Special Notice
This site has recently been expanded to include historical information from the Cobourg History site. All information previously on this site is still here. Some Google searches may now end up here - use the site search box if you don't immediately find what you are looking for.
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For Genealogists
There is quite a bit of Information for genealogists on this site - it is best accessed using the search feature above. The best additional source of info for researchers is at the Cobourg Library where they have a local history room stocked with many historical books and documents. They do have some photos on-line but not much more - you need to visit.
Meetings
Monthly meetings are held in Cobourg's Victoria Hall.
Cobourg and District Historical Society Meetings are held every month except May, June, July, August and December. Meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday in the Month. Meetings start at 7:30 pm but coffee and cookies are available starting at 7:00 pm. Meetings are $5 for non-members and free for members of the society and students.
More on our About page.
Cobourg and District Historical Society
Mission
The Cobourg and District Historical Society promotes interest in the history of Cobourg and district and beyond, encourages the preservation of historical, archaeological and architectural heritage through meetings featuring speakers, the publication of presentations and organizing and participating in special events.
Meetings
Monthly meetings are held in the Citizens' Forum, Victoria Hall on the fourth Tuesday from September to May, excluding December. The doors open at 7:00pm and people enjoy this opportunity to socialize before the meeting convenes at 7:30 p.m. Meetings are free for members of the society and students.
Programmes include topics of local interest e.g. The American Summer Colony, Cobourg-Rochester ferries as well as subjects of more general interest e.g. The Barnardo Children or Preserving Your Family Archives. An annual dinner or bus trip is held alternately in May.
For more about the Cobourg and District Historical Society, go here.
Monthly meetings are held in Cobourg’s Victoria Hall.
If These Walls Could Talk
- Details
It started out as a straightforward architectural inventory of Hamilton Township’s older buildings. The township had never catalogued its heritage and in 2016, Tom Cruickshank proposed that he was the guy to do it. Retired from a career in journalism, he has an abiding interest in local history and heritage architecture which is a subject that he has pursued in no less than five books. His works include Old Ontario Houses, Old Toronto Houses and The Settler’s Dream. He also worked as editor of Century Home and later, Harrowsmith Country Life. Currently he freelances for Watershed Magazine.
Tom started to document all the farmhouses, bridges, churches and schoolhouses as a kind of archive of Hamilton’s history. As he toured the backroads and villages along the way, the project quickly took on a life of its own. In addition to cataloguing the wonderful architecture of the township, he also dove into family histories, newspaper searches and genealogical accounts. Now and then, some peculiar facts and even some family secrets emerged. While Tom’s talk will focus on the heritage architecture, it’ll also veer into personal histories and news events from the 19th century. After all, what’s more interesting: a slide show of pretty houses or a slide show of pretty houses that have stories to tell?
Join us for our second meeting of the 2022-2023 season on Tuesday, October 25 in Victoria Hall’s Concert Hall. Doors open at 7:00 PM for coffee and cookies. The meeting begins at 7:30 PM. Guests are always welcome. Admission, including refreshments, is free for members and $5 for non-members. All are welcome so bring a friend or two. See you on Tuesday, October 25!
Tales of Life in Prince Edward County & Cobourg
- Details
Janet Kellough has written and appeared in numerous stage productions that feature a fusion of storytelling and music. As well, she is the author of seven books in the Ontario history based Thaddeus Lewis Mystery Series, the fifth book of which, Wishful Seeing was short-listed for the 2017 Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Best Novel Award and subsequently developed into a play of the same name by Ontario’s 4th Line Theatre. She has also written two contemporary novels and the speculative fiction thriller The Bathwater Conspiracy, which was nominated for a 2019 Alberta Book Publishing Award.
As a storyteller, Janet released two CDs – Swear On My Mother’s Grave, a collection of Prince Edward County tales; and Fowke Tales: Live at Lang, a journey into the roots of Ontario folk music.
Janet will lead a discussion on using local setting, period detail and documented historical characters to add authenticity to historical fiction, and explore how fiction can be used to illuminate and generate interest in local history.
Join us on Tuesday, November 22, in Victoria Hall. Doors open at 7:00 PM for coffee and cookies. The meeting begins at 7:30 PM. Guests are always welcome. Admission, including refreshments, is free for members and $5 for non-members. All are welcome so bring a friend or two. See you on Tuesday, November 22!