Alexander Mackenzie, the second
Prime Minister in Canadian history
helped build the country...literally!
On Jan. 28, 1822, Alexander Mackenzie was born in Scotland. Young Mackenzie left school to apprentice himself to a stone mason. At the age of 20 Mackenzie emigrated to Canada, where he soon found work in his trade at Kingston, Upper Canada and then later Sarnia.
He was also a concerned citizen, and in 1852 he became the editor of the Lambton Shield,
a tiny newspaper that nonetheless served to give him access to the world of politics. In 1867 he was elected to the first Parliament of
Canada, where he became the leader of the opposition to the government of Sir John Alexander Macdonald.
Mackenzie became Canada’s first Liberal prime minister after the fall of Sir John
Macdonald’s Conservative government in 1873.
Alexander Mackenzie refused knighthood 3 times. He was the only one of the first eight prime ministers not to be knighted. He introduced the secret ballot and suggested the creation of the Supreme Court of Canada. He was a very honest politician, a loyal friend, and loved pranks.
Le Griffon was the first tall ship to sail up the St. Clair river and the great lakes, in 1679.
It was built by Rene-Robert Sieur de La Salle who was one of the first French explorers of the Great Lakes Region. Le Griffon set sail from the Niagara River for points west, arriving near modern-day Green Bay,
Wisconsin, on Lake Michigan. Lasalle left the ship at this point and sent the ship home with six crew members and thousands of dollars in furs. It was never seen again.
Some wrecks uncovered over the years have been suggested to be the Griffon, but none have been proven beyond a doubt and possibly never will. The three main theories
about the fate of Le Griffon have been: 1) Natives captured the crew and burned the ship; 2) The ship went down in
a sudden storm; 3) Le Griffon's crew mutinied, scuttled the ship, and kept its load of furs.
Early in the 1830s, the first settlers arrived in the Sarnia area and established a community known as "The Rapids".
In 1836, the name "Port Sarnia"
was adopted, and the community grew steadily over the years being incorporated as a town in 1856 and, finally, as the "City of Sarnia" on May 7th, 1914.
The City of Sarnia and the
neighbouring Town of Clearwater
amalgamated on January 1st, 1991, to become
the "City of Sarnia-Clearwater". The new
community has a population of 70,000 and
a total land mass of 44,000 acres. On
January 1st, 1992, the name became
"City of Sarnia."
Marceil Saddy was born in 1924 in London England.
He was a Canadian politician,
who served as mayor of
Sarnia, Ontario from 1980
until his death in 1988. Prior to
becoming the city's mayor, he was a journalist and editor of the Sarnia Gazette. Saddy was particularly noted for his role in a boundary dispute between Sarnia and the then-separate township of Clearwater, which he dismissed as "an overblown suburb of 24,000 people".
Clearwater was later annexed by the city in
1991. His other achievements in office include the establishment of the Sarnia Community Foundation and the creation of Sarnia's annual Mayor's Honour List.
Mulberry House was built by Alexander
Mackenzie and home to Mayor Marceil
Saddy. Alexander Mackenzie is believed
to have also built this house in 1861 for
the James Rogers family who named it
the Mulberry House and occupied it for
almost 100 years. They operated a
candy store out of the back of the
house from 1905 to 1910. Markings
on the back window sill indicate
where knives were once sharpened. The
front steps are made of tombstones,
rejected by customers because of
spelling errors.
“The Flats”, found on the south bank of Bear Creek and 18th side road, were low and flooded every spring and mid summer. Each July, Gypsies came with their caravan and parked at the flats.
They stayed until the grass for their horses had disappeared. They made their money by horse dealing. They sold small items like pails and kitchen utensils.
They also sold linens which they said came from Scotland. When the county was picking names for the area, people remembered the gypsies and the part that they played in the oil boom, so they named the area Gypsies Flats. No gypsies have been
in the area since World War 2.
The St. Clair Tunnel links Sarnia Ontario to
Port Huron Michigan. It was the first underwater rail tunnel in North America, opening in 1891. The tunnel was designed by Joseph Hobson. The Beach tunneling shield was used to assist workmen in removing material from the route of the tunnel.
The Beach tunneling shield is a technique that people use in tunnels to avoid the soft ground above them collapsing on the workers. It is a continuous iron tube
nearly 7,000 feet (2,100 m) long.
In 1892, when the tunnel was done, freight trains used the tunnel for the first passenger trains. The tunnel was 6,025 feet (1,836 m) from station to station and the tube had a diameter of 19 feet 10 inches (6.05 m) and had a single standard track.
It was built at a cost of $2.7 million.
However a second tunnel was built too.
In the 1920’s a man lived in Sombra, Canada who had a successful business. His name was Samuel Whiteley.
He owned a ferry boat called The Silent. Using his ferry he would transport people from America, over the border, into Sombra and back again.
He would sail a short distance, pick up some Americans, sail them across the border, let them do their thing and have
fun, then take them back, repeat. He was charging 10 cents round trip.
The Maxmobile is probably not
what you’d expect when you hear
the words “old car”. Although it
more resembled a carriage rather
than a car, it made history!
Unlike other cars that were crafted
using old parts from other things,
Dave Maxwell, the creator of
the car, decided to take on the
build with solely new materials,
from the engine to the wheels.
David Maxwell was born on
August 10th, 1861, and was at an
early age, orphaned in Watford, He
ended up working as a blacksmith
for John Baimbridge, and eventually
bought some land and started his
own blacksmith shop, which he even
built himself!
As for the car, there were about 12 variations. And to think that this was all in the early 1900s! Henry Ford asked Maxwell to join him in Detroit and become partners in Ford Motor Company. But Maxwell was quite
happy tinkering with the Maxmobile in
Watford, Ontario.
The Brigden Fair is the biggest fair in all
of Lambton County, but before it got its
fame and popularity, it was simply a few
horses and farm animals. In the year 1850,
the Brigden Fair was held for the first
time on the Reilley Farm, located on the 8th
Line in Moore Township. Before the fair
settled in to its main location in Brigden,
the fair had many different sites, including
Mooretown and Corunna, and later
Courtright, prior to 1889.
The Brigden Fair was actually
considered as a township fair until 1928,
where it was finally opened to the public.
After many years, the Brigden fair had
finally achieved the grade of an A class fair,
which meant that it could be open for 3 days
and could include over 40 acres of land.
This year, the Brigden Fair has many things
to do, including visiting the farm animals,
going on crazy rollercoasters, and getting
wacky carnival food. So if you are ever in
Brigden, Thanksgiving weekend, head to the
Brigden Fair.
We all love something about a hermit. Perhaps you are intrigued by his urge for privacy, or, perhaps you enjoy his “outcast” vibes.
Josiah Clark, or, as the other townsfolk called him, “Old Clark”, occupied the old bank of Bear Creek where it crosses the second line of Moore. His house consisted of logs and dug-out parts of land. Though he didn’t have much to wear, Josiah was almost always dressed in a buckskin shirt and jeans, and for his head, a straw hat.
During a snowstorm in a late afternoon of
February in the year 1842, a lady by the name of Mrs. Whittet found Clark at the front door of her house, begging her to let him into the warmth. Early in the morning after, Mrs.Whittet and her 4 children were awoken by screams. While he
was sound asleep, a spark from the chimney
had set his rags on fire! Mrs.Whittet grabbed a pail of drinking water and doused the flames, on Old Clark.
Clark searched for his “hugger”, a wallet. From the hugger came gold!82 pieces of gold, worth about $5 dollars each.Clark had Mrs. Whittet promise to never talk about the incident. Old Clark continued his life, however Mrs.Whittet broke her promise,and told someone of Clark and his gold.This may have caused Clark his life.
​
In the early winter of 1858, many of the towns folk were shocked at the news that the Old
Clark had been found dead. The town demanded an answer, and the body was
brought to Toronto for inspection, where they determined that the death was of poisoning by
prussic acid, and with that information, the town’s police force arrested a doctor and a local settler,
just out of suspicion. The trial, which took place on a day in March, shook the whole community.
The doctor was found guilty, and with the help of his lawyer, the settler got off scot-free.
The questions about the incident would have continued forever if Rowlan Whittet, one of the
many people disturbed by the fire, had not stumbled upon one of Clark’s walking trails.
Twenty-five years after the incident, he was lucky enough to meet a John Hull of Hullsville
in Haldiman County. John told Rowlan that Old Clark told him that his real name was
Joshua Sears and came from a rich family that came from Massachusetts.
Old Clark's body is now buried in an unmarked grave in Bear Creek Presbyterian
church yard on the 6th line of Moore. And it’s probably the place he wanted it to be.
Oil was found in 1858 when a
man named James Williams
went out to dig a well but
found oil instead of water. The
discovery made North America's
first oil rush! The very same
year of the discovery the town's
name was changed to Oil Springs.
Within a few years the town was
full, with almost 4 thousand
residents and in the 'peak days'
there was street lamps, paved
roads, and horse drawn buses!
Then John Fairbank invented the
jerker line, which was a unique way
of drawing oil from several wells.
When oil was hit in Petrolia,
Oil Springs was almost a
ghost town. Then oil was found
deeper and another oil boom
occurred.
Pauline McGibbon was born
on October 21 1910, in Sarnia.
She was the 22 Lieutenant
governor and the first to
be a woman. She served
her position from 1974 to
1980. As well as
being the first woman in that
position, Pauline was also the
first woman Vice Regal
representative! She went to
school at the University of
Toronto and got a degree in
Modern history. Pauline enjoyed
dancing and singing. Pauline
died on December 14 2001.
Jacob Englehart was born on November2 1847. Originally, Jacob was a merchant in New York but he moved t London, Ont. and opened a refinery called J.L Englehart
and Company. Not too long after
he moved to Petrolia and opened a
new refinery called Silver Star Refinery.
He was one of 16 operators at Petrolia
who merged their interests in 1880 to
form IMPERIAL OIL.
Charles Fairbank was born in 1852.
He was the son of famous Petrolia
oil pioneer, John Henry Fairbank.
The family founded Fairbank Oil
in 1861, and it is still in operation.
Although Charles worked in the oil
fields he had a degree in Doctoring
and Medicine. He died in 1925.
The “Little Doctor” and “Jake” were
said to be very good friends during the
boom days!
Grand Bend has many interesting places to go and things to do, like the beach, the museum, the art gallery, or the parachuting centre. It also has the campground, the Pinery. In the 1830's, by the shores
of Lake Huron, British Settlers bought land from Chippewa First Nations, and began to build a mill and a town with it. Most of the people living there were families of millhands and/or fishermen. The French
Settlers called it "Aux Croches" or "At The Bends" because of the tight hairpin turn in the river, or, the Grand Bend. That name suited it best so it stayed. But its’ original name was Brewster Mills! In 1832 a Mr. Benjamin Brewster, popularly known as
"Professor", built a saw mill and mill dam. Flooding began to happen because of the dam. Some families down the river thought the mill was the cause, so after 20 years of existing, the mill was burned down, never
to be rebuilt. And as automobiles came into play, the town's businesses grew, and the city became a popular destination for summer and camping.
Stewart James was born in Courtright, 1908,
and lived most of his childhood in the big house Aberystwyth, named after his grandparents' birth place in Wales. He'd always been interested in magic
tricks, and his father who
made mechanisms for magicians, inspired
little Stewart. He had his first ever show
at the age of nine, in 1917, and his first
trick was published in 1926 when he
was 18. He started to do shows all
around Canada and in parts of
US for years. At the outbreak of World War II,
he was enlisted in the Canadian forces. He did put on some shows to entertain his fellow soldiers. Afterwards, when he returned, he cared for his mother back in his hometown. This put a hold on his public shows, so he practiced effects instead.
He became famous once he started again, and an annual gathering in Courtright was held in his honour, and his
tricks became famous too. They filled books and were taught to others. He died in 1996.
The Sarnia Imperials
were a football team in the
Ontario Rugby Football Union.
The Imperials appeared in
three Grey Cup championship
games, winning twice in
1934 and in 1936.
What is flora and fauna? Flora is plant life, fauna is animal life.
So why is Rock Glen unique to flora and fauna? Rock Glen sits between two zones: the Carolinian Forest and St. Lawrence. There are different types of trees in each one so therefore there are
different types of animals. Since Rock Glen sits between the two, it has trees from both zones, and animals too. So Rock Glen has a
huge variety of biodiversity.
Some of the most interesting examples of flora in Rock Glen are the
Sassafras, PawPaw, and Cucumber Magnolia trees. There are also more than 50 types of wildflowers.
Some examples of fauna would be birds, and to be more specific the scarlet tanager and the grey catbird - and many more. Another
example is the wood duck. And finally the eastern coyote.
Rock Glen is a Conservation area in the
town of Arkona, in the municipality of
Lambton Shores, Ontario. It was started
in 1946 by the Ausable River Conservation
Authority, which was Ontario's first
Conservation Authority. Now it is run by
the ABCA (Ausable Bayfield
Conservation Authority). Civilization
in Rock Glen dates back 10,000
years. Early First Nations used the hills
to hunt caribou. In the mid 1800s
pioneers settled in the area and built
grist mills within Rock Glen.
Rock Glen has some of the best
Devonian-Era fossils in all of the
North America.
The most common fossils are
brachiopods, horn corals, and
crinoids. Rock Glen even has a
fossil deposit from 350
MILLION years ago!