This photograph was taken from the roof of the Maley Building, which stood on the site of the present Rotary Park in Kemptville. The changes, as well as the things that stay the same, are fascinating. On the left, the tall dark structure is the hose tower at the old Fire Hall, now the Court House on Water Street. At that time, the hoses were made from fabric, and after thwy were used, they needed to be hung up to dry. Hence the tall tower, from which the hoses were hung, inside, and which also doubled as a watch tower. The Court House can be seen behind the tower. The building to the right of them is now the parking lot for the Library, which stands where the large white buildings are in the centre foreground. The pavements on either side of Prescott Street had been installed about ten years earlier, as part of the improvements that were being made to the downtown streets. At the time, these were very controversial, as some of the older members of Council considered them a luxury the town could not afford. But the energetic young men, led by G. Howard Ferguson, before he entered provincial politics, had pushed through the paving project anyway. The two steeples on Gospel Hill can be seen in the background, as well as, nearer to the right of the photograph, the tall structure of the old Kemptville High School. Kemptville has lost much, and gained some, in terms of buildings and tradition. This is a glimpse of the village more than a century ago.
