. The Toronto Trades Assembly was active in speaking on behalf of the working people of the community, encouraging union organization, acting as a watchdog on working conditions, and occasionally mediating disputes between employers and employees. No record of the Toronto Trades Assembly exists after 1878. Three years later a successor organization, the Toronto Trades and Labour Council, was formed in July, 1881 to carry on the work begun by the Assembly. This new organization was also instrumental in setting up the Canadian Labour Congress in 1883. The present Toronto and District Labour Council is a direct descendant of the Toronto Trades Assembly.
The Tourism Development Through Recreation Events was a project which commenced from July 1981 and ended April 1982. The project aimed at determining the tourist potential of recreational events in both the City and County of Peterborough.The idea for the project was developed during the 1980 Ontario Summer Games. The impact of the Games, within the region, and across the province, was quite considerable in terms of drawing attention to the importance of recreational activities for the local tourism industry. The general objectives of the program were: 1) To provide an opportunity to consider the impact that recreational events of a regional nature have on the local tourist industry; 2) To become more deliberate in the planning of recreational events that are of tourist appeal; 3) To determine the number, type and scale of recreation-tourist events; 4) To provide resource material for organizations interested in giving this tourism component more serious consideration; and 5) To increase the tourist potential of many existing events through this project. As a result of the project, a twelve month planning calendar was created which outlined upcoming events. Also a series of recommendations were brought forth concerning the creation of a new Peterborough Kawartha Tourism Convention, the yearly production of the planning calendar, that a clearing house of local tourist accommodations be created, and that the new Bureau conduct regular meetings to keep local organizers of tourist and recreational events up to date and organized.