by Jean Turnbull Elford (1982) Beginning with British rule in the northern part of this continent, land was acquired from the Indians as it was needed for new settlers. Because of legislation passed in 1763, no Indian band forfeited their land without their own and the Crown’s consent. The Indians [...]
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 Steven McKenna (2015) The year was 1889 when Patrick Grandcourt Kerwin was born in Sarnia, Ontario in what was a young Canadian nation where residents were considered British subjects. Queen Victoria was the monarch and the Prime Minister of the day was Sir John A. Macdonald, leader of the [...]
By Phil Egan - Special for the Sarnia Jouranl, Then and Now. Sarnians who drive along Lawrence Avenue or visit the Lawrence Park neighbourhood in Toronto likely never make the connection with the Lawrence House on Christina Street, or the Lawrence Lumber yards that once sat at the foot of [...]
By Phil Egan - Special to the Sarnia Journal, Then and Now. Iceman wasn’t just a hotshot pilot in Top Gun. He was once a regular visitor to our homes. Like the milkman, he came in a horse-drawn wagon, and later a truck. As late as the early 1950s, the [...]
By Phil Egan - Special to The Sarnia Journal, Then and Now. (2015) What began as a search for oil led to the discovery of salt. The discovery of oil in Lambton County in the late 19th century had many believing that vast wealth might be just around the corner. [...]
by Stephen Huebl (2005) Over the past 100 years, the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce has played an active and vital role in Sarnia Lambton's growth. But even before its official incorporation in 1905, the Chamber can trace its roots back to the late 1800s. It all started on Feb. [...]
by George Mathewson for The Sarnia Journal The Sarnia Farmers' Market supplied residents with food from local market garden for 91 years, until the downtown site was destroyed by a tornado. The current Ontario Street market opened four months later. Photo courtesy of Dorothy Alexander If you’ve been to the [...]
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 When Albert Johnston was elected Sarnia's 30th Mayor, the Community was still attempting to adjust to the 20th century. It was 1910, a time when The Observer could report in the same issue that an automobile manufacturing company was considering coming to Town [...]
