by the Sarnia Gazette (1978) In 1880, there were about 6,000 people living in the Town of Sarnia which was described as a thriving railway and shipping centre having an extensive waterworks and sewerage system, a horse-drawn street railway between Sarnia and Point Edward, a number of industries, including a [...]
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 George Mathewson for The Sarnia Journal (2014) It’s been climbed on, posed beside and rendezvoused at by half the people in Sarnia at one time or another. But the origins of the cannon in Canatara Park, and how it got there, have long been a mystery. Now, two men [...]
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 Sarnians can thank Paul Blundy for the fact that the City has a home for the aged today. That's because Blundy, who was Mayor from 1967 to 1974, led the Council that socked away $750,000.00 a year for three years in order to [...]
By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer He was the man who opened up Sarnia's waterfront to the public. Henry T. Ross, the City's 62nd Mayor, was the person chiefly responsible for the creation of Centennial Park. Born in Ridgewater, Nova Scotia in the last days of the 19th century, [...]
By Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer He paved the way for a Sarnia General Hospital expansion and had a hand in the creation of Lambton College. But Mayor Iven Walker is probably best remembered as the man who brought the Queen to Canatara Park. Born in Petrolia in 1898, [...]
by Phil Egan (2015) A key part of Canadian rail history is being lovingly repaired and renovated thanks to the dedication of a group of steam engine enthusiasts and the support of city council. Peter and Paul Whitfield, Chris Wiley, Dwayne Ross and Brandon Freuth originally met with the city [...]
by Jean Turnbull Elford writing in Upper Canada’s Last Frontier (1982) The opening of a line between Port Huron and Chicago in 1879 brought a great increase in traffic to both the Great Western and the Grand Trunk. Three years later, the two lines amalgamated under the Grand Trunk name [...]
By Phil Egan. Special to The Sarnia Journal (2015) At age six in 1953, I used to board a bus from my home on Maud Street in Point Edward to journey across town to Our Lady of Mercy School at Christina and Durand Streets. One day after school, daydreaming, I [...]
