In My World

We've been to the Petrolia Discovery several times and always enjoy our visits. Everything is so interesting and the history of the oil industry in Ontario and around the world, fascinating.  In 1857,   James Miller Williams   of   Hamilton   began distilling some of the "tar" lying around   Oil Springs   (located a few kilometers south from Petrolia), after buying the property rights from   Charles Nelson Tripp . In July or August 1858, he struck an oil deposit in Oil Springs while digging a shallow well, sparking the oil drilling industry. In 2008, the 150th anniversary of the discovery,   Canada Post   issued a stamp commemorating this first commercial oil well, featuring portraits of Charles Tripp and Williams.   However, these early wells resulted in a large amount of wastage from   gushers , estimated at 5 million barrels (790,000 m 3 ) of oil in 1862 alone. Petrolia got its start in 1866 when a major gas well was fo...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/snuffy/28780895666 The Thames flows southwest for 273 kilometres through southwestern Ontario, from the Town of Tavistock through the cities of Woodstock, London and Chatham to Lighthouse Cove on Lake St. Clair. Its drainage basin is 5,825 square kilometres. I've very familiar with this area. My husband comes from this part of the world and I have visited many times in our 44 years (s0 far) together. The river is known as Deshkaan-ziibi / Eshkani-ziibi ("Antler River") in the Ojibwe language, spoken by Anishnaabe peoples who, along with the Neutrals prior to their disappearance in the 17th century, have lived in the area since before Europeans arrived. This name was anglicized as Escunnisepe as the first English name of the river. In 1793, Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe named the river after the River Thames in England. Early French Canadians referred to it as La Tranche, for the wide and muddy waters of its lower section.  Much of th...

At the southernmost point of the Canadian mainland, Point Pelee National Park, you can experience nature like never before. Whether you cycle, paddle, or hike, in Canada’s second smallest and most ecologically diverse national park, you’ll be immersed in an unforgettable eco-adventure. I started scrolling Pelee Point National Park's website https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/on/pelee and was soon lost in dreams of camping and hiking and all the activities available at this park.  And since I am so close to Pelee Island I feel I really need to go there as well. I've wanted to go for as long as I can remember.

  The "sidewalk forest" refers to the trails within Ojibway Park in Windsor, Ontario, which include both paved and unpaved paths. Land Acknowledgement Recognized as one of Canada’s most diverse and multicultural communities, our city was developed on land that is the traditional territory of the Anishnaabeg people of the Three Fires Confederacy (Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa). Before Europeans arrived, the land along the Detroit River was referred to as Wawiiatanong by the Indigenous populations. Due to Windsor’s unique location along the Detroit River many different groups have called this area home, including Haudenosaunee, Attawandaron (Neutral), and Huron (Wyandot) peoples. This area is part of McKee Purchase Treaty 2 1790. Today, many indigenous people and Métis across Turtle Island call this area home. We are thankful to be able to share our history in this area. Ojibway Prairie Complex Ojibway Prairie Complex is a collection of six closely situated natural areas within...

Southwold Earthworks National Historic Site Walk where Canada’s earliest inhabitants did and imagine the Attiwandaron longhouses and palisade walls that once stood proudly at Southwold Earthworks National Historic Site. Close your eyes and imagine a rare fortified village of 800-900 Attiwandaron, also known as the Neutral Iroquois, who inhabited Southwold from 1500 to 1650 AD. Directions . . .  The Southwold Earthworks is the remains of a pre-contact village site of the Neutral people, occupied about AD 1450 to 1550. The entrance to the site is located on Iona Road, approximately three kilometres south of Iona, Ontario, Canada. A double oval ring of raised earthworks surrounds the remains of the village.  Address :  7930 Iona Rd, Fingal, ON N0L 1P0 Phone:  (905) 468-6614

The Port Stanley Terminal Rail (PSTR) is a heritage railway that passes over the historic tracks of The London and Port Stanley Railway (L&PS) between Port Stanley and St. Thomas, Ontario.   The first passenger train reached Port Stanley on July 5, 1856. Use of the line increased until 1943, when the end of gas rationing and the increased use of automobiles caused a slow decline in passenger traffic. On February 1, 1957, passenger service ended on the L&PS line.  The railway continued to carry freight traffic, especially between St. Thomas and London, Ontario.  The rail section between St. Thomas and Port Stanley fell into disrepair and was finally abandoned in 1982 after a washout. When the line was officially abandoned, a group of railway preservationists created the Port Stanley Terminal Rail Inc. and purchased the rail to be used as a heritage railway. After rebuilding the tracks, the group finally received a Provincial railway charter to operate trains b...

  HMCS Ojibwa is an Oberon-class submarine that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and later the Canadian Forces Maritime Command (MARCOM). Originally intended for service with the British Royal Navy as HMS Onyx, the submarine was transferred to Canadian ownership before completion, and entered RCN service in 1965. Ojibwa operated primarily with Maritime Forces Atlantic until her decommissioning in 1998. In 2010, Ojibwa was laid up at CFB Halifax awaiting disposal, with the Elgin Military Museum planning to preserve her as a museum vessel. The submarine was towed to Port Burwell, Ontario in 2012, and was opened to the public in 2013. She is now the new focal point of a planned Museum of Naval History to be built alongside. Design Main article: Oberon-class submarine The Oberon class were considered an improved version of the preceding Porpoise-class submarines, with a different frame of the pressure hull and constructed from a better grade of steel. These build differences all...

Houghton's Sand Hill, located east of Port Burwell, Ontario, towers about 350 feet in the north shore of Lake Erie. This is the result of the water drained from a huge glacial lake, and the delta left with this mountain of sand. "This freak of nature far off the beaten path has been growing and shifting for centuries due to the prevailing southwest winds. Judging by fragments of pottery, arrowheads and flints found in the vicinity, it appears that the Indians occupied the areas as a campground long before the white man realized it existed. "John Alton purchased the farm from the Crown in 1850. In the Norfolk County Atlas printed in 1877, it tells of the large Sand Hills on John Alton’s farm. At that time the summit was crowned by the observatory of the United States Lake Survey. This structure was framed of heavy timber to form a tripod about 70 ft. high, on the top was a tent to protect the observers and the instruments from the sun and wind. A similar station was built ...

Port Burwell Wind Farm (formerly known as the Erie Shores Wind Farm) is a large wind farm near Port Burwell, Ontario, Canada. The facility stretches approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) to the west of the town, and 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) to the southeast. In 2004, Port Burwell was awarded a generation contract by the Government of Ontario as part of its renewable energy plan. This wind farm was officially opened on April 13, 2006. The project comprises 66 GE 1.5 MW Wind Turbines (model 1.5 SLE). Each turbine has a blade diameter of 77 metres (253 ft), and is mounted on an 80-metre (260 ft) tubular tower.

We drove through Sparta on our way home (August 2011) and for the first time ever I saw that the little mud house was open.  Also known as Ye Olde Forge and Anvil, this little blacksmith's shop was built in 1827 of clay and straw by a Mr. Keller from England. The walls are very thick.  During the Mackenzie Rebellion of 1837, militia horses were stabled here. In 1944 E.A. Smith gave the building to the Sparta Sorosis Women's Institute, who used it as a meeting place for many years.  They turned it over to the Sparta Historical Society in 1995. It is currently being used as a museum; a very interesting little museum.

Normandale -- Ghost Town and Ontario’s Original Steel Town Normandale is a veritable “ghost town”. While I don’t know of any hauntings, it earned its nickname due to a rapid reduction of residents after a short-lived boom in the 1800s. Today, however, no more than 200-300 people live there. Another noteworthy tidbit about this miniature town is its dibs on an Ontario “first”. It may be surprising, and is definitely contrary to popular belief, but Hamilton is not Ontario’s original steel town. Instead, this smaller than small town claimed that title in the early 19th century. Normandale sits along the shores of Lake Erie in  Norfolk County . At its peak in the mid- to late-19th century, between 400 and 750 residents called this little lakeside town home. An old gazetteer published in 1846 described Normandale as “having a population of 300. A thriving village with a post office, a tavern, one tailor and two shoemakers.” Today, a short drive through the town will reveal a few restore...

 The Port Dover Mausoleum was demolished in 2016.

The Lower Grand River Land Trust Inc., now Ruthven Park National Historic Site Inc (RPNHS) evolved from a group of local residents interested in protecting the natural, cultural and heritage resources of the surrounding community.   The descendants of Scottish immigrants, the Thompson family made their home at Ruthven Park in the mid 1840’s. It was here that they and their descendants would live and visit for 5 generations until the early 1990’s. In 1996 Marion Hartney, (an aunt of the two brothers David and Drew Thompson who represented the fifth generation of the Thompson family), generously transferred her ownership of Ruthven Park and associated lands to Ruthven Park National Historic Site Inc. (RPNHS)RPNHS Board members recognized the significance of Ruthven Park’s natural and historic values. The property includes 598 hectares (1476.6 acres) on both sides of the river and an island with vast areas of slough forest and wetlands. An 1845 Greek Revival 33 room villa , the f...

Built by the free labour of its own congregation with stones gathered from nearby fields, the Paris Plains Church was completed and dedicated in 1845. It is a fine example of a type of cobblestone construction seldom found elsewhere in Canada.  An American stonemason, Levi Boughton, was responsible for introducing this type of construction to the area. In 1835 Boughton and his wife, Sida Mann, moved to Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Three years later they settled in nearby Paris Plains. Boughton was a busy Baptist, businessman, and father of 16 children. According to historical records, he did quite well for himself professionally. In addition to his success as a sought-after builder, he owned 4 houses. Over two decades in the mid- to late 1800s he decorated Paris’ streets with the unique building style not seen elsewhere in Ontario. These cobblestone buildings still stand in Paris today. The first minister, the Rev. John Law, served from 1845-47, and the church remained active in the...

Newfoundout is a ghost town in Renfrew County, Ontario. It may be the best photo opp of abandoned pioneer log cabins in Ontario. It's apparently worth the drive up the mountain to find them. Because of the condition of the road, a truck or SUV is the best method of travel. The settlers to the Opeongo Road were given 100 acres of land. The Public Land Act (1853) proclaimed, "One hundred acres will be given free to any settlers, 18 years of age, who shall take possession of the Lot within one month from the date of his application, erect on it a house, 18 by 20 feet, put in a state of cultivation at least 12 acres in the course of four years, and live on the Lot during the period. Should he fulfill these conditions he will obtain an indisputable titles to the land, but failing to do so, it will be sold or given to another." While many immigrants received title to the land in 1864, the title was not deeded until the land was cleared and the home built. So many settlers lived...

We took the above photos in February 2009 while out letterboxing.  We did find the box but it was retired in 2018. "In a time before power was supplied by electrical grids, grist mills were responsible for generating their own hydro to operate the mills. Sheave towers were an economical way to generate power from rivers by use of a water turbine underneath the tower. The last remaining wooden sheave tower in Ontario can be found in the former Village of Blair, now a part of the City of Cambridge. The Blair Sheave Tower, a 31-foot tower, was built beside the Blair (Bowman) River in 1876 by Allan Bowman, to power the Blair Carlisle Grist Mill, located 240 feet downstream. The tower used a grooved wheel (sheave) higher up in the tower, to harness water power. It was connected by a pulley and cable system to the grist mill, which dates back to 1846. Described as having “a mini mining headframe” and a “tapering wooden structure,” the Blair Sheave Tower generated electricity until 1954,...

On 13 July 1923, the Waterloo County Pioneers' Memorial Association was formed with the patronage of the Waterloo Historical Society, and its board of directors included its members and descendants of the first Mennonite families to move to the area. The tower was conceived by William Henry Breithaupt, president of the association, who wanted to commemorate the Mennonites who had moved to the area (and also the first farmers of Waterloo Region), and to heal the wounds of earlier nationalism that led to the city's name change. Breithaupt, according to local historian Rych Mills, "was trying to just re-jig our history a little tiny bit because of all the troubles we went through in World War One." A group petitioned the council of the County of Wellington to build the tower. The Memorial Association purchased a 1.17 acres (4,700 m2) parcel of land that had been part of the Betzner property from Isaac Furtney in January 1924, and construction began in May 1925. Its archi...

Castle Kilbride is an 1877 grand Victorian home that was built by James Livingston, “The Flax and Linseed Oil King of Canada,” in Baden, Wilmot Township, Ontario. It stands as a monument to our heritage and traditions, and the commitment that the people of Wilmot Township have made to preserve their heritage. Castle Kilbride is known for the rare “trompe l'oeil” wall and ceiling murals found throughout the home. “Trompe l'oeil” is a French term which means “to fool the eye.” This illusionistic painting technique is employed in many of the decorative ceiling and wall paintings found throughout Castle Kilbride.  James Livingston recruited the best tradesmen to assist him with the building of his Castle. One of the best decisions he made was to hire the artist Henry Scharstein. It was likely in 1878-79 that the paintings were created. Little is known about this artist, but what he left behind has inspired all who have seen his work. In September 1995, the Federal Government ...