county of MIddlesex

St James Anglican Church, Wardsville

St James Anglican Church, Wardsville

Bill Simpson

Windows on the past Part 3 St James Anglican Church, Wardsville by Bill Simpson

St James Wardsville was torn down in 1942 after the foundations were fatally undermined by improvements to the adjoining Hagerty Road. Sadly, there are no known pictures of the interior of the church, and we have only an image of the exterior to let us know how it looked.

The design looks very similar to that of St John’s Glencoe, with the exception that the belltower is offset to the side of the entrance rather than where the entrance porch is shown. This explains how the reredos (wooden screen in the chancel) fit so snugly into the chancel at St John’s when it was moved there. (I am writing another post about this memorial reredos and altar table.)

It was noted in an Anglican News article that St James had many beautiful ornamental and memorial windows, but we have no pictures of them.

But, remarkably, a small part of one of these windows was discovered by Wilson Bowles while renovating his house on Talbot Street and was given over in to the care of Ken Willis, the Wardsville Historian. Ken speculates that this fragment was rescued by Abraham Linden, who occupied the house previously.

Charles O’Malley (the elder) was born in 1809 in Ireland. His name also appears on the memorial cairn that is all that marks the old church and its graveyard:

Note the other O’Malley listed – this is “Herona O’Malley”, granddaughter of Charles the elder and daughter of Charles the younger. Herona was five or six years old when she died in the same year 1880 on Dec 11th.

Unfortunately, I have no other information on Charles the elder except that he was the father of one of the more interesting residents of Wardsville also called Charles A. O’Malley (the younger), who seems likely to be responsible for this window remembering his father.

The more interesting Charles O’Malley the Younger was born on December 17th 1840 to Charles O’Malley the Elder and his wife Honora. He was a successful farmer, stock breeder, community activist, militia officer and in later years a member of the provincial police force in For Erie from 1893 to about 1900. In March 12th 1901, he provided a Toronto address to which his service medal could be sent, He moved back to Wardsville after retirement, and his wife lived with his son Peter on his farm immediately north of the village. He died on March 21 1921,and is buried in the O’Malley cemetery directly west of the old O’Malley farm. See M9 – ARCHER-O’MALLEY in Mosa Township cemetery listing.

Charles O’Malley the Younger’s career in the militia deserves its own article, but suffice it to say here he rose steadily from the lowly post of an Ensign to the be the Lieutenant-Colonel of the 25th Battalion Elgin Militia. While his career was coincident with the various ill-fated Fenian inspired invasions of the Canada which occurred from 1867 to 1870, there was no involvement by any of the militia units in which he was involved.

Given how this memorial was preserved and then accidentally rediscovered suggests that there may be other such items tucked away, waiting to be found. We can only hope.

Note: Here is link to more history of this church by local historian, Ken Willis.

Bandit of Skunk’s Misery: The Life and Times of Orval Shaw

Bandit of Skunk’s Misery: The Life and Times of Orval Shaw

Glencoe & District Historical Society

by Paul Langan

Published in the April 2025 issue of the Middlesex Banner.

Orval Shaw, a name that once echoed through over 40 cities, towns and countryside of Ontario, was more than just a petty criminal. He was a symbol of defiance, a master of evasion, and a figure who captured the public’s imagination. I have drawn his story from historical accounts and newspaper reports, revealing the life of the man known as the “Skunk’s Misery Bandit.”

I first found out about Orval while researching other local history topics in the area of Hespeler, Ontario where I lived. During my research Orval’s name turned up several times as he was in Guelph, Hespeler, Idylwild and Puslinch during his escapades.

I was amazed that nobody had researched his life previously.  One of the main challenges was finding out more about Orval’s private life and the lack of photos of him. I was lucky to find a distant relative of Orval’s’ who supported my work.

Eventually I decided to do comprehensive research of Orval, and I am very pleased with the book that came out of that research.

Paul presented at The Archives,178 McKellar Street, Glencoe for a presentation on Wednesday night May 7th at 7:00 p.m.  Buy the book. For more information go to the website link, https://glencoehistoricalsociety.ca/event/may-7-the-bandit-of-skunks-misery/

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Burns Presbyterian Church Mosa Celebrates 190 Years

Burns Presbyterian Church Mosa Celebrates 190 Years

Glencoe & District Historical Society
Stories about the Kilmartin community who established Burns Presbyterian Church in the hills of North Mosa.  

Jennifer Grainger reporting from Mosa Township: On Sunday, March 30 at 2:00 pm I attended a rare event, an historic church celebrating an anniversary. At a time when many rural churches are closing, it’s a pleasure to see one commemorating the 190th anniversary of the congregation. 

The March 30th event wasn’t an actual church service, mind you, but a celebration of the surrounding community and the role Burns Presbyterian played in it. The occasion, more historical than religious, was entitled “A Stroll Through Time.” Actors portrayed fictional, but plausible, characters from the church’s past, including an early Scottish settler, a later Dutch arrival, the last Precentor, a member of the women’s auxiliary, etc. Sometimes amusing and often poignant, the stories of former congregants were well written and allowed the modern audience to imagine life in Middlesex County, Ontario in the Good Old Days. 

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We need County support for a Total Archives

We need County support for a Total Archives

Glencoe & District Historical Society

Call to Action for A Middlesex County Archives


The Canadian Government created the Public Archives of Canada in 1872.  In Europe, archives retained government records only with personal papers going to libraries as manuscripts.  The Dominion Archivist of Canada determined that all personal records of historical and cultural value should be collected as well as government records, with both being stored in the Public Archives.  This Total Archives approach was a departure from other countries and is known as a Canadian contribution to archival theory and practice.  Over time, multi-media records were added to collections in addition to traditional paper records.  Many other national, regional archival programmes, as well as those in municipalities or universities, have adapted the total archives concept.  The area municipal and university archives adopt this strategy as does the Provincial Archives of Ontario. 

The benefit of this approach is that archives hold records for researchers about family history such as searching houses, land or any other item of interest. The government records also provide some of the information required in these searches.  Having municipal records available – if they are open to the public – are advantageous to researchers and also to Municipal Clerks or staff, who sometimes are contacted by genealogists with family history requests.  Municipal staff benefit by being able to transfer those questions to properly-trained staff who have access to, not only government records, but also personal papers and other resources.  This removes the need for municipal staff to answer questions in an already busy day and provides researchers with a one-stop location.   Genealogists account for over 40% of archives’ users who travel to areas specifically to visit Archives.  While there, their tourist dollars support restaurants, hotels, local merchants and other local amenities.  

An Archives is a program, not a project. Continued funding and municipal support are required to ensure the success of the Middlesex County Archives.

Written by the Committee to Establish a Middlesex County Archives, July 2021

Brown Tom’s School Days, 2nd Edition

Brown Tom’s School Days, 2nd Edition

Glencoe & District Historical Society

Book about Life at Mt. Elgin Residential School, Chippewa of the Thames, a local Indian Residential School.

Books available for sale at The Archives or from the bookseller. University of Manitoba: https://uofmpress.ca/books/brown-toms-schooldays 

The Author: 

Reverend Enos Montour (1898-1985) was a United Church minister and writer from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. 

Over the course of his retirement, Rev. Montour wrote a collection of stories about Mount Elgin Industrial School at the time he attended (ca.1910-1915). Mount Elgin is one the earliest United Church-run Indian Residential Schools and was located on the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation. With the help of Dr. Elizabeth Graham, Montour finished and titled his book Brown Tom’s Schooldays.

With no publisher in sight, photocopies were made and distributed to family members in the early 1980s. This important book is difficult to find today, so Professor McCallum, worked with the University of Manitoba Press,  Dr. Graham, and Montour’s two granddaughters Mary I. Anderson and Margaret Mackenzie, to issue a new edition.  

~~~~

“Trial By Fire, 1915″ – from Brown Tom’s Schooldays

By Reverend Enos Montour

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April 16. AGM: Reviewing 2024

April 16. AGM: Reviewing 2024

April 16th at 7:00.   In person event – no zoom.

Existing members: this is your official notice to attend the annual general meeting to be held at the Archives, 178 McKellar Street, Glencoe, Ontario.

If you have wanted to join, show up and purchase a membership.   Individual Memberships are $20 and family memberships are $25.  Tax Receipts will be issued by Membership Secretary Harold Carruthers.

We’ll share stories and reports for the year 2024 and look ahead.  What’s coming up?    Celebrate the younger generation that is getting involved and telling stories about the past.

Show and Tell!  Bring a family heirloom, artifact, or mysterious thing from the past to share with the group.

Here’s a link to our report covering the past year – DRAFT copy in progress.  Please send any additions to mary@glencoehistoricalsociety.ca 

 

WWI Sacrifice – Private Ellwyne Ballantyne

WWI Sacrifice – Private Ellwyne Ballantyne

Glencoe & District Historical Society

Ellwyne Ballantyne’s twenty-two years of brief, bright life are summed up on a simple plaque attached to a majestic buttonwood tree in Carruthers Corners. When local author CJ Frederick first saw the memorial tree in the rural area just outside of Glencoe, ON, she experienced a keen reverence. “It’s just a dot on a map. I was not prepared for how beautiful the tree was. It looked like it was wearing a cloak; as my mother says, ‘wrapped in a queen’s robe’. Knowing that this tree was dedicated to the life of someone who had given that life in a faraway, long-ago conflict really made me stop and think about remembrance and the enduring nature of love.” Ballantyne’s story had to be told; Frederick was eager to record it.

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They Settled in Riverside – family history book

They Settled in Riverside – family history book

Glencoe & District Historical Society

By Bob Gentleman and Kathy Evans. Review printed with kind permission from the Middlesex Banner.

In July of this year, family and friends gathered at Arrowwood Farm, a beautiful property in Riverside, just south of Melbourne, to celebrate the publishing of a book written by my uncle, Bob Gentleman. The farm that is now called Arrowwood Farm (6460 Riverside Drive) has sentimental value to our family, as it was once owned by the Gentlemans, purchased in 1870. 

Bob’s book, titled “They Settled in Riverside,” is largely a family history, documenting the arrival of our ancestors in the Riverside area and describing their family branches. But Bob also captures an era now decades past as he shares stories of early Riverside neighbours and of growing up in Melbourne in the 1930s. He recalls his paper route, the school, town merchants and businesses, the railroad, and the neighbours and friends who were important in his life.

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The Appin Cemetery Commemoration

The Appin Cemetery Commemoration

Brien Page

Appin Cemetery Commemoration   July 28, 2024

As part of an annual commemoration of area cemeteries, Glencoe & District Historical Society (G&DHS) organized a presentation and community walk at the Appin Cemetery. Prayers, dedications, singing, and community conversation were key parts of the afternoon.

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The Mona Lisa

“It’s a Silent Fire”!

Glencoe & District Historical Society

Film industry pros sweat the possibility that many digital files will eventually become unusable — an archival tragedy reminiscent of the celluloid era.

Martin Scorsese: “The preservation of every art form is fundamental.”  

For the movie business, these are valuable studio assets — to use one example, the MGM Library (roughly 4,000 film titles including the James Bond franchise and 17,000 series episodes) is worth an estimated $3.4 billion to Amazon — but there’s a misconception that digital files are safe forever. In fact, files end up corrupted, data is improperly transferred, hard drives fail, formats change, work simply vanishes. “It’s a silent fire,” says Linda Tadic, CEO of Digital Bedrock, an archiving servicer that works with studios and indie producers. “We find issues with every single show or film that we try to preserve.” So, what exactly has gone missing? “I could tell you stories — but I can’t, because of confidentiality.”

Specialists across the space don’t publicly speak about specific lost works, citing confidentiality issues. So, only disquieting rumors circulate — along with rare, heart-stopping lore that breaches public consciousness. One infamous example: In 1998, a Pixar employee accidentally typed a fatal command function, instructing the computer system to delete Toy Story 2, which was then almost complete. Luckily, a supervising technical director who’d been working from home (she’d just had a baby) had a 2-week-old backup file.

Experts note that indie filmmakers, operating under constrained financial circumstances, are most at risk of seeing their art disappear. “You have an entire era of cinema that’s in severe danger of being lost,” contends screenwriter Larry Karaszewski, a board member of the National Film Preservation Foundation. His cohort on the board, historian Leonard Maltin, notes that this era could suffer the same fate as has befallen so many silent pictures and midcentury B movies. “Those films were not attended to at the time — not archived properly because they weren’t the products of major studios,” he says.

Excerpt from:

“It’s a Silent Fire”: Decaying Digital Movie and TV Show Files Are a Hollywood Crisis

BY GARY BAUM, CAROLYN GIARDINA. MARCH 15, 2024

Can you imagine digitising the Mona Lisa painting and destroying the original? The Magna Carta?  The British North America Act? 1798 Act of Parliament to create London District? The answer to  maintaining records is not paper or digital – it is both! 

Committee To Establish a Middlesex County Archives
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Napier Decoration Day Service

Napier Decoration Day Service

Please join us for the annual Decoration Day Service at St. Mary’s Anglican Church – Napier, Ontario on June 23, 2024 at 3 pm. 

 

St. Mary’s Anglican Church Napier – 1418 Melwood Drive, Strathroy, ON  N7G 3H5.

 

The following history is an excerpt from an old service bulletin and the author is unknown. 

This church has been standing straight, fine and true for over one hundred and eighty years.  It stands as a testament to the faith of those who built it, those who came to regular services, and to those who worked over the years to keep their church alive and active.  But it is a symbol, not primarily of their strength and perseverance, but of the presence of God in their midst.

The first settler in this general area was Captain John Charlton in 1825.  In 1829, Richard, Thomas, and Christopher Moyle and their families and Captain Christopher Beer established residences along the river in the Napier area.  In 1831, Lieutenant Charles Preston and his family came from Cornwall in Upper Canada.  Preston had been granted 100 acres when he commuted his pension for land.  They settled on this property where St. Mary’s Church stands.

The first church services were held in Captain Christopher Beer’s house.  Captain Beer’s rank gave him the privilege of conducting the first church services and first burials in the community.  After the congregation became too large, they moved to the home of Captain Johnson.  When the congregation became too large for his house, a school was built on this property in 1839 and used for church services.  The log school was built on one acre of land donated by Charles Preston for a church and a cemetery.  Preston also gave three acres of land for a rectory. 

In 1841, the residents of the community sent a petition to the Bishop of Toronto requesting permission and assistance to build a church. The petitioners declared themselves to be generally poor and unable to pay for a frame church to be built but the increase in the congregation was such that the school was no longer large enough. Captain Beer had prepared some walnut lumber to use in building a new house.  However, when the news came that a church could be built, he donated this lumber to the church and postponed construction of his own home.  This gift, which represented a considerable sacrifice, was well used; the walnut was worked into pews, wainscotting and the chancel.  It still stands here as a memorial to a man who loved his church and community.

In 1860, the church and cemetery were consecrated by the Right Reverend Benjamin Cronyn, the Bishop of Huron and the church officially received the name “St. Mary”.  In Ireland, the Cronyn’s had attended St. Mary’s Church Kilkenny.  This name linked the new land with the old.

The last regular weekly service was held on January 29, 1920 and annual services were initiated in the early 1930’s.  We must be grateful to the residents of this area and especially to the Toohill family for their loving care of St. Mary’s Church.  It is thanks to them that this oldest church building in Middlesex County still exists. 

Aug 21 The McEachren Collection @ Forty-87

Aug 21 The McEachren Collection @ Forty-87

August 21, 2024

7:00 p.m. 

The McEachren Collection @ Forty-87 

4087 Olde Drive, Glencoe, ON

7:00 p.m.  Arrive at 4087 Olde Drive, Glencoe, ON.  Bring your lawn chairs.  Stroll around the half-acre tractor collection.  

7:30 p.m.  Dave McEachren will tell us about local dealer history.  

8:00 p.m.  Explore the new museum.  

As a 10-year old boy, Dave witnessed a few fellow neighborhood farm boys displaying their collections of farm toys at the Glencoe Fair.  It was that day that he decided to stop “playing in the dirt” with his toys and start collecting them instead.  More than a few decades later the dream of opening his own museum to share his ever-growing John Deere collection has come to light.  

The McEachren Collection @ Forty-87 includes over 40 real tractors, thousands of farm toy models, and tens of thousands of pieces of memorabilia and sales-related literature.  There will be something of interest for everyone, from local dealer history to samples of equipment you may never knew existed.

 

 

The McEachren Collection @ Forty-87

The McEachren Collection @ Forty-87

 

 

Blood on the Snow – lecture about the Donnellys

Blood on the Snow – lecture about the Donnellys

Glencoe & District Historical Society

Glenn’s talk on YouTube – give it a listen

Glenn Stott tells about 33 years of troubles that took place in Biddulph Township and Lucan Ontario region in Upper Canada from 1847 to 1880 and ended with the murder of five members of the Donnelly family.

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Lecture about the Donnellys: Blood on the Snow

Glenn Stott – Blood on the Snow: The Donnellys and the Biddulph Tragedy

December 16 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Register : https://www.historysymposium.com/glenn-stott

The talk will be a livestream on YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeOdo89QhQQOSnROHKN3HoA.

The Donnellys are one of Southwestern Ontario’s most notorious families. This talk will be an overview of the 33 year troubles that took place in Biddulph Township and Lucan, Ontario region from 1847 to 1880 and ultimately ended with the murder of the five members of the Donnelly family.

 

The “Black” Donnellys were an Irish Catholic immigrant family who settled in Biddulph township, Canada West (later the province of Ontario), about 15 km northwest of London, in the 1840s. The family settled on a concession road which became known as the Roman Line due to its high concentration of Irish Catholic immigrants in the predominantly Protestant area. Many Irish Canadians arrived in the 19th-century, many fleeing the Great Famine of Ireland (1845-52). The Donnellys’ ongoing feuds with local residents culminated in an attack on the family’s homestead by a vigilante mob on 4 February 1880, leaving five of the family dead and their farm burned to the ground. No one was convicted of the murders, despite two trials and a reliable eyewitness

AGM: Show & Tell. Celebrating 45 years.

7 p.m. Annual General Meeting.  

Join the Glencoe & District Historical Society and come to the meeting of the members to review the accomplishments of 2022 and make plans for the coming year.  Individual Memberships are $20 and family memberships are $25.  Tax Receipts will be issued by Membership Secretary Harold Carruthers.

Show and Tell!  Bring a family heirloom, artifact, or mysterious thing from the past to share with the group.  We’ll have some fun with this.

 

Existing members: this is your official notice to attend the annual general meeting to be held at the Archives, 178 McKellar Street, Glencoe, Ontario.  

Or attend via Zoom meeting.

Topic: Glencoe & District Historical Society Annual General Meeting 45 years!

Time: Apr 19, 2023 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

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Meeting ID: 832 8272 7090

Passcode: 298019

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Battle Hill Memorial

Memorial Service: Battle of Longwoods

Join us on March 5th as we commemorate the Battle of Longwoods which was originally fought on March 4th 1814.  Arrive at 1:45 p.m. and park carefully.  We will remember them. 

We will  remember those injured and killed at the Battle of the Longwoods in 1814.

Battle Hill National Historic Site, 2945 Longwoods Rd, Glencoe, ON N0L 1M0

Watch this beautiful short video of the MOURNING RING OF LIEUTENANT PATRICK GRAEME OF THE 89TH REGIMENT OF FOOT. KILLED ON MARCH 4, 1814, WHILE LEADING THE BRITISH ATTACK AT THE BATTLE OF LONGWOODS.

 

Click to Facebook Event by the Upper Thames Military Re-enactment Society  https://www.royal-scots.com/

Co-hosted by the Glencoe & District Historical Society

McGill Farm History & the Gunnery School

Glencoe & District Historical Society

My name is Andrew McGill, I’m a young farmer and a photographer. I grew up on a farm 6 kilometres north of Glencoe, Ontario. In mid 1940 my great grandfather Fred McGill purchased a farm building which was to be moved from the site of the No. 4 Bombing and Gunnery School at Fingal Ontario. The building was dismantled and moved 45 kilometres north of Fingal to its final resting place on the McGill farm at Taits rd. Glencoe where it has sat to this day. My father and I think the building was then reassembled with a new roof sometime in 1941. The site of No. 4 B&G school sat on a swath of 724 acres of land that was returned to the crown for the purpose of building the training facility. One can imagine the numerous agricultural buildings on the land that would have had to be dismantled and moved in short order to make way for the multiple airplane hangers and triangle runway of the Fingal school. 

Aerial photo of the McGill farm circa 1977. The building in question can be seen directly to the left of the barn. (Photo care of McGill family Archive, 1977.)

McGill farm building moved from Fingal Bombing And Gunnery School site in 1940. (Photo: Andrew McGill. September, 2022.)
Aerial photo of the site of the Fingal Bombing and Gunnery School. (Photo: Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum.)
Route from Fingal B&G school site to the McGill farm. (Photo: Google Maps)
Interior detail of the McGill farm building which continues to house tools and horse equipment which would have been used by the late Fred McGill circa 1940’s. (Photo: Andrew McGill, 2016.)
A restored 1942 Minneapolis Moline “Waterloo” tractor stored in the building on the McGill farms site. (Photo: Andrew McGill, 2022.)
Winifred (Eddie), Fred, and Blake McGill using their 1942 Minneapolis Moline Tractor to plant sugar beets for seed to aid the allied forces war effort. (Photo care of McGill family Archive, 1942.)
Alternate angle of Winifred (Eddie), Fred, and Blake McGill using their 1942 Minneapolis Moline Tractor to plant sugar beets for seed to aid the allied forces war effort. (Photo care of McGill family Archive, 1942.)
Clare McGill and Dorothy Brown in front of the McGill homestead with the 1942 Minneapolis Moline “Waterloo” tractor. (Photo care of McGill family Archive, 1942.)
Clare, Winifred (Eddie), and Blake McGill in front of the McGill homestead to mark the moment King George VI announced enlistment of eligible men into the military in Canada. (Photo care of McGill family Archive, 1941.)

 

Blake McGill standing with his newly restored 1942 Minneapolis Moline tractor on the McGill farm in 1993. (Photo care of McGill family Archive, 1993.)
McGill Farm
Aerial photo of the McGill farm taken the year of its 100th anniversary in 2016. The relocated building can be seen clearly to the left of the barn. (Photo care of McGill family Archive, 2016.)
Dorothy (Knapp), Doug, and Ron McRae in Ilderton Ontario, 1955
Dorothy (Knapp), Doug, and Ron McRae in Ilderton Ontario, 1955. During WWII, as a 13 year old, my grandmother Dorothy along with her schoolmates were tasked with finding a plant called Alder Buckthorn, which because of its consistent burn time was used to create fuses for depth charges used to sink German navy vessels. It is told that Dorothy found enough of the valuable plant for her father to pay off the mortgage of their farm. (Photo care of the McRae family Archive, 1955.)

How to Transfer Municipal Records to a County Archive.

Glencoe & District Historical Society

Check out this YouTube presentation for The Hasting and Belleville Community Archives entitled “How To Access The Community Archives When They Are Closed”. Published October 2020, their archivist, Amanda Hill, describes the Archives facility which was established ten years ago. She shows people how to access the collections from a computer.

The Community Archives of Belleville and Hastings County is a service provided by the County of Hastings and the City of Belleville to help the municipalities of Hastings County preserve and provide access to their documentary heritage. https://www.cabhc.ca/en/about/resources/Transfer-of-municipal-records-to-the-Community-Archives.pdf 
This two-page document describes the process of transferring municial records to the county archives.

Although the Middlesex Centre Archives do not have the Municipal Records for Middlesex Centre, they do use a similar process. Each donor signs a Deed of Gift for their donation. The number for that donation is recorded on the Deed of Gift and every article within the donation. That is part of the processing work of donations.

When completely processed (number added, repairs completed), the donation is placed in the Archives on a specific shelf in a specific bay of shelving. The donation and its place in the Archives are then recorded. That donation can be found at any time with all its pertinent information. Access is easy and timely. If the donation has privacy implications, it is filed in the restricted files area. 

All these policies are already in place at the Middlesex Centre Archives under the direction of Archivist, Carolynn Bart-Riedstra. The processes were designed so that when Middlesex County establishes an archive facility, some of the work is already done and easily transferable.

Written by Carol Small, Chair, The Committee To Establish a Middlesex County Archives

Southwest Middlesex has a duty to save records

Glencoe & District Historical Society

Municipal Act and Responsibility

Legal Mandate

  • Federal and Provincial Governments in Canada have mandated that public records be officially archived for legal, governance, and historical purposes.  
  • The division of records kept usually coincides with jurisdictional boundaries: Federal, Provincial, County, and Municipalities.  (Library and Archives of Canada Act, S.C.2004).
  • Ontario has further mandated that preserved public records be available to the public.  (Archives Act, RSO 1990; Archives and Recordkeeping Act, 2006; Archives and Recordkeeping Amendment Act, 2019.
  • The Ontario Municipal Act 2001, S.O. 2001. C. 25 Section 254 further states that municipal offices must preserve certain documents and they are to be publicly accessible. Those records need to be adequately stored.  It further indicates that municipal offices could deposit their records in an archives.

Many neighbouring Ontario counties have created their own archives to fulfill their legal obligations and to preserve important heritage materials. These include Elgin, Oxford, Huron, Perth, Grey, Bruce, Lambton, Haldimand, Wellington and more recently in 2020, Norfolk.  Middlesex County has not done so yet.

Often records are not easily accessible due to the location of the records in the municipality.  They are either stored off-site in another municipal structure or are not available for access to the public.  Whether in digital or hard copy, records need to be accessible in a timely manner, especially when there are MFIPPA requests.  

Environmentally controlled (EC) storage facilities are necessary for preserving records.  The temperature must be 18-21 degrees Celsius, which is colder than an office environment. Relative humidity (RH) should be between 45-50%.  If both elements are not met, mold can occur if humidity is too high, and paper can deteriorate if the temperature and RH are too low.  Based on the surveys returned from the municipalities in Middlesex County, none of the records are in EC areas. A few municipalities indicated the records are stored in their community centres. While these facilities may have air-conditioning, the RH control is still an issue.  

Even if municipal records are covered in Records Retention Schedules as per the Municipal Act 2001, S.O. 2001. C. 25 Section 253, some records have historical value that can be retained for researcher and/or historical value.   When records no longer serve administrative value, they could still have cultural value for information.  Less than 3% of municipal records are archival. While it might not be a lot, municipal records like tax assessment rolls, building plans, environmental assessments and other documents should be considered for placement in the Middlesex County Archives. 

Written by the Committee to Establish a Middlesex County Archives, July 2021