Now & Then – November 2025: From Armoury to Legion Hall, Part One

By Dan Bourgeois Most people in this part of the world know the local Legion Hallon King St in Millbrook. Many have attended various events in this venerable building. However, not that many know that the building was originally an armoury, built by the federal Department of the Militia (now… Continue reading

Local Indigenous Educator Connects Current Transport Routes to Indigenous Trails

David is perhaps best known as a professional Indigenous artist who is a member of the Mississauga Anishinaabe Curve Lake First Nations. He is also a geographer, historian and instructor at the Continuing Education Program at Trent University. Last week came to the Millbrook Legion to provide an entertaining and… Continue reading

Tree Planted at Old Millbrook School in Remembrance of Peter Ramsay

Last week a small group joined Millbrook and Cavan Historical Society President Celia Hunter in the garden beside the Old Millbrook School to dedicate a Hackberry Tree planted in honour of long-time Historical Society member Peter Ramsay. The tree was carefully selected: it is a large, deciduous native tree producing… Continue reading

Historical Society Presentation

The Millbrook and Cavan Historical Society is excited to present “A Dynamic Talk about Indigenous Peoples Then and Now; Here and Beyond” on Thursday, October 23rd, 7 pm at the Millbrook Royal Canadian Legion Branch 402 Hall, 9 King St East, Millbrook. Our speaker is David Beaucage Johnson, artist, geographer,… Continue reading

Now & Then – October 2025: Land Speculator, Developer and Politician

William Henry Sowden was bornin 1823, the eighth of 16 children of Willaim Sowden and Maria Louisa Varley. The elder Sowden was a corn miller in Yorkshire, England before migrating to Upper Canada in 1818. He must have been successful a she purchased 600 acres of land outside of Port… Continue reading

Now & Then – September 2025: Old Wills, Estates and Human Rights Part 2

More light summer reading – By Dan Bourgeois The last column looked at voting and other rights of those who lived in Ontario in the1800s and how it was a slow and gradual process to grant property and other rights to anyone who was not a white man who already owned… Continue reading

Local Assets Catch a Photographer’s Eye

By Celia Hunter Termed ‘A Jewel in Peterborough County’, Millbrook and Cavan Monaghan Township have earned pride of place in a just released coffee table book commemorating the bicentennial of the Peter Robinson Settlers project. Peterborough, Spirit of Place features photo-graphs by John McQuarrie, who spearheaded this publication in partnership… Continue reading

Now & Then – August 2025: Old Wills, Estates and Human Rights

By Dan Bourgeois A little while back I came across a small article in the back pages of the Millbrook-Omemee Reporter of February 17, 1927 titled “Restore Property Rights to Women- Error in Ontario Law Deprived Them of Title Following Marriage.” Apparently, about a year earlier during a revision of… Continue reading

Historical Society Welcomes Additions

By Celia Hunter The record of activities and achievements made by the families that trace their roots back to Cavan Monaghan continues to grow as the Millbrook Cavan Historical Society’s archivist, Kim McLeod, catalogues and stores donated materials at the Old Millbrook School. Recent additions include family histories from both… Continue reading