Happy Anniversary: The First Sandwich South Council 1893

I want to thank Wendy Pulleyblank-Cunningham who is the administrator for the Facebook group "Growing up in Sandwich South Twp. (Oldcastle, Maidstone, Paquette Corners)"

She recently posted that "127 years ago in January 1893 the first Township of Sandwich South Council met at the home of Downey/McCarthy hotel & tavern in Oldcastle. This home still exists today on Hwy #3 & Oldcastle Side Road. Many descendants of the first council members still reside in Sandwich South....We truly have a rich heritage!"

I have posted before about the  First Sandwich South Council and my great grandfather John Moynahan (1966-1933) who is pictured on the far right in this picture and who served as the township's first clerk.

 In my 2018 post about the First Sandwich South Council, I investigated the lives of all the other men seated around the table in this historic photo and I located some historic papers. 

But it wasn't until Wendy's post in January 2020 on the anniversary of the First Sandwich South Council that I became aware that the house where the photo was taken is still standing at the corner of Hwy #3 & Oldcastle Side Road

Hwy #3 & Oldcastle Side Road

The location of the Downey/McCarthy hotel & tavern in Oldcastle today

And when I told Wendy that I would love to visit, she added, "You are welcome to come to our Heritage Centre where the table and chairs are plus a ton of other historical artifacts." 

I definitely plan to visit there in 2020 (cancelled due to COVID19) with my family on our southwestern Ontario family history tour! We are NOW planning our trip for 2021.

The Sandwich South Cultural and Resource Centre

Genealogists benefit from the endless work taking place in communities, largely by volunteers, to preserve local history and heritage. The newly opened Sandwich South Cultural and Resource Centre (that preserved the original table and chairs that the First council sat on in 1893 and many other artifacts) is an outstanding example.

 

The Town of Tecumseh, in partnership with the Olde Sandwich South and Area Historical Society (OSSAHS), opened the Sandwich South Cultural and Resource Centre in September 2018. This brand new building is located next to Tecumseh Fire Station #2 at 5520 Walker Road in Oldcastle.

The original table and chairs on display at the Sandwich South Cultural and Resource Centre

“This has been a long time coming and is a dream come true for residents in the former Sandwich South,” said Wendy Pulleyblank-Cunningham, chair of the Olde Sandwich South and Area Historical Society.

Ron Greaves next to bookshelves made from the window frames of the old Sandwich South Town Hall.

And we are so thankful for all of your efforts Wendy and ALL of the volunteers and town officials who made this happen and we look forward to visiting the centre and (possibly meeting Wendy) some time in 2020

Links to the Tecumseh Historical Archives:

Hundreds of handwritten deeds, dating as far back as the mid-1800s, highlight the extensive archives that can now be researched online through the newly established Tecumseh Historical Archives. Centuries of artifacts, newspapers, documents, photos and other items as well as materials provided by the Olde Sandwich South Historical Society are also catalogued at the following links:

• County of Essex at http://weblink8.countyofessex.on.ca/weblink/Browse.aspx?startid=1&row=1&&dbid=12 
• University of Windsor’s Leddy Library at http://ink.scholarsportal.info/search/site/Tecumseh%20Tribune

More Interesting South West Ontario Heritage and History Links:

• SWOHC: South West Ontario Heritage Council:  SWOHC supports networki ng between heritage professionals in South West Ontario https://swohc.github.io/
• Essex County Historical Society: http://essexcountyhistoricalsociety.com/about-us/
• Essex Historical Society Papers And Addresses https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/swoda-windsor-region/index.2.html  and other items https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/swoda-windsor-region/index.html
• Southwestern Ontario Digital Archive https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/swoda/
• Pre-1950 high school yearbooks from Windsor and Essex County, Ontario. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/essexcountyontariohighschoolyearbooks/
•  Olde Sandwich South Historical Society on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OldeSandwichSouthHistoricalSociety/
• The Tecumseh Heritage Centre on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TecumsehHeritageCentre/
• History comes alive in Olde Sandwich South https://www.ourwindsor.ca/news-story/8925084-history-comes-alive-in-olde-sandwich-south/
• Sandwich South cultural centre opening 'a long time coming' in Oldcastle https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/sandwich-south-cultural-centre-opens-in-oldcastle
• Tecumseh's history archived online https://windsorstar.com/uncategorized/tecumsehs-history-archived-online
• Heritage Walking Tour (https://www.citywindsor.ca/residents/historyofwindsor/Pages/Walking-Tours.aspx) which includes the following:
• The new Walkerville Heritage Walking Tour is interactive and accessible online with digital formats for both large screens and cell phones. Almost 50 tour points are featured and users have the option to follow the suggested tour route or explore specific tour points. Downloadable, print-friendly versions of the updated walking tour material is available as well (print in booklet style)
• Sandwich Heritage Walking Tour 2017 marked the City of Windsor’s 125th anniversary. What better way to mark the milestone than with a tour of one of our founding neighbourhoods? The new Sandwich Heritage Walking Tour is a mobile friendly website that helps you conduct a self-guided tour and explore the history and heritage of the former Town of Sandwich, at your convenience at any time of the day! Or, if you don’t have internet access on your phone while on tour, feel free to download the PDF version or print a copy before touring.
• Victoria Avenue and Ford City (PDF) For your convenience, we have also reproduced Windsor's walking tours in PDF format, so you may download or print them, and have them with you on your tour. If you do not have Adobe® Reader®, you can download it for free from www.adobe.com. Learn about heritage buildings on Victoria Avenue in our Victoria Avenue Walking Tour. Learn more about Ford City in our Ford City Walking Tour.

UPDATE: October 2020

The Essex Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society invited the Olde Sandwich South and Area Historical Society (OSSAHS) to give a presentation for their October 2020 meeting.

This excellent presentation covers many topics such as an on-site video (with Wendy Pulleyblank-Cunningham) of the Oldcastle Heritage Park, the Sandwich South Cultural and Resource Centre. 

There is a wonderful presentation by Judy Robson on the early Irish settlers in the area (Retired school teacher Judy is a 5th generation descendant living on the same land as her Downey/Downing ancestors) and beautifully done drone footage (by Shaun Fuerth of Tecumseh) of some of the six cemeteries located in Sandwich South.

Farming, twinning, politics, sports, schools and resources available are also covered. The video runs 1 hour and 18 minutes. Enjoy!

 

Many thanks to Karen Lynn Jaszewski who also watched the video then "googled" and found my blog post and took the time to comment. It inspired me to embed this great video into the post.