In 1833, shortly after the settlement of this region began, Thomas Need settled here at "Bobcaygeon," the narrows between Sturgeon and Pigeon Lakes. When the government began the construction in that year of a small lock and canal, Need surveyed a village plot that was named Rokeby by Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Colborne but was still commonly called Bobcaygeon. Need later opened a store and erected a grist-mill. By 1857, the community contained only 150 inhabitants, but subsequently its growth was stimulated by the construction of the Bobcaygeon Colonization Road and by the development of the large lumbering business of Mossom Boyd and his son. Bobcaygeon, with a population of about 1,000, was incorporated as a village by a Victoria County bylaw of 1876.

Location

At the municipal building, 21 Canal Street East, Bobcaygeon

Themes

• Communities
• Industry and trade
• Transportation systems and communications