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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.)

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 Royal Commission on the Northern Environment (Ontario) was established 13 July 1977 by an Order-in-Council of the Ontario Cabinet. The Commission was established pursuant to The Public Inquiries Act of 1971 and furthering the purpose of The Environmental Assessment Act of 1975 which dealt with the betterment of the people, of the whole or any part of Ontario, by providing for the protection, conservation and wise management in Ontario of the environment. It was created to inquire into any beneficial and adverse effects on the environment for the people of Ontario of any public or private enterprise north of the 50th parallel of north latitude relating to harvesting, supply and use of timber resources, mining, milling, smelting, oil and gas extraction, hydro-electric development, nuclear power development, water use, tourism and recreation, transportation, communications or pipelines. The Commission also inquired into methods that should be used in the future to assess, evaluate and make decisions concerning the effects on the environment of major enterprises and to report and make recommendations to the Minister of the Environment from time to time and to carry out the purpose of the Environmental Assessment Act of 1975. The Commission gathered information by holding informal meetings in communities such as Timmins, Geraldton, Nakina, Moosonee, Moose Factory, Sioux Lookout, Dryden, Red Lake, Ear Falls, Pickle Lake, Osnaburgh, Sandy Lake, Kenora, Whitedog and Toronto. The purpose of these meetings was to gather information about the north, its people, its communities and resources by means of submissions from government departments, northern communities, northern residents and a wide range of organizations and enterprises with experience and knowledge of the north of Ontario. The Commission also heard submissions relating to issues that it needed to address, the roles it should play and the manner in which its inquiries were to be conducted. Submissions ranged from women and health services to trappers and methanol production. There were community and native people historical surveys as well as community and business officials' responses to reports published by the Commission.

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.

The Strickland family originated in England at Light Hall, Colton-in-Furness as yeoman farmers and their ancestry can be traced back to the fourteenth century. They were tenants of the Abbey of Furness until the dissolution of the monasteries during the lifetime of Henry VIII. At this time they became landowners and later started to move out of the area to London and other environs. Samuel Strickland (1804-1867) was the first of the Stricklands to come to Canada in 1825. He first spent time in Newcastle District and then later cleared some property for a farm in Otonabee Township. He later sold his farm and purchased land in Douro and there he began clearing land at the present site of Lakefield. His sisters, Catharine Parr (Traill) and Susanna (Moodie) eventually followed him to Canada and settled near him.

Robert Romaine, along with two brother-in-laws, established the Peterborough Review in 1853 in Peterborough, Ontario. Romaine was editor and publisher at the "Review" until 1864. In 1853 he also wrote a paper on the subject of ploughing and pulverizing by steam power, and in 1868 became the first librarian of the Peterborough Mechanics Institute, the forerunner to the Peterborough Public Library. In 1870, he headed, along with others, a gas company which introduced the first gas street lights to the city. In 1877 he was a member of a committee which was appointed to look at possibilities for a waterworks system for the city 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 Peterborough Chamber of Commerce was originally designated as the Peterborough Board of Trade which was established in 1889. This designation was changed by order-in-council to the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce on April 26, 1922.

The Peterborough Museum and Archives (formally known as the Peterborough Centennial Museum) originated from the need in the city for a new museum. The Peterborough District Historical and Art Museum Foundation was established in 1961 to fund and establish a new museum and safeguard remnants of the Victoria Museum collection. Originally Victoria Museum grew out of the Peterborough Historical Society's efforts to preserve the past. The museum had a number of cases of birds and animals, Indigenous curios, old documents, antique firearms, an old canoe and displays of minerals. T.A.S. Hay became the first curator when the Victoria Museum moved from Inverlea Park to the top floor of the new library building on April 23, 1912. G.H. Clarke became the next curator as Hay died in 1917 and at the same time the Library Board took over stewardship of the museum. By the 1950's much of the museum's collection had been dispersed to other sources in the Peterborough area. The Historical Society re-established itself and the museum became renewed with display cases on the upper floor and in the basement of the library. On November 19, 1966 the Historical Society transferred ownership of the Victoria Museum collection to the Peterborough District Historical and Art Museum Foundation since the society was not incorporated. Eventually the artifacts which were part of the Victoria Museum's collections and later under library stewardship came to be housed in the Peterborough Museum and Archives. On October 28, 1967 the Peterborough Museum and Archives was officially opened on Armour Hill and the collections of the Victoria Museum became a part of the Peterborough Museum's collections. (Taken from: Doherty, Ken "Preserving Peterborough's Past: 150 Years of Museums and History." Occasional Paper 16. Peterborough Historical Society, November 1995.)

This item is a by-law of the City of Peterborough replacing previous by-laws in order to conform to provincial requirements.

The Peterborough Board of Trade was formally established March 21, 1889 in accordance with the Boards of Trade Act Sec. 2 a c, Chapter 130, R. S. C. 1886 to oversee all business transactions taking place in the town of Peterborough. This designation was changed by order-in-council to Peterborough Chamber of Commerce on April 26, 1922.

The Steering Committee on Bikeways was approved by Peterborough City Council in April 1975. The Peterborough Bikeway Report, published in February 1975, summarizes the interest in and potential of developed bicycle paths around Peterborough. The City Council undertook to subsidize the planning and implementation of routes in the city.

The land which is now Peterborough County was originally part of Newcastle District before 1841, and the Colbourne District until 1850, the year when districts were replaced by counties in Upper Canada. At this time the United Counties of Peterborough and Victoria was created. In 1861, Victoria County was given independence from Peterborough. Peterbourgh County is made up of the following townships: Galway, Cavendish, Anstruther, Chandos, Harvey, Burleigh, Methuen, Ennismore, Smith, Douro, Dummer, Belmont, North Monaghan, Otonabee, and Asphodel. (taken from Illustrated Historical Atlas of Peterborough County 1825-1875. Peterborough: The Peterborough Historical Atlas Foundation Inc., 1975.)

The Reid family originated in Ireland and settled in Peterborough, Ontario, in 1822. Descendants have continued to live in the area for several decades, marrying into the Stewart, McNeill, and Godard families.

The Grand Association of the Patrons of Industry in Ontario was based on the American Association of the Patrons of Industry from Michigan in 1889. The Ontario organization declared itself independent of the American organization in 1891. By 1892 they had adopted the rules and constitution of their American brethern. They wanted to uphold and encourage the moral, social, intellectual, political and financial situation of people in rural Ontario. In 1894 the Patrons elected 17 members to the Ontario Legislature. Their membership exceeded 30 000 people and they had massive support from most communities. During the same time that the Patrons of Industry were operating, the Grange, which also represented the farmers of Ontario, was operating. Both organizations failed to acknowledge the existence of the other and in turn each organization duplicated the efforts of the other. This helped to encourage the decline of each organization. The Patrons were formed in order to try and save the way of life and thought that existed in the late 1800's farming communities. They sought to resist industrialization and although they started off strongly they were unable to keep the momentum going and eventually they deteriorated to the point of non-existence. (Taken from: Hann, Russell. "Some Historical Perspectives on Canadian Agrarian Political Movements: The Ontario origins of agrarian criticism of Canadian industrial society." Toronto: new hogtown press, 1973.)

During World War II, atomic bombs were used to attack Japan by the United States of America. Hiroshima was bombed on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. These were the first atomic bombs to be used in warfare. Two hundred and forty thousand Japanese civilians died.

The Realistic Travels Company was a large stereographic publishing company based in London, England. It existed from approximately 1908 to 1916 and was run by H.D. Girdwood. Realistic Travels had branch offices in Toronto, New York, Bombay and Cape Town. (Taken from: Darrah, William C. The World of Stereographs. Gettysburg: W.C. Darrah Publisher, 1977.)

The Raper family (fl. 1890-1898) lived in the Millbrook and Cavan, Ontario area.

In September 1887, an enthusiastic group of young women artists organized an art club on the plan of the Art Students League of New York. In a studio on Yonge Street Arcade they met to work together in painting, drawing, modeling and sketching from still life and living models. No instruction was given, the object being to provide an incentive and help towards self-development, to draw out (independent of the instructor) personal resources, which are necessary to individual effort. In 1890 the Club was incorporated into the "Women's Art Club" for the purpose of creating general interest in art and encouragement of women's work, through the exchange of ideas and cooperation among its members, as well as the holding of art exhibitions and lectures. The motto chosen was that of the old Plantin Printers of Antwerp "Labore et Constantia" by Labour and Constancy. While the motto is kept in evidence, few now remember that the colours of the Association are red and white and the emblem the wild rose. In April, 1930, the Association affiliated with the Lyceum Club of London, England, and is now known as the Lyceum Club and Women's Art Association of Canada. Members are assured of a welcome in any of the International Lyceum Clubs. In March, 1905, the Women's Art Association of Toronto held its first exhibition in Peterborough. This exhibition of paintings and handicrafts was arranged by members of the Toronto association resident in Peterborough, and was such a success that it was decided to form a branch association, and on March 28, 1905, the Peterborough Branch of the Women's Art Association was organized. In December 1998, the organization voted to cease its connection with the Lyceum Club and its name became the Women’s Art Association of Canada, Peterborough Branch.

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 Quebec Camping Association Inc. was formed in 1937 and is a chartered unit of the Canadian Camping Association.The Quebec Camping Association is made up of individuals, representatives of agencies and institutions interested in the development of organized camping in the Province of Quebec. The membership includes camping directors, camp staff, institutional and agency directors, and others who are interested in or associated with camping. All types of camps (private, church, school, organizational and institutional, long and short term and day camps) are represented by the Association.The Quebec Camping Association's objectives are furthering the welfare and interests of children and adults through camping as an educative and recreative experience; raising the standard of camping practices and to be the voice of camp leaders by interpreting camping to parents, educators, the legislature and the public.(Taken from: The Quebec Camping Association)

The Oxford Bibliographical Society developed out of the University of Oxfords' vast publishing and library domain by members of the university community interested in book collections and publishing. It was founded on 1 January 1922 at Oxford and the Society met twice a term. The first meeting consisted of conversational lectures and the second meeting consisted of papers presented by members, or guests, and discussions. The second meeting was reserved for exhibitions of important books, manuscripts and bindings. The Society had a council and subscription fees. (Taken from: Oxford Bibliographical Society. Proceedings & Papers. Vol. 1, Part II, 1925.)