Newspaper article on the History of the Scotch Settlement

History Group is Established

An historical society for the Scotch Settlement was established last week at Fred C. Cook Senior Public School.

Mrs. Eleanor Reid, of Lefroy, a descendant of one of the Scotch settlers, was named the president of the group, and Dave Sheppard, was named secretary.

The group will gather historical data pertaining to the history of the settlers, from their tragic exile from Scotland to their settlement on the lands in this area.

The most important priority for the group now is to collect all of the information concerning the Scotch Settlement that they can.

Mr. Sheppard said it was crucial that the information was gathered soon, because much of it is in the minds of elderly people in the community, and if they fail to pass it on, it could be lost forever.

Mrs. Reid said she was "really quite pleased with the turnout last week and the interest and enthusiasm shown."

She said the Scotch Settlement was one of Ontario's most important historical sites, and the story of the hardships of the settlers is not only historically interesting, but also romantic.

Many descendants of the settlers still live in the area, and former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker also traces his family back to the Scotch settlers.

The historical society is appealing to anyone who has information, photos or other memorabilia, to contact Mrs. Reid at Box 148, Lefroy.

The next meeting of the society will be held in the Scotch Settlement church June 10.

Article about early settlement in Bradford and West Gwillimbury. It also touches on the early education systems in this area. Scanned from a donation of the Bradford Today supplement to the Bradford Witness.

Photograph of the 1908 Intermediate O.L.A. Champions.

Front Row: W. Reeves, Rex Morris (Mascot), J. Webb.

Middle Row (left to right): L.H. Campbell, W.C. Davey (Ex-President),
W.L. Campbell (Sec'y Treas.), T.E. Bell(President),
G.G. Green (Ex-President), B.B. Collings (Captain), L. Cotton.

Back Row (left to right): J.H. Martin, O. Robinson, N. McKinstry,
J. Sutherland, W.G. Sutherland, Robert McKinstry,
R. Anderson, E.V. Graham, L. Church.

A long way up! Firefighters will train in this 57' high tower. The tower will also be used to dry fire hoses. This photo appeared with an article in the Bradford Gazette.

View of Bridge Street, looking south over the Holland Marsh and Canal Road.

View of Bradford's South Simcoe Marina off of Bridge Street

View of The Country Store in the early 1990s.

View of Church Street looking south. To the right is Trinity Anglican Church, and further down is St. John's Presbyterian Church. St John's was demolished and relocated to 10th Sideroad in 2003, and the site became Trinity's parking lot and expansion area.