Historical Highlights

This photo shows Fairview Farm in Tottenham (ca.1895). The family is posing in front of the house with their dog.

From the Museum Collection 998.40.426 B

The Boyne River, Alliston - New!

A black and white image of the Boyne River in front of the Stevenson Memorial Hospital in Alliston, 1911. The photo shows the dirt road in front of the hospital and a man reading a book under a tree. The river is noticeably higher and wider than it is now, this is because there used to be a dam which kept the water levels higher.

From the Museum Collection 2013.7.1

Today’s mysterious item is a photograph of an unknown man (ca. 1895). It was taken by F. Hurndall from Beeton. If you know who this man is, let us know!

From the Museum Collection 2015.23.2

Funny Family Postcard

In the late 19th century, the picture postcard became an inexpensive way to mail images to friends and relatives. This particular postcard is one of the funniest in our collection. Most early photos show very severe looking people, and very few give even a hint of a smile. This family was obviously a fun one. None of the family members are looking at the camera, and one man is peeking out from behind the curtains.

From the Museum Collection 979.191.213

This photograph is of an unknown soldier. We would love to be able to connect the photo to a name. If you happen to know who he is, we would love to hear from you!

These photos are of an unknown man and woman. We particularly enjoy he man's sour expression and the woman's stylish bonnet. 

Do you know who these people are? Send us an email and let us know.

This unknown farmhouse is likely in Beeton (ca. 1900). The photo was taken by photographer J.J Thompson of Beeton. If you know who any of these people are or where this house is located, send us an email and let us know!

Back to School

S.S. No.1 in Tosorontio Township, 1913

Back Left to Right:

Wilmott Clarke, Marguerite Dermott, Alice Stephen, May Irwin, Daisy McCraken, Ruby McCraken, Bernice Murphy, Cecil Clarke, Ruben Parsons
 

Middle:

Frank Smith, Russell Stephen, Burt Gallaugher, Lloyd Dermott, Johnstone Service, Alice Edmond, Lila Stephen, Gordon Service, James Dermott, Ernest Gilmore, Stewart Dermott
Front:

John Thompson, Floyd Clarke, Monetta Dermott, Lila Clarke, Mary Halbert, Gordon Stephen, Wilfrid Service

MOTB Collection, 997.10.28

Hill-Andrews Family, Bond Head, August 7, 1916

The Andrews Family lived on a farm in Bond Head. This photo was taken of the Hill-Andrews family on August 7, 1916.
Back: Jim and Margaret Andrews
Front left to right: Ethel, Jean, Bill and Dorothy Andrews, followed by Mary Jane and James Hill, and Adeline Andrews

MOTB Collection, 000.16.139 O

Bee Skep - New!

Beekeeping has a very long history, and bee skeps have been used for around 2000 years. The modern hives with more easily removeable frames appeared in the 19th century, and skeps began to disappear. This one came from Beeton, which was named after its booming bee industry.

From the Museum Collection 2024.23.34

Laura Druscilla Beatrice (Beatty) Burling’s Wedding Outfit - New!

Laura Druscilla Beatrice Beatty was born in Tecumseth Township on October 12, 1872. She married Edwin Burling, a bricklayer from Dufferin County, around 1895. He served in the First World War and returned. They lived in Tecumseth Township and Cookstown for the rest of their lives. Edwin died in 1937, and Laura went on to live another twenty-six years. They are buried together in the Cookstown United Church Cemetery.

Mrs. Burling wore this green wool outfit at her wedding. Wearing white at a wedding is a fairly new idea, and the idea of wearing a dress only once, was unthinkable for the average person. Many women would simply wear their best dress, or buy a new dress that would become their best dress, for their wedding.

From the Museum Collection 978.418.533-534

Valentines Day Card

This Valentines Day Card is signed "From Clara Halbert to Lally."

With the advancement of printing techniques in the middle 1880s, cardmaking became easier and more affordable. By the early 1900s, cards had become an easy and affordable way to communicate with friends and family. Many, such as this one, were created for holidays and events. To compete with each other, the card makers made their cards more complex and elaborate. In this card the flowers can pop out to become 3D.

From the Museum Collection 978.679.845 C

Joseph McCarroll served in Europe in World War II with the 6th infantry Brigade until invalided at home. He worked at his father’s meat business and continued with the help of his wife and family until retiring in 1984. He was the first postwar president of Legion Branch 171 Alliston and received the Legion Meritorious Services Medal with Palm Leaf for community services. He was on committees of the Alliston Arena, Stevenson Memorial Hospital, and St. Paul’s Church. Joe and his wife Angie enjoyed gardening, music, theatre and also loved to travel.

The jacket is a part Joe’s uniform as seen in the photograph on the left. The photograph is of James Hawkins and Joe McCarroll out front of E.J. McCarroll Meat Market, Alliston, about 1941. 

1920s Dress

This dress from the 1920s belonged to a local woman named Marie-Louise Catherine Cassells. She handmade this and many other clothing items herself.  

Mink Muff

This mink fur muff belonged to Margaret Mawdsley, a local woman. Mink was very popular, and the mink business grew in Canada, especially in the 1920s and 1930s. There was even a Mink Ranch in Alliston from 1936-1965, run by C.A. Bisbee.

This beautiful green stained-glass window once brightened the Bradford United Church. Framed in white-painted wood, it was added during renovations around 1879, bringing light and colour into the space. 

Apples are one of the few fruit trees that grow well in Ontario. They are able to endure colder climates although they require some pest control. These trees are quite versatile and originally grew in Asia and the Middle East before spreading throughout Europe. Eventually they were brought to North America. Apples are a versatile fruit that store well. They can be eaten raw, dried, candied, cooked in pies or other baked goods, made into apple sauce or pressed into cider.

The first photograph shows man pressing apples at an apple harvest. It is a part of the R. R. Sallows collection.
The picture was a gift to Jim Johnstone of Alliston and is from around 1890.  
 - MOTB Collection, 2008.3.7
 
Our second photograph shows a cider press in our collection. The apples would go in the top wooden bin and a person would turn a wooden handle which would turn a mechanism inside that grinds the apples. The juice then comes out into buckets.
 - MOTB Collection, 978.146.172

The last photo shows the Cookstown Apple Factory ca.1900. 
 - MOTB Collection, 000.16.139 F

Joseph Robert Hipwell

Joseph Robert Hipwell was born on a farm in Essa Township on April 3, 1864. He was the son of James David Hipwell and Rebecca Banting.

He graduated in 1892 from the Ontario College of Pharmacy with two honour degrees. He opened his drugstore in Alliston in 1892 at 73 Victoria St. W. In 1892 he married Nellie Jane Watt of Port Dover, Ontario and they went on to have three children together.

Hipwell ran his store for sixty-four years and locals said that he always kept a stock of chocolate bars and every child who went into his store came out with a bar.

In addition to his work, Hipwell was very involved in the community. He tutored high school students in Chemistry, provided the playgrounds and tennis courts on Maple Lane for children to enjoy and, along with W. J. Cunningham, built a swimming area at the millpond on the Boyne River. He was on the Stevenson Memorial Hospital Board and was the Alliston Town Treasurer. He was a member of the Wesley Methodist (St. John's United) Church, an elder, a superintendent of the Sunday School for fifty-five years, and organized several orchestras.

In 1894 he became a Bell Telephone Company Agent. He was the local manager for over sixty years. By the time of his death, April 12, 1958, Hipwell was one of Canada’s oldest practicing pharmacists. 

September 28th is British Home Child Day 
 
This day recognizes the migration scheme that saw more than 100,000 children sent from Britain to Canada between 1869 and the late 1940s to work as farmers and domestic servants. Many of these children were sent to Canada without the knowledge or consent of their parents. 
 
The British home children were sent to Canada on the belief that the children would have a better chance to live a healthy and moral life. The organizations that sent these children believed that Canadian families in rural Canada would welcome them as a source of farm labour and domestic help. 
 
The resulting experiences faced by many of these children was not what had been expected. With little monitoring by the organizations involved, many of the home children faced considerable challenges and tremendous hardships in Canada. 
 
It is estimated that over 4 million Canadians are descendants of the British Home Children. These children and their descendants have contributed greatly to Canada, yet it is a part of Canadian history that is vastly unknown. 
 
Several home children have created lives for themselves in South Simcoe. The photo above shows Joseph Perrott who ran the first Alliston Marble Works. Mr. Perrott came to Canada on the S.S. Peruvian in 1872 at the age of 11. He was given to a family who farmed west of Mount Forest but was sent back to Rye (Marie Rye) home in Niagara-on-the-Lake for relocation. He was placed with a childless couple in Newcastle, ON. John McDonald being a local marble cutter and dealer. He taught the trade to his son.  

MOTB Collection, 2013.7.10