The annual Meeting of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Local History Association will be held in the Compton Room of the Bradford Public Library on Saturday, December 8th, 1:30 p.m. The BWG Local History Association was formed 17 years ago, in the spring of 1990, and has retrieved and documented many of the details of the history of this area, supported the Local History Room in the Library, and recently, published the 2-volume book, "Governor Simcoe Slept Here." The Association is now taking on new responsibility as the umbrella organization for other history-related groups in the community - The Gwillim Group, which has brought the statue of Elizabeth Gwillim Simcoe to Bradford; the Scotch Settlement Historical Association; and the WEGWHIST Group. The arrangement will provide an affiliation with the Ontario Historical Association that will open the door for sponsorship and fundraising in support of the Town's historical features. The Association has been involved in book writing, editing and sales for the past 4 years; now that Governor Simcoe Slept Here has been completed, the focus is returning to researching and recording local history, and there are opportunities for residents to get involved. Are you interested in history? Do you have time to research on line, index and file, or set up and explore your own special local history project? Come to the meeting to discuss the opportunities.

Description : The reprint of the magnificent 2-volume local history book, Governor Simcoe Slept Here: The Legacy of West Gwillimbury is now available. Those who wish to mail out a copy as a Christmas gift should call Bill Marks or George Jackson.

Description : On Thursday October 18, WEGWHIST - the West Gwillimbury History project - met for a Reunion, and a celebration of the reprinting of their 2-volume set, "Governor Simcoe Slept Here: The Legacy of West Gwillimbury." The book was put together by the Bradford West Gwillimbury Local History Association, and volunteers from the community. The WEGWHIST group first met on October 11, 2001 with almost no experience in publishing, but with a desire to share their memories and stories. For the next four years, they collected and collated the histories of the families and farms of West Gwillimbury. The finished book contains over 4,000 historical photographs and tells the story of the people, churches, schools and activities of West Gwillimbury, from the date the Township was first settled to the post-war years. It was one year ago that the final draft was sent off to the printer, and on December 15th, 2005,the first books arrived in Bradford West Gwillimbury. By January 15, every copy had sold out. Last Thursday, five years after the start of the project, WEGWHIST volunteers invited representatives from 13 different schools to the Bradford Public Library, to receive two donated copies each, for the school libraries.

Description : The 5th Anniversary of the WEGWHIST (West Gwillimbury History) Project will take place on October 19th, 1:30 p.m. at the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library. The meeting will feature a presentation of 2 copies of Governor Simcoe Slept Here: The Legacy of West Gwillimbury Township to representatives from each school in BWG, thanks to a generous local patron. The meeting will also feature a display of the development of the book, from the first list of the Table of Contents, through to the final text approved for printing - a once-in-a-lifetime happening. There will be a social time, to chat and reminisce. All are welcome to attend.

When the WEGWHIST Team launched Governor Simcoe Slept Here last December, we underestimated your response. Hindsight, which always has 20/20 vision, indicates that we should have printed more copies, but by the same token, we didn't anticipate that many of you were going to buy 4 or 5 copies. All 1,023 copies have found a home, and many of you asked if we are going to do a reprint. We have considered this request, and we have decided to do a reprint that will be available about Aug. 15, 2006. Some factual errors have been brought to our attention, so we are preparing a correction addendum that will be included with the reprint, and will be available to all who have already purchased a book. Pre-publication sales of the reprint will begin July 1st. The pre-publication price will be $65, the post-publication price $75.

Description : It was a magnificent effort: for 4 years, volunteers with the Bradford West Gwillimbury Local History Association and the community at large worked together as the "WEGWHIST" team, putting together a History of West Gwillimbury. The result was a 2-volume set, Governor Simcoe Slept Here: The Legacy of West Gwillimbury, containing the stories, records and photographs of the families that settled the Township. MP Peter Van Loan flew in to attend, and praised the book as a "remarkable and strong community project - a gift from older generations to younger generations. I commend you all, and I congratulate you all." The book was published by Friesens Corporation of Altona, Manitoba, thanks to seed money provided by the Municipal council, an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant, and contributions from Patrons. George Jackson, who chaired, co-ordinated and drove the process from the beginning thanked a long list of those involved.

Description : The first printing of Governor Simcoe Slept Here: The Legacy of West Gwillimbury, the 2-volume book put together by the WEGWHIST project of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Local History Association, is completely sold out. Anyone who would be interested in purchasing a copy of a 2nd edition is asked to contact Bill Marks. The History Association is looking at reprinting the books, if there is sufficient interest.

Description : In the recently published book, "Governor Simcoe Slept Here: A legacy of West Gwillimbury," there is an error on page 792. Part way down the first paragraph, the text should read: "Beatrice was born September 25, 1910, and died November 17, 1992. Evelyn was born March 14, 1917, and married Bob Stafford on August 17, 1940. They had two children, Jean and Don. Evelyn died April 6, 1991." Apologies to Marion West, who submitted this story, and to the West family for the typing error that occurred when transferring the story to the computer.

Description : Following four years of volunteer work by a team of members of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Local History Association, Governor Simcoe Slept Here - The Legacy of West Gwillimbury was launched on December 15th. In October, 2001 over forty people responded to the initial invitation to meet and discuss the possibility of writing a history of West Gwillimbury and they choose to call themselves WEGWHIST - West Gwillimbury History. The book was written by a team of 15 Bradford West Gwillimbury residents. Governor Simcoe Slept Here tells the story of the two waves of pioneer settlers to West Gwillimbury - the Scottish, Irish and English, who settled on the highlands during the 1820 - 1830 period and the European settlers who arrived a century later to the Holland Marsh. Churches, schools and hamlets are documented in the two volumes, along a CD which includes "The Many Faces of West Gwillimbury" as photographed by Franz Aschwanden, a listing of the Marsh Land Owners in 1949 and a Genealogical Index of the Families.

Description : Don't forget to order your copy of Governor Simcoe Slept Here, the History of West Gwillimbury Township. The 2-volume history, 900 pages filled with information on 470 families and crammed with photographs, can be ordered for only $55 prior to the Book Launch on December 15th; $65 per copy afterwards. Cheques should be made payable to the Bradford West Gwillimbury Local History Association. The official book launch is scheduled for December 15th, 2 p.m. at St. John Presbyterian Church, at the 8th Line and 10 Sideroad - just in time for Christmas.