Today there are very few people who know of the Patrons of Industry, but in the heyday of the…
Valuing Our History
Several county hotel keepers were charged in 1897 temperance sweep
The temperance movement was a constant presence in most North American communities during the 19th…
Insufficient evidence to lay arson charges in 1864 Guelph fire
Note: This is the conclusion of the story of the fire at Guelph’s People’s Mills, the…
Robbers failed in 1947 attempt on Royal Bank in Grand Valley
Bank robberies have been comparatively rare in Wellington County’s history. Accounts of…
More details on the ill-fated Peoples Railway
Perhaps the most intriguing business venture proposed for this region of Ontario in the early 20th…
The Orangeville Desperado had a notorious career
Over the years this column has offered short biographies of Wellington County people who achieved…
Coal shortage aggravated wartime conditions during First World War
Last week’s column noted that the scarcity of coal in 1917 forced the railways to cut back on…
Mount Forest doctor sued patients husband for slander in 1921
Lawsuits and threatened suits against doctors were one of the hazards of the medical profession in…
Store robberies were an epidemic in Wellington County in the 1920s
Over the past year this column has described some of the store robberies that plagued Wellington…
Fergus man carried bullet in his brain after a shooting in 1925
About a quarter after 1pm on the afternoon of Jan. 28, 1925, Fergus resident Bob Brown was walking…
Proposal to divert county road caused furor in Nichol in 1928
One of the most contentious political issues in the Elora area in the 1970s was the construction of…
Gruesome accidents in county claimed two lives in fall of 1929
Farming and industrial accidents claimed lives in the early decades of the 20th century. Safety…
Short-lived Fergus company made automobile signals in 1930
This column has on several occasions featured pieces on the history of the Beatty Brothers firm of…
Father and grandfather of Colonel John McCrae were prominent
Last week’s column outlined the life of one of Guelph’s most famous natives, Col. John…
Tanner’s woolen mill in Mount Forest burned twice in a year
George Tanner of Mount Forest was one of dozens of small manufacturers in Wellington County in the…