by Jean Turnbull Elford in Canada West’s Last Frontier (1982) Point Edward, Lambton’s largest incorporated village, placed where Lake Huron empties into the River St. Clair, made its way into recorded history earlier than any other part of Lambton. The first written account comes from the pen of Father Hennepin [...]
by Brian Bolt for the Sarnia (2001) In its glory days in the late 1800s, the former Belchamber Hotel building was a downtown Sarnia landmark reputed to be one of the finest hotels in Ontario. Today, while the historic four-storey building at 178 Front St. N. isn’t about to revisit [...]
by the Sarnia Gazette (1970) When General Ulysses S. Grant stayed overnight in Point Edward [Editor’s Note: in 1865] he had a choice of six hotels…one of which was the Holder’s Hotel on Michigan Avenue…still going strong today as a popular oasis for village and other beer drinkers. Built in [...]
by R.W. Ford (1987) Stretching for over 30 kilometres along the St. Clair River from the southern tip of Lake Huron to the village of Sombra lies the largest concentration of petroleum and chemical industry in Canada. Some 25 kilometres inland ancient oil wells grudgingly yield a few barrels of [...]
By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer He's long forgotten today, but Mayor James S. Symington played an important role in the construction of the original St. Clair River Railroad Tunnel. Born in rural Lambton County in 1844, Symington moved to Sarnia as a boy, later becoming a successful local [...]
By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer He was Sarnia's first 'Green' Mayor. A century before the environmental movement began, Mayor Charles Vail was taking concrete steps to battle pollution. Vail, a doctor who was elected the Municipality's Chief Magistrate in 1887, presided over the Council that passed a bylaw [...]
From 25th Anniversary Yearbook of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church (1995) Canada was founded more than 200 years ago by European settlers who came to this new land in search of a better life. Canada’s strength was, and continues to be, the diversity of its people. Its multicultural heritage can [...]
Recording the Rich First Nations Heritage by Scott Stephenson for the Sarnia Observer (2003) European settlers documented their important events, but native communities have traditionally relied on elders to pass down an oral history of the culture to younger generations. Concerned that the early history of the Chippewa communities is [...]
