New book of “Stories from the South Branch” available starting December
For all those who have enjoyed Dr. David Shanahan’s articles on local history that have appeared regularly in the NG Times, the good news...
Sir John A.
There has always been an ambivalence among historians regarding the place of Sir John A. Macdonald in the Confederation story. While it is true...
Thanking God for 150 Years
by Ken Gehrels
Did you know that it was a last minute decision? It happened in London, England, shortly before parliament was to pass the...
Kemptville Business Directory:
This is, in fact, quite a selective list of businesses which were operating in the North Grenville area in the 1860's. A much fuller...
Vigorous encouragement
The story of Confederation had reached a dead end. New Brunswick had voted against the entire scheme, and, without New Brunswick as a physical...
Kemptville Public School, 1873-1936
The B&H Grocery store in Kemptville stands today on what was once the site of this really lovely school. The Kemptville Public School served...
The last invasion
In the summer of 1866, as British America moved slowly towards Confederation, one threat which had been hanging over the provinces for years seemed...
Merrick Tavern
This is one of the oldest houses in the region. Built, possibly, as early as 1800, it was the first home of William Merrick...
North Grenville at Confederation
When Kemptville separated from Oxford-on-Rideau Township in 1857, its population was not officially large enough to qualify it as a village. That required a...
The First Martyr
Thomas D’Arcy McGee had played an important role in bringing about Confederation. As the only Canadian delegate to have actually toured the Maritimes in...