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20 plaques found that match your criteria
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Colonel Thomas Hornor 1767-1834
A native of New Jersey, Hornor settled in Blenheim Township in 1795 and built the first sawmill in present-day Oxford County. He held several local offices and in 1820 was elected to the provincial legislature. -
Wolverton Hall
Designed in the Regency style with some Gothic flourishes, Wolverton Hall was built about 1855 by Enos Wolverton, a native of New York who in 1851 registered a village plot on his land and became the community of Wolverton's first postmaster. -
Big Cheese 1866, The
To draw worldwide attention to the excellent cheese produced in Oxford County, in 1866 local manufacturers cooperated to produce a 7,300-pound cheese which was exhibited to much acclaim at fairs in New York State and England. -
Establishment of Free Rural Mail Delivery, The
It was largely through the efforts of George Wilcox and Joseph Armstrong, residents of South Norwich Township, that the Laurier government, anxious to retain the farm vote, established a system of free rural mail delivery in September 1908. -
Harold Adams Innis 1894-1952
A native of Oxford County, Innis became an economic historian whose books, especially The Fur Trade in Canada, profoundly influenced interpretive historical writing in Canada. His later studies dealt with the effects of communications technology on cultural and social values. -
Norwich Quaker Settlement, The
In 1810, brothers-in-law Peter Lossing and Peter De Long purchased 15,000 acres in Norwich Township. The following year, nine families from Dutchess County, New York joined the Lossings and the De Longs to form the nucleus of one of the most successful Quaker settlements in Upper Canada. -
Emily Howard Jennings Stowe, M.D. 1831-1903
Born in Norwich Township to Quaker parents, Emily Stowe became the first female physician to practise medicine in Canada. A passionate advocate for social reform, she campaigned vigorously for female suffrage while still maintaining her medical practice. -
Robert F. Gourlay 1778-1863
A radical Scot who crusaded for social reform, Gourlay spent two tumultuous years in Upper Canada. He challenged government immigration policies, led protest gatherings, and attacked authorities with wit and heated rhetoric. He was charged with sedition in 1818 and banished. -
Aimee Semple McPherson 1890-1944
Born to a Methodist father and a Salvation Army mother in Salford, Aimee became the most famous evangelist and faith healer of her time. She made her headquarters in Los Angeles where she preached her message of Christian Love daily to thousands of listeners in the Angelus Temple. -
George Tillson 1782-1864
A native of Massachusetts, Tillson operated the Normandale Iron Foundry in Norfolk County before moving to Oxford County in 1825. The sawmill and forge that he established in partnership with Benjamin Van Norman formed the nucleus of the future village of Tillsonburg. -
Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Whiteside Boyle, D.S.O. 1867-1923
Known for many years as Klondike Joe, Boyle was a prospector in the Yukon where he invested in timber and electric power operations as well as gold dredging. His daring exploits during the Second World War, especially on behalf of the people of Romania, are legendary. -
Captain Andrew Drew, R.N. 1792-1878
A cofounder of Woodstock, Captain Drew is probably best known for commanding the Canadian force that destroyed the American steamer Caroline during the Rebellion of 1837. -
Old Stage Road, The
Following in part the aboriginal trail known as the Detroit Path, the Old Stage Road was part of a series of linked roads from Ancaster to Detroit and during the War of 1812 was the main route used by both American and British troops. Sections of the old route can still be travelled in Oxford East and West Townships. -
St. Paul's Church 1834
Financed and built through the efforts of Woodstock's two founders, Admiral Henry Vansittart and Captain Andrew Drew, St. Paul's Anglican Church also served as a temporary jail for rebel captives during the Rebellion of 1837. -
Thomas "Carbide" Willson 1860-1915
His discovery in 1892 of a commercial process for producing calcium carbide, a chemical compound used in the manufacture of acetylene gas, earned Tom Willson the nickname "Carbide". -
Reverend Newton Wolverton 1846-1932, The
A man of multiple talents, Wolverton was a noted expert on meteorology, a teacher of mathematics, a Baptist minister, and from 1881 to 1886 principal of Woodstock College where he set up the first manual-training department in Canada. -
Woodstock College 1857-1926
Sponsored by the Baptist Church, the Canadian Literary Institute (later renamed Woodstock College) opened in 1860 as a coeducational institution offering courses in theology and the arts. During the 1880s, the theology faculty was transferred to the Toronto Baptist College and the women's department to Moulton College. The college then operated as a boys' prep school until it closed in 1926. -
Henry John Cody 1868-1951
A native of Embro, Cody gained distinction as both a churchman and an educator. Rector of St. Paul's Anglican Church in Toronto for more than 30 years, he also played a vital administrative role at the Unversity of Toronto, serving as that institution's president (1932-45) and chancellor (1944-47). -
Reverend George Leslie Mackay 1844-1901
Son of Scots immigrants, Presbyterian missionary George Mackay was born near Embro, Zorra Township. In 1872, he founded the first Canadian overseas mission in Tamsui, Taiwan. An unconventional character, but sensitive to local needs, Mackay practised lay dentistry and trained local clergy. He married a Taiwanese, Tiuⁿ Chhang-Miaⁿ, and had three children. The "Black-Bearded Barbarian" worked in north Taiwan until his death, establishing 60 chapels, several schools and a hospital. In 1881, he raised funds... -
Otterville African Methodist Episcopal Church and Cemetery
Encouraged by local Quakers, free Blacks and escaped slaves fled persecution in the United States and found homes in the Otterville area beginning in 1829. As skilled tradespeople and farmers, these people made significant contributions to local development. In 1856, trustees of the African Methodist Episcopal Church purchased this half-acre lot and built the first Black church in Oxford County. Later that year, the church was transferred to the newly established British Methodist Episcopal denomination...