Bridge over troubled waters, part 1

Municipal politics have always thrown up some great stories, and the history of municipal politics in North Grenville is no exception. In 1898, the...

New book of “Stories from the South Branch” available starting December

For all those who have enjoyed Dr. David Shanahan’s articles on local history that have appeared regularly in the NG Times, the good news...

Henry Patton: Pioneer Missionary of St. James Parish

by Doug MacDonald Henry Patton was born in Chelmsford, England, and was educated in England, in Upper Canada at the Cornwall Grammar School, and at...

10 Water Street, Oxford Mills

Every house has story: a tale of families who built it, lived in it, raised families and filled it with life. The house in...

A Canadian railroad trilogy, part 3

Once the business leaders of Oxford-on-Rideau had invested in the Bytown & Prescott Railway Company, work on the line could be brought to a...

Hiding in plain sight

Many older buildings around North Grenville have disappeared over the years; some by fire, others demolished. But there are some which are still around,...

Party political papers

There is a rather unfortunate idea around these days that newspapers have to be “objective, balanced, not opinionated”, an idea that we assume is...

Slavery in Canada

Canadians know about the Underground Railway, the network by which escaped slaves in the U.S. could cross the border and find freedom in Canada....

The schools of Oxford Mills

The local public school in Oxford Mills has been living under the threat of closure for some years now, after the Upper Canada District...

Christmas Effects

Christmas has a fascinating effect on people in all sorts of situations. The famous “Christmas Truce” in 1914 is one example. As Christmas Day...