These Walls Really Do Speak
Written By Len Cuthbert We were a young family of four, moving back to Ontario after living on Vancouver Island for four years. Every home buyer seeking their next place…
Home Children, Fanny and Elsie Cullimore
Written By Sid Prior, Middlesex Centre Archives Home Children was a child migration scheme founded by Annie McPherson in 1869. Over 100, 000 children were shipped from Britain to Australia,…
Archive Alley: The Elusive Bandit of Skunk’s Misery: The Life and Times of Orval Shaw
Written By Paul Langan Orval Shaw, a name that once echoed through over 40 cities, towns and countryside of Ontario, was more than just a petty criminal. He was a…
Archive Alley: Safe Keeping of Records
Written By Carol Small, Middlesex Centre Archives Are historical records being stored safely? Are the records paper or digital? Are copies stored in a separate location? These questions are important…
Archive Alley: Capturing Living Oral Histories
Written By Carrie Jeffery Imagine for a moment the mystery of your history. Personal storytelling can be both fun and provide new perspectives on how we came to be. These…
Archive Alley: Happy 225th Birthday, Middlesex County(Part II)
Written By Carol Small, Middlesex Centre Archives Depending on sources, some give the date of formation of Middlesex County as 1798 when the London District was created. The Archives of…
Archive Alley: The Battle of Longwoods
Written By Glenn Stott The Battle of Longwoods fought on Wednesday, March 4, 1814, was not a major battle in the context of the War of 1812 but its story…
Happy 225th Birthday, Middlesex County(Part I)
Written By Carol Small, Middlesex Centre Archives Middlesex County has a long and rich history. This year, 2025, marks a special milestone. It is 225 years since the name of…
The Legacy of Josiah Henson: A Freedom Seeker Who Changed History
Written By Chip Martin The operator of the ferry that had just carried passengers across the Niagara River to the landing at Fort Erie from Buffalo that October 28, 1830…
Anna – A Story of Courage and Conviction
Written By Dave Zavitz, Middlesex Centre Archives The second of five children, Anna Shotwell Hampton was born 2 September 1835 in Orchard Park, New York near Buffalo to Asa Hampton…
Archive Alley: Too Big for Santa Claus
Written By Reverend Enos Montour Why should Santa disappoint his Brown Tom in his White man’s School—this “Mush Hole,” as the older boys called it? Oatmeal porridge had never been…
The Archive Alley: Christmas Baking
Written By Carol Small, Middlesex Centre Archives It is December already! Time to turn our thoughts to Christmas preparations. The coming days will be filled with finding just the right…
Trial By Fire, 1915
Written By Reverend Enos Montour Sunday, May 16th, 1915, dawned a beautiful pre-summer day. It was the second year of the First Great War. But to the native children, Loyalist…
Archive Alley: Those Indomitable War Brides
Written By Carol Small, Middlesex Centre Archives Following Remembrance Day, our thoughts are with our veterans who have served in many conflicts over the centuries. The 20th Century saw two…
Archive Alley: The Good Old Days
Written By Bob Gentleman, Local Writer While the future is uncertain, there are many eras of the past to choose from to remember, reflect on and share. I have been…
Archive Alley: They Settled in Riverside
Written By Kathy Evans, Book Editor In July of this year, family and friends gathered at Arrowwood Farm, a beautiful property in Riverside, just south of Melbourne, to celebrate the…
See Ya at The Fair (Part II)
Written By Carol Small, Middlesex Centre Archives The Ilderton Agricultural Society - A Brief HistoryThe Ilderton Agricultural Society had its beginnings in the former London Township. On January 29, 1851,…
Rooted and Remembered: Local Author Takes the Real-Life Story of Carruthers Corners Family History
Written By C.J. Frederick Ellwyne Ballantyne’s twenty-two years of brief, bright life are summed up on a simple plaque attached to a majestic buttonwood tree in Carruthers Corners. When local…
See Ya at The Fair (Part I)
Written By Carol Small, Middlesex Centre Archives In late August or early September, the rural community members research diligently the latest local fair prize book. For ardent fair exhibitors, the…
Little Kin Park: A Legacy of Community and Change
Written By Denise Corneil, Ken Willis, and Mary Simpson Nestled in the heart of Wardsville, Little Kin Park stands as a lasting testament to the community spirit that has defined…
Rural Resilience: How Farm Women Shaped Their Communities and History (Part II)
Written By Carol Small, Middlesex Centre Archives Another influencer in society is the press. Cora Hind (1861-1942), who grew up helping her grandfather on a farm in rural Grey County,…
Glencoe Masons Lodge Goes Dark After 152 Years
Written By Harold Carruthers, Glencoe & District Historical Society If one were to trace the history of any one Lodge, it might be compared with that of trying to determine…
Rural Resilience: How Farm Women Shaped Their Communities and History (Part I)
Written By Carol Small, Middlesex Centre Archives Women’s history can never be lumped together as one-size-fits-all. It is varied and yet has common elements. Women’s studies, and thus their history,…
Seniors Keeping Canadian History Alive
Written By Jean Hewitt A group of retired women, some of whom still work in amateur theatre, are now bringing the stories of famous Canadian women to schools, clubs and…
What is CEMCA?
Written By Carol Small, Middlesex Centre Archives The Committee To Establish A Middlesex County Archives (CEMCA) exists because there is no County Archives in Middlesex County. CEMCA’s membership involves Historical…
Making and Saving History
JEAN HEWITT NARRATES THIS ARTICLE IN THIRD PERSON ABOUT HER INCREDIBLE JOURNEY IN ACTIVISM AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN CANADA. Written By Jean Hewitt When Jean Hewitt first came to Canada…