Tartan Days 2025 in Glencoe was a resounding success — a community-wide celebration blending heritage, creativity, and rural spirit. This year, the Glencoe & District Historical Society took part in several events, offering residents and visitors alike a glimpse into the area’s Scottish settler past, genealogical resources, and folkloric traditions.
The Davenport family organized an amazing afternoon at their heritage farm – a guided tour of the circa-1870 farm and homestead of the Alexander family, early settlers to the Melbourne area by way of Scotland. Now into its sixth generation of the family, the farm is still operational, with many original structures and implements in active use.
The Alexanders’ deep agricultural roots sprouted in rural Forfarshire, Scotland, before blossoming on a Yorkshire estate owned by a British lord and later blooming across the ocean in Southwest Middlesex. The Alexander story is a true migrant tale, showcasing the upheaval, ambition, dedication and success of newcomers to Canada.
We learned about the people behind the barns, buildings and bridles. Experts from Ontario Barn Preservation were on-hand to delve deeper into the design of our circa 1880 barn. Mrs. Davenport organized a bountiful outdoor buffet.
On Sunday, July 27, 2025, the Simpson Cemetery in Southwest Middlesex came alive with memory, history, and community spirit. Over 50 descendants, neighbours, and friends gathered under the shade of the massive White Oak “heritage tree” for the annual cemetery memorial hosted by the Glencoe & District Historical Society (GDHS). This year a group of Simpson descendants, Micheline Champagne-Johnston, Wanda Simpson, Wendy Bestward, Jan Simpson, Dennis Simpson, Mary Simpson, and Brian Huis, joined in to give the event an interesting twist.
Cemeteries, particularly in rural Ontario, have long been places of both remembrance and reflection. Their park-like settings provide green space, cultural continuity, and a sense of belonging. This year’s memorial carried on the tradition of visiting and honouring one local cemetery each year.
Emma Stack was an engaging speaker and we had a full house September 18, 2025. “I graduated with an Honours Degree in History and Philosophy. I went on to obtain and Bachelor of Education Degree and an Early Childhood Education Diploma. I taught history at the high school level. I have written and published four novels, set during the War of 1812. I am an 1812 reenactor and the Historical Interpreter for the Royal Scots Regiment. I like to make Canadian history fun for anyone who will listen to me!’
www.emmastackauthor.com.
emmastackbooks@gmail.com
The PCHC moved into Carlisle United Church (originally Presbyterian) in 2021. Since then, the former sanctuary has been carefully renovated into an exhibit hall, including reinforced flooring to safely house the museum’s large and growing collection. The congregation now meets downstairs, while the sanctuary upstairs becomes a space to celebrate Presbyterian history in Canada.
The Centre is the steward of the collection of the former National Presbyterian Museum (Toronto, 2002–2018). In April 2024, more than 400 boxes of artefacts were delivered from temporary storage to Carlisle. Exhibits will be gradually installed throughout 2024–2025, leading up to the official grand opening and dedication on Saturday, September 20, 2025—timed with the 150th anniversary of The Presbyterian Church in Canada.
At the London Museum on September 25, Mary Simpson attended the launch of Behind the Bricks: The Life and Times of the Mohawk Institute. Edited by Richard W. “Rick” Hill Sr., Alison Norman, Thomas Peace and Jennifer Pettit, Behind the Bricks draws together Indigenous and settler historians, community voices, archival researchers, archaeologists and survivors to reconstruct the layered history behind the walls of the institute. Another launch event was held by the Ontario Historical Society a couple nights later.
The book begins by tracing the school’s founding and historical context, before delving into the its architecture and physical spaces, the curriculum and daily regimes imposed on children, religious and governmental oversight, student resistance, and the long process of commemoration and preservation. To close, Behind the Bricks allows survivor voices to speak directly, offering their unique perspectives of lived experience.
As a result of this Members' meeting, the Glencoe & District Historical Society established a Publishing Circle and allocate $2,000 in the 2026 budget as seed funding for engaging the community in publishing local stories and books. Aim: To form a Publishing Circle of three to four volunteers (e.g., Bill Simpson, Denise Corneil, and others to be invited) who will plan and coordinate heritage publishing projects for the Glencoe & District Historical Society.
Oct 22, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. Dutton Dunwich has never had a cenotaph. Thirty-two First World War and fourteen Second World War sons and husbands died. One of the WWI fallen is Ellis Wellwood Sifton, a young fellow who fought at Vimy Ridge and was honoured with a Victoria Cross. This did not sit right with Blair Ferguson and he mustered a group to right this wrong. (In person only - no virtual access via zoom.
The Glencoe & District Historical Society was honoured to sponsor and support June Journey / Turas an Ògmhìos, a beautifully crafted Gaelic play written by Trevor Aitkens and hosted at the historic Tait’s Corners Schoolhouse. Three sold-out performances on November 15–16, 2025, audiences filled the lovingly restored 1910 one-room school to experience a deeply moving, often humorous, always heartfelt return to the early school days of our region.
Glencoe - A crowd of over 30 was seated in the sanctuary of Glencoe Presbyterian Church Wednesday evening for a presentation led by Maria Moore, who described the complex history of the Mennonite people. Herself a Dutch-Russian Mennonite with Mexican roots, she explained that there is a stigma between Mennonite groups, something that led to the title of her first book, "Not My Kind of Mennonite." Her great-grandparents came to Canada from Russia in 1875, the family later moving to Mexico after the First World War, part of the largest emigration from this country.
Not My Kind of Mennonite, title of her first book, is a personal dive into the history, culture, and religious and social pressures faced by one Old Colony Mennonite family. Maria Moore was born in Mexico but she has spent her life in southwestern Ontario. She has had a fulfilling career as a registered nurse with a focus on mental health, addictions and advocacy.
WE ARE RESCHEDULING KAE ELGIE TO MAY 20, 2026.
CANCELLED: Midday session with Evan Abma, local historian, Chair of the Sarnia Heritage Committee, and a leading voice in documenting Ontario’s disappearing rural heritage. Watch our events listing here for a rescheduling.
Over the past several years, Evan has undertaken an ambitious research project mapping historic farmhouses across Lambton County. Using a wide range of sources—including historical land registers, tax assessments, farm directories, topographic maps, census records, satellite imagery, concession maps, and digital tools such as Google MyMaps—he has documented approximately 1,700 historic farmhouses still standing, down from about 2,000 in 2009.