Wallbridge House Publishing

ORLAND FRENCH

Orland French is an author, editor and publisher living in Belleville, Ontario, the county seat of Hastings County. Here's what he says about the Heritage Atlas of Hastings County:

In the old days they used to publish atlases as wide as a barn door. You could cut out the pages and wallpaper a room. They were atlases to study during the evening in the parlour, in the guttering flicker of candlelight. Or drag out on occasion to win a small wager with a friend.

Times change. This atlas is small enough to fit into the side pocket of your car door, to ride with you as a friendly reference while you explore the secrets and delights of Hastings County. Whether you’re looking for old gold mines, railway stations, cheese factories, colourful rocks or your great-granddad’s grave, you’ll find plenty of helpful directions in this atlas’s multitude of colourful maps.

So pack your family, your lunch and your atlas in your car and go exploring. It’s a great way to learn about your own backyard. But give yourself time: Hastings County is bigger than 19 countries of the world combined, and is larger than Toronto, Ottawa or Rhode Island.

A lot of it is still a challenging wilderness, harsh enough in the past to break the spirit of more than a few settlers, yet daunting enough today to provide an adventurous outing for casual visitors.

Enjoy yourself in Hastings County.

Heritage Atlas of Hastings County

Publisher: County of Hastings
Editor: Orland French

Price: $60 CAN/$60 US (plus postage)
ISBN: 0-9781099-0-2
Year: 2006
Cover: Hardcover
Pages: 240
Photos: Large collection of archival and new maps and photographs
Category: History

From the placid north shore of the Bay of Quinte to the highlands of the rugged Canadian Shield, Hastings County stretches 160 kilometres over a rich tapestry of landscape.

The Heritage Atlas of Hastings County is the perfect guide to one of Ontario’s oldest and largest counties. Maps, charts and colourful graphics trace the evolution and development of Hastings County over 200 years from the arrival of the first European explorers to today’s thriving and complex society.

Genealogists, history buffs, researchers, nature lovers, students, educators and drivers who love to poke around the back roads of Hastings will find true value in this atlas. Whether your interest is in minerals, geology, forestry, Loyalists, place names or architecture, you’ll find a reason to turn to the Heritage Atlas of Hastings County.

The atlas is a most welcome addition to home, cottage, school and office.

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Belleville purchase Downtown Belleville was purchased from the Mississauga Indians in 1816. This map, dated 1821, shows the extent of the purchase at the mouth of the Moira River.

The Heritage Atlas of Hastings County includes more than 130 colourful maps, many of created specially for this project by designer Jozef VanVeenen. Many other maps were located in Library and Archives Canada, the Archives of Ontario, the Hastings County Historical Society and other sources.

The maps are augmented by hundreds of photographs of scenes, sites and artifacts in Hastings County.