Oxford Local History Day – Saturday, April 22, 2023!

Hello Everyone,

This guest post is provided by Oxford County Library:

Oxford County Library is proud to host the 3rd annual Oxford Local History Day!

Join us at Ingersoll Library on Saturday, April 22nd from 11AM – 3PM

Discover engaging presentations that will bring to light the story of Oxford.

Visitors to Oxford Local History Day will experience collections, exhibits & featured stories from archives, museums & heritage groups from around Oxford County. 

Experience an Exhibit with History Experts:  

Oxford County Library will feature: The Stone Houses of Zorra project – delve into the stories behind rural edifices of Oxford.

Ingersoll Cheese & Agricultural Museum, Oxford Historical Society, Beachville Museum, Oxford Ancestors, Ingersoll Pipe Band, Heroes of Zorra, Plattsville & District Heritage, Zorra Heritage Committee, Tavistock & District Historical Society

Snap a ‘Step Back in Time Selfie’ in the Ingersoll Historical Photo Booth.   

Grab a prop, smile & transport yourself to the streets of 1900s Ingersoll, courtesy of our green screen photo booth.  Bring the family!

Take in a Presentation:

11AM: The Lost Architecture of Ingersoll:
Join Ingersoll Museum curator, Scott Gillies, as he explores the buildings which once graced our neighborhoods and are now lost to the mists of time!

NOON: A Community 10,000 Years in the Making:
Join UWO Associate History Professor, Cody Groat as he delves into:  “The lands that we know as Oxford County have been occupied for over 10,000 years. This presentation will give a brief history of Indigenous settlement to the present day, as well as cultural change over time.”

1PM: Heroes Past but Always Present:
130 years after five Zorra farmers won the Tug-of-War World Championship at the Chicago World Fair, the small community of Embro still remembers them. This is the story of Zorra’s “Men of Might that Feared the Lord”.  Presented by the Zorra Heritage Committee

1:30PM: Bob Hayward: Farm to Fame:
Zorra Township native Bob Hayward, became a Canadian hero and international celebrity by driving the hydroplane, Miss Supertest III, to the pinnacle of powerboat racing. Presented by the Zorra Heritage Committee

2PM: The Oxford Militia in the War of 1812:
Join local historian, Bob Rennie, as he explores how the citizens of Oxford County had many significant decisions to make during the War of 1812 & the profound impact it had on their lives.

For more event information visit Oxford County Library at Oxford Local History Day 2023
or call 519 485-2505.

Oxford County.  We’ve made history!

Oxford County Archives Virtual Exhibit!

Hello everyone,

Please read this guest post from the Oxford County Archives:

“The Oxford County Archives has created a new online exhibit celebrating the history of human-animal relationships. The exhibit provides virtual visitors with a peek into archival records featuring animals, including photographs, artwork, old by-laws, greeting cards, posters, newspaper material, and more. Virtual visitors will also delight in stories about some of the more famous animals in Oxford County’s history.

The inspiration behind the exhibit was National Pet Day (April 11) and Archives Awareness Week (April 3-7), which provide staff with an opportunity to showcase these specific records and spread awareness of the importance of keeping archival records and the stories attached to them. Visitors can browse through categories to explore animals at work, animals in art and entertainment, wild encounters and many more. The exhibit also celebrates the role of animals in Oxford County’s rich farming history, from helping to clear and plow fields before the invention of engine-powered farm equipment to offering nutritional sustenance in the form of milk, eggs and animal meat.

Learn more and visit the exhibit online at https://archives.oxfordcounty.ca/Archives/Exhibits.”

Oxford Branch Ontario Ancestors April’s Zoom Presentation – Barn Raising, Threshing & Quilting Bees!

Hello Everyone,

please see this guest post from the Oxford County Branch of Ontario Ancestors:

Barn Raising, Threshing and Quilting Bees: The Stories Farm Diaries Tell, will be presented by Catharine Wilson, with stories from her recent book, “Being Neighbours,” about barn raisings and quilting bees in Ontario, 1830-1960.
Employing farm diaries, she takes the audience into families’ daily lives, the intricacies of the labour exchange, their workways, feasts, and hospitality to uncover the subtle social politics of mutual dependency, the expectations neighbours had of each other, their relationships, and ways of managing conflict and crisis. 
Dr. Wilson is a History Professor, University of Guelph, and Director of the Rural Diary Archive website.

This meeting will be a virtual Zoom meeting on Monday, April 10, 2023 at 7pm.

All are welcome to attend. Pre-registration is required.

To register for this event click on this link: Zoom Meeting Registration for Oxford County Branch Ontario Ancestors.

OxHS Free Public Presentation on Wednesday, March 29, 2023: Virsa/Sikh Heritage Through My Family Presentation!

The Saran Siblings, photo provided by Savrup Kaur Saran

Hello Everyone,

Please join the Oxford Historical Society for a special presentation celebrating Sikh Heritage Month on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at the Woodstock Museum, NHS. Doors open at 6:30pm. This is a free public event open to everyone.

Tonight’s presenter will be Savrup Kaur Saran, a former co-op student at the Woodstock Museum. During her placement Savrup had the opportunity to research Sikh heritage:

“To see the Sikh community represented through the Museum was nice and then connecting that with my own life was really cool,” she said. “I know a lot about Sikh heritage in general from my parents, but not as much about Canadian Sikh history, so it was really interesting to learn more about that.”

During her presentation Savrup will not only focus on her own family’s history, but that of the Sikh’s in Canada:

“I wanted to focus on that common immigrant Sikh story. There’s so much heritage and so many stories,” she said. “Sikh heritage is different for each family, but in my family, it goes back so far and in so many different locations from India to Fiji to Canada, and that same heritage lives through me and my brother today.”

This presentation will take place at the Woodstock Museum, NHS. Doors open at 6:30pm and the meeting will start at 6:45pm. This is a free public meeting, all are welcome to attend.


The month of April was proclaimed as Sikh Heritage Month by the Ontario government in 2013, as April is when the Sikh community celebrates Vaisakhi, a spring festival that also marks important events in the religion’s history.

As part of Sikh Heritage Month, the United Sikhs invite you to their open celebration in Museum Square on Saturday, April 1, 2023 from 1-3pm.

During the month of April the Woodstock Museum, NHS’s exhibit Sikhs in Canada, will be on display!

Information for this blog post was provided by the Woodstock Museum, NHS.

Virsa/Sikh Heritage Through My Family Presentation: Wednesday, March 29, 2023!

The Saran Siblings, photo provided by Savrup Kaur Saran

Hello Everyone,

Please join the Oxford Historical Society for a special presentation celebrating Sikh Heritage Month on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at the Woodstock Museum, NHS. Doors open at 6:30pm. This is a free public event open to everyone.

Tonight’s presenter will be Savrup Kaur Saran, a former co-op student at the Woodstock Museum. During her placement Savrup had the opportunity to research Sikh heritage:

“To see the Sikh community represented through the Museum was nice and then connecting that with my own life was really cool,” she said. “I know a lot about Sikh heritage in general from my parents, but not as much about Canadian Sikh history, so it was really interesting to learn more about that.”

The month of April was proclaimed as Sikh Heritage Month by the Ontario government in 2013, as April is when the Sikh community celebrates Vaisakhi, a spring festival that also marks important events in the religion’s history.

During her presentation Savrup will not only focus on her own family’s history, but that of the Sikh’s in Canada:

“I wanted to focus on that common immigrant Sikh story. There’s so much heritage and so many stories,” she said. “Sikh heritage is different for each family, but in my family, it goes back so far and in so many different locations from India to Fiji to Canada, and that same heritage lives through me and my brother today.”

This presentation will take place at the Woodstock Museum, NHS. Doors open at 6:30pm and the meeting will start at 6:45pm. This is a free public meeting, all are welcome to attend.

Information for this blog post was provided by the Woodstock Museum, NHS.