Saturday, December 7, 2024 | 1:00 – 4:00 PM Sunday, December 8, 2024 | 1:00 – 4:00 PM
NEW Melbourne United Church, 592 John Street, Melbourne, Ontario
Step back in time and celebrate the season with us at the Manse, a classic example of Italianate architecture.
What to Expect: 🎄 Period Christmas Decorations: Experience the charm of Victorian-era holiday décor.
📜 Historic Displays: Explore exhibits showcasing Melbourne’s local history, including fascinating artifacts and stories of the area’s past. 👀 Signature Quilt: See the 1918 signature quilt on display—could your ancestors’ names be stitched into its fabric? Discover your family connections!🛷 Kilbourne Cutter Sleigh: Admire this elegant piece of local history on the front lawn.
Architecture Highlight The Manse, built with locally-made brick, features a wide central hall, a stunning staircase, and large windows with stained glass. While originally designed without modern conveniences like bathrooms, later adaptations—including 1960s enclosed porches—have added layers to its architectural story over the decades.
The Italianate design of this home was inspired by plans published in the Canada Farmer magazine in 1865, which highlighted this style for its practicality and grandeur.
Giving Back In the spirit of the season, we are graciously accepting non-perishable food items and cash donations for local food banks. Join us for a heartwarming afternoon filled with history, holiday cheer, and community spirit. We can’t wait to welcome you!
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.
PROGRAM
11:00 a.m.
Bring your family and make a day of it and arrive in the morning and explore the
Simpson Cemetery. Bring a photo to tape on your ancestors’ stones. Tell your kids
about their ancestors.
12 Noon Picnic
Time for an old-fashioned picnic. Spread out your blanket and share a meal with your
family and friends.
1:00 p.m. Commencement
Welcome and introductory remarks (Brian Huis)
o Land acknowledgement
Remarks from the President, Glencoe and District Historical Society (Mary Simpson)
History of the Simpson Cemetery (Ken Willis)
Walk with the Ancestors: a series of rotating talks and activities:
o Spirit walk with “Nicolas Bodine”
o The “Simpson” Ancestors (Wendy Bestward, Dennis Simpson, Wanda
Simpson, and Micheline Champagne-Johnston)
o Demonstration: How to properly clean and care for a gravestone (Norm McGill)
o Demonstration: How to do a gravestone rubbing (Ken Beecroft and Gerry
Cross)
o How to fix an old broken gravestone (Harold Carruthers)
2:00 p.m. Gather to Remember
Honour Roll – Reading of the names from the plaque of those who served their
country in times of war (is there a name attached to this?)
Tribute to “Nicholas Bodine” (1788 to 1885), Upper Canada militia veteran, War of
1812 (Harold Carruthers)
Closing prayer (Ken Willis?)
2: 45 p.m. Wrap-up and Adjournment
2:30 – 5:00 Bill Allan’s Celebration of Life at the Glencoe Agricultural Hall – we will miss him.
Wendy Simms Bestward telling a story about her ancestor, Simpson Cemetery, Woodgreen, Southwest Middlesex, ON
Organized by the Glencoe & District Historical Society and the Simpson Descendants Circle: Micheline Champagne-Johnston, Brian Huis, Wanda Simpson, Wendy Bestward, Jan Simpson, Dennis Simpson, Mary Simpson.
“Beyond the gates of the cemetery lives an historical account of our past, a rich heritage populated by friends and relatives. Loved ones who can no longer be with us, but whose memories live on.” – Josh Kekosz.
Simpson Cemetery is located at M4. Our District includes Woodgreen, Newbury, Mosa, Ekfrid, Alvinston, Caradoc, Appin, Melbourne, Wardsville, Glencoe and the Thames Valley Watershed,
As you enjoy the festivities, we invite you to support the Glencoe and District Historical Society by volunteering your time. Your participation helps us preserve and celebrate our community’s rich history.
Why Volunteer with Us?
Preserve Our Heritage: Assist with maintaining and sharing our unique local stories and artifacts.
Engage with History: Get hands-on experience with archival work, event planning, and outreach.
Connect with Community: Join a dedicated team and make meaningful connections.
How You Can Help:
Staff Our Archives: Help organize and manage historical collections.
Support Our Events: Assist with setup, coordination, and guest interactions.
Promote Our Mission: Contribute to outreach and public engagement.
Assist with Research: Aid in digitizing and cataloging historical records.
Interested in making a difference? It’s simple! Just fill out our volunteer form: bit.ly/4cVCIUw
Featured Image Above: The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace on the fairgrounds in Glencoe. It was home to about 50 Japanese Canadians in the summer of 1942 who were forcibly removed from their homes on the west coast. the men were paid 35 cents per hour to work on farms in the area before leaving November 11th. The building would later house prisoners of war from Germany and Italy.
Message from the Ag Society
For hundreds of years, the Glencoe Agricultural Society has hosted events, promoted new and established businesses, supporters, exhibitors and built upon Glencoe’s sense of pride and fellowship. Empowered by the incredible support of our sponsors and the exuberance of our townspeople, we look forward to continuously renewing – and building upon – our commitment to agricultural and philanthropic vitality. Throughout the year, Glencoe citizens and visitors from across the region can look forward to special events – large and small – that create the very best excuses to get out of the house and spend time with loved ones.
We always welcome feedback from our community members and monthly meetings are held to ensure we are aligning with the best interests of the people and personalities who sustain our vibrant community. The Glencoe Agricultural Society is bolstered by the thoughtfulness and dedication of our board members and volunteers as well as the continued support of our constituents. We invite you to learn more about our long, rich history and to see what exciting new initiatives we are looking forward to implementing. Should something spark your interest, please don’t hesitate to reach out to find out more about getting involved.
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.
March 6, 2024 – A revised Memorial Service to remember those who sacrificed at the Battle of the Longwoods in 1814 was resumed this year, at 1:45 p.m. on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, at Battle Hill National Historic Site, 2945 Longwoods Rd, Southwest Middlesex. The Upper Thames Military Re-inactment Society was present, along with a number of G & DHS members and other interested individuals. In all, there were about 65 people present. O.P.P. presence on Longwood’s Road maintained traffic safety. There were about 25 memorial wreaths laid, including one from us. The usual soup and fellowship event after service was re-instated this year at the Anglican Church in Wardsville, and enjoyed by those who attended. It was funded by a free will offering.
The Battle of The Longwoods has always been observed as being a significant local historical event that has played a strong role in the interests of the G&DHS.
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.
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.
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.
“Beyond the gates of the cemetery lives an historical account of our past, a rich heritage populated by friends and relatives. Loved ones who can no longer be with us, but whose memories live on.” – Josh Kekosz.
Each year the historical society honours those who came before us. On July 24, 2022, the Cemetery Memorial Service was held at Oakland Cemetery, which was opened May 1894 by a group of ten men who formed a Board of Directors.
Five acres was purchased from a local farmer in Mosa Township and surveyed into plots of 16 feet X 16 feet. These plots were purchased by families. One plot had room for 8 burials. The first burial was Thomas Hopkins in May 1894.
The community was previously served by small family plots and St. Andrew’s (Graham) Cemetery at 112 Main Street Glencoe (Concession 1, Lot 1). St. Andrew’s eventually contained approximately 500 burials between 1841 – 1931. It still exists and is classified as ‘abandonned’.
After the new Oakland Cemetery opened and families started purchasing plots, new stones were installed and the names of beloved previously deceased family members were commemorated. This could explain why there are 175 inscriptions whose dates of death are prior to May 1894.
Records are poor but we surmise that sometimes stones were moved to the new Oakland. Sometimes the stones might have been buried or lost from their original family plot locations. And what of the bodies? We guess that bodies probably remain in their original resting places. It seems doubtful if they would have been disinterred and moved
