Wallbridge House Publishing

CAMPBELLFORD/
SEYMOUR HERITAGE SOCIETY

The Heritage Society was formed in 1983 by a group of interested citizens from Campbellford and Seymour. Six years later it moved into the former Public Utilities Commission building in Campbellford where it collected and housed artifacts and archival materials. As requests grew for historical information on the area, it became apparent that a written history of the area was needed.

The book committee was formed in 1997 and work began to assemble information from a great many sources. The title of the book is drawn from various meanings of the word "glean". One such definition is "to collect facts by patient efforts", an apt description of the committee's work. Another is "to gather the leavings from a field after the crop has been reaped." This definition suggests that this book, like any historical work, can only reflect what is left in the collective memory of the community and cannot include the entire record of the past. The rustic symbolism of the word "glean" also pays tribute to the hard-working pioneers who laid the foundations for this community.


GLEANINGS: A HISTORY OF CAMPBELLFORD/SEYMOUR Publisher: Campbellford/Seymour Heritage Society Author: Various contributors See larger cover sample
Price: $50 CAN/$50 US includes shipping ISBN: 0-9687566-0-3 Year: 2000 Cover: Hardback, with dust jacket Pages: 560 Photos: Numerous black and white, throughout Category: History Description: Gleanings is a description of the community from the earliest settlement at the beginning of the 19th century to the present. It commemorates the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Township of Seymour and focuses on the important role which the Town of Campbellford played in the development of the area. The Upper Trent River has been and continues to be a major force in this development. People, places and events are described in words and pictures within the context of Ontario and Canadian history. However, the focus of the book remains the ordinary people who, through their daily lives and activities, have made this an extraordinary place. The two communities, fused as one, are part of Northumberland County, which lies along the north shore of Lake Ontario in the Province of Ontario, Canada. At the beginning of the year 2001, Campbellford/Seymour is to be amalgamated with the neighbouring communities of Warkworth, Hastings and the Township of Percy. The merger is part of a restructuring of Northumberland County. European settlement of the Trent River Valley began after the American Revolution and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Loyalists settled in the Quinte region first, then moved northwest and west. John Graves Simcoe, lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, encouraged settlement and offered free land to immigrants. The British government was anxious to settle Upper Canada and offered grants of land to retiring army and navy men. In the early 1830s, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Campbell and his brother, Major David Campbell, received their land grants totalling 1,800 acres as military claimants or half-pay military officers. They purchased another 1,000 acres. This became the nucleus of development within Seymour Township. The crossing of the Trent River at a shallow point on the Campbell property was known as Campbell's ford and, later, Campbellford. Seymour Township was incorporated in 1850 and the Village of Campbellford in 1874. A major transportation link through the community is the Trent Waterway, a series of canals, locks, lakes and rivers connecting Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. Photo: Campbellford volunteer fire department, 1917. The truck is a 1917 Chevrolet Baby Grand, body by J. P. Bickel of Woodstock. Note the tire chains all around. Campbellford/ Seymour Heritage Society Archives How to Order This Book: Write to: Campbellford/Seymour Heritage Society 113 Front Street North PO Box 1294 Campbellford, Ontario K0L 1L0 Phone: 1-705-653-2634 E-mail: csheritage@kawartha.com The book may be purchased at the Heritage Society office at the above address for $40 Canadian.