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.
Rum Runners -The story of Ben Kerr and Prohibition
- Details
We are pleased to welcome author and speaker Dan Buchanan to our April 26 meeting.
Every community has its favourite prohibition characters and stories. It was a time we think of now as almost cartoonish in nature and we use it more as a punch line than anything else. In reality, it was all based on money and could often be very dangerous. Can you picture gun battles on Lake Ontario?
In Brighton, one of our prohibition characters was Ben Kerr, the notorious rum-runner who worked out of Presqu'ile Bay for a couple of years near the end of the 1920s. He was handsome and easy with money when he liked you. He had a fancy car and a honking speedboat. The mechanics at Wright's garage were particularly attentive when Kerr brought his car in for repairs.
How did Ben Kerr end up in the quiet little town of Brighton? It is the story of prohibition from start to finish, beginning in Hamilton and developing through the decade of smuggling and speakeasies. Of course, this all happened because politicians deemed it so. What on earth were they thinking? This presentation explores all of that and more. Strap in; it's a fun ride.
Join us in the Concert Hall of Victoria Hall on April 26, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. and learn more about the life of Ben Kerr. All required public health measures must to adhered to. Admission is free for members and $5 for guests.
A Night of Mystery
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We are delighted to have Maureen Jennings at our March 22 meeting as our first in-person presenter in over two years. Maureen has written four series in the crime fiction genre for a total of seventeen novels.
The first series is set in 1895 Victorian Toronto and features detective William Henry Murdoch. Her Murdoch Mysteries television series, broadcast by CBC, is currently in its fifteenth season. She has written for the show for the past eleven seasons and is the creative consultant.
The Detective Inspector Tom Tyler series is set in rural England, during WW2 and is currently optioned for TV. These books were the inspiration for Bomb Girls, a 2012 television series that is now available on the Amazon Prime streaming service.
Another book featuring detective William Murdoch, Let Darkness Bury the Dead is set during WW1 when Murdoch is older, and his son, Jack, returns from the war.
Her most recent book series starting with Heat Wave, features a female private investigator named Charlotte Frayne. The setting is Toronto, 1936. 
In between writing these books she has created four plays and a short film called Viaticum. Three of her plays are in the mystery genre and all of which have been professionally staged.
Maureen Jennings was born in Birmingham, England and emigrated to Canada as a teenager. She has a BA in psychology and philosophy from the University of Windsor, and an MA in English Literature from the University of Toronto. She lives in Toronto with her husband Iden Ford, who is a professional photographer and their dog, a Labradoodle named Murdoch.
Join us in the Concert Hall of Victoria Hall on March 22, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. and learn more about William Murdoch. All required public health measures must to adhered to. Admission is free for members and $5 for guests.