Huron County Historical Society - HCHS 2011 Notes 
HCHC 2011 Notes Index (Volume XLVI)
- President's Message (Page 1)
- Introduction (Page 2)
- Contents (Page 2)
- Voyaging by Sea to Canada in 1851 (Page 3)
- Our country school (Page 7)
- A short sketch of the German Element in the Townships (now Wards) of Stephen, Hay and Stanley (Page 10)
- Reid and Disney Families (Page 17)
- Rail fences (Page 17)
- Narcisse N. Cantin (Page 20)
- William Nicol Cresswell (Page 20)
- Plank Bridges (Page 22)
- Hillgreen – A Hamlet of the Past (Page 22)
- The Story of Clinton (Page 24)
- About the Name Goderich (Page 26)
- You Can't Sell Off an Empty Wagon (Page 27)
- The Story of the Boats (Page 29)
- Beautiful Old Wood Barns are Fast Disappearing (Page 31)
- Chivarees (Page 33)
- Membership in the Society (Page 35)
- Our Objectives (Page 35)
- Membership Benefits (Page 35)
- Enquiries (Page 36)
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Message from HCHS President 2011
Welcome to the 46th annual edition of the
Huron Historical Notes. Since 1965 these
publications have helped to maintain a record
of significant events and everyday life Huron County through its years.
Since its beginnings in 1924, It has been an
objective of the Huron County Historical
Society to "preserve the history of our County
and its people, and to stimulate interest in our
local history". The yearly production of Notes,
begun in 1965, represents an important strategy in achieving this goal. The entire
collection of issues represents a most valuable resource for history buffs and researchers alike.
As you will see, this edition is comprised of items
of interest from a wide variety of Huron County
perspectives. We are most appreciative of the
suggestions and contributions from our Society
members and friends. In particular we extend
our thanks once again to Notes and newsletter
editor Ralph Laviolette who has devoted
many hours to this publication. Its high
quality content and appearance may be
attributed to this exceptional effort.
Thus far, 2011 has been another busy year for
our Society. General meetings have been held
on April 20th (St. Joseph) and June 15th
(Brussels). In addition, the Annual General Meeting was held on Wednesday, May 18th
(Wroxeter). For the fall we have plans for Wednesday, September 21st (Bayfield) and
October 19th (possibly in Wingham) and November 16th (TBD). Details of these meetings
and other plans for the Society will be sent out
in the regular newsletters. As always, many
thanks are extended to all of our wonderful presenters and the organizers for these
interesting and informative sessions. I am
always amazed at the amount of historical
information and the diligence evident in
presentations from our members and others.
This year we are continuing to develop two
interesting projects. In each case we are
working with other Huron County partners. The
first relates to an effort begun several years
ago to identify, create and install a series of
bronze plaques, each of which
commemorates a significant person, event or
location in Huron County history. On a second
front, we are continuing to work with a group
of interested parties in addressing the
continuing need for archival storage of
historical artefacts and documents. It is our
goal to finalize the report from this group and
get it into the hands of decision-makers before
the end of the year.
In addition to our efforts, the Huron County
Historical Society wishes to congratulate other groups on the achievement of highly
noteworthy successes in 2011: to the Friends of Ball's Bridge on the placement of an historic
plaque and completion of the beautiful new
gate posts; to the St. Joseph & Area Heritage
Society on the huge success of the outdoor play, Narcisse, to the Bayfield Historical Society
on its successful summer play Murder at the
Albion and to the Huron County Museum and
Archives on its 60th Anniversary.
For 2011, the Executive Council includes the
following dedicated volunteers - President
David Armstrong, Past President/Secretary
Ralph Laviolette, Treasurer Mac Campbell,
Membership Chair Elaine Snell, Archivist Rhea
Hamilton-Seeger and Councillors Pam Stanley
and Brock Vodden. This year we have had to
accept with regret the resignations of two
long-standing Executive members - Isobel
Bissonnette and Ted Turner. Their contributions
through many years have been invaluable. The
Executive Council meets on at least five
occasions during the year. If you haven't already book marked our
website, you will likely want to check it out: www.huroncountyhistoricalsociety.ca.
The meetings, activities and projects of our
Society are funded through membership fees and
special grants.
If any of you have queries about the Society or archives, please use the current information on the contact HCHS page.
David Armstrong, President 2011
