Back Story

Steam locomotives like the James McKay helped shape build and our communities in the early 1900s.

The historic Globe Hotel in Erin was the backdrop for many key moments in the town’s growth, until the landmark burned down in 1945.

Shelburne’s old ‘school on the hill’, built without fire escapes, added in two evacuation slides which students gladly used during fire drills.

Back when it took four hours to travel 30km from Erin to Guelph by stagecoach, a bumpy ride was a guarantee.

A Caledon farm was a touchstone for a Hollywood legend.

Almost 18 feet of snow fell in February 1904, bringing train travel to a halt and stranding hundreds of passengers north of Shelburne in the cold.

As World War II raged in 1943, dozens of Shelburne High School students traded in their text books for farmer’s tools to support the war efforts, becoming ‘farmerettes’.

A snapshot from August 1938 captures the joy of cooling down in the Nottawasaga River on a hot summer’s day.

In our first installment of Back Story, we zoom in on the paving of Orangeville’s main street, Broadway, more than 100 years ago.