On June 26, 1886 two sons of Bob McDonald of Mount Forest decided to spend their Saturday morning…
Valuing Our History
Meningitis the probable cause of mysterious death in 1873
In the 1860s and 1870s the monthly fairs held in several of the towns in Wellington County were…
Travelling salesmen formed group called The Drummers Snack Club
A common visitor to small towns a century and more ago was the travelling salesman, often referred…
Guelph man buried lodger under his house in 1946
William A. Callahan was a Guelph resident who owned a house on Devonshire Street. That street was…
Elora Furniture Company received financial aid from municipality
Back in the early 1990s, when this column appeared in the now-defunct Elora Sentinel, I did a brief…
Salem and Lot 18 assessment values caused political stir in 1930
From the time Elora was incorporated as a village in 1858, the relationship of that municipality to…
Epidemic of barn fires in 1930 stirred fire marshal
Last week’s column described a few of the series of fires in Wellington County in the summer…
Ghoulish discovery of bodies in 1949 Mount Forest house fire
At about 10am on the morning of Friday, January 7, 1949 the Mount Forest volunteer fire brigade…
Guelph considered building a new city hall in 1907
Local history buffs and heritage professionals agree that Guelph’s old city hall is one of…
Harvey trial involved embezzlement, murder, execution
Over the years this column has offered accounts of various trials in the history of Wellington…
Construction on dam seemed at times to be jinxed
Last week’s column took the story of the building of the Conestogo Dam to the fall of 1956.…
Effects of U.S. civil war felt in Wellington County
The American Civil War, fought between 1861 and 1865, is by far the most traumatic event in that…
Fergus witnessed a religious battle and debate in 1886
During the 1880s, the churches of Wellington County occupied a place in daily life that is…
Palmerston native became prominent business leader
Stories of Wellington natives who achieved fame and fortune elsewhere have been featured…
Pilkington native achieved success in California
The Wallace family of Pilkington has a long association with farming in that township,…