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Description : For the past few months, I have had the absolute pleasure of taking a trip down memory lane, by reading "Governor Simcoe Slept Here: The Legacy of West Gwillimbury." I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to those who generously volunteered their time to compile and publish this historical account of the Township of West Gwillimbury. The historical data give the readers a good view of how the Township got its origin. Just as an individual family or farm can't stand alone, neither can a Township, without the intermingling of the small hamlets. It is so interesting to read how places like Pine Hill and Ham's Corners derived their names, just to mention a few. Many of those with whom I have spoken referred to the book as "only about the Township," making it of no interest to Bradford residents. I disagree. Bradford figures prominently in the book, for it was the source of industry and market for many of the rural farms in the surrounding community. Bradford was also the hot spot for social gatherings. Trips from the hamlets into Bradford on Saturday evenings were a weekly highlight for many families.

The transport truck arrived early Monday morning, with the reprinted copies of Governor Simcoe Slept Here: The Legacy of West Gwillimbury. If you have purchased a pre-publication copy, you may pick up your copy from Kelly in the Local History Room of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library. Please bring your receipt. Copies can also be picked up at the WEGWHIST CarrotFest Booth today, August 19th. If you did not pre-order a copy, they are now available at the post-publication price of $75. Governor Simcoe Slept Here is a handsome, 2-volume set that makes a splendid gift for anyone interested in local history or genealogy - a book that will bring back memories, and in doing so, provide a record of the lifestyle of early days in West Gwillimbury.

Governor Simcoe Slept Here: The Legacy of West Gwillimbury is now sold out! The Bradford West Gwillimbury Local History Assoc. has sold all 1,000 copies of the first printing.

Description : Amsterdam, Botchtown, Middleton, The Hollows... are names included in the history of Bradford and West Gwillimbury, "Governor Simcoe Slept Here." The book also contains the story of how Bradford grew from a single hostelry in 1820 - Milloy's Tavern - to a town of 1,000 inhabitants by 1858, and how it came to be the market town, when the overland supply route to Kempenfeldt met the route followed by new settlers in West Gwillimbury, on their way to Holland Landing. Governor Simcoe Slept Here is available at the Holiday price of $55 for the 2-volume set, at the Bradford Public Library, Simcoe County Museum, Condy Books et cetera in Bradford.