{"id":36071,"date":"2025-04-03T11:29:18","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T15:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=36071"},"modified":"2025-04-03T11:29:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T15:29:19","slug":"from-ice-age-to-present-day-a-journey-through-the-history-of-king-township","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/from-ice-age-to-present-day-a-journey-through-the-history-of-king-township\/","title":{"rendered":"From Ice Age to Present Day: A Journey Through the History of King Township"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Kim Sillcox<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three years ago, at the outset of the King Township Historical Society\u2019s 50th anniversary year, local author and King resident Ann Love and King\u2019s retired deputy chief librarian Sharon Bentley, took on the monumental task of writing The History of King Township: A Community Shaped by the Land<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book, which chronicles the fascinating evolution of King Township, will make its debut on Thursday, April 24 at 4:30pm<\/strong> at a special book launch hosted by the KTHS at the Township Municipal Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entirely funded in advance by generous donors throughout the Township, this project faced significant challenges during the pandemic due to the closure of archives across the province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undeterred, Ann and Sharon embraced the challenge and proposed a fresh approach\u2014one that would explore the history of King through the lens of its landscape. Their vision was to delve into how the land and natural environment have transformed over time, and how people have adapted to and shaped it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their approach, Ann and Sharon made it clear that they wouldn\u2019t be retelling the stories of the growth of our villages and hamlets or focusing on landmarks like Eaton Hall or Mary Lake, as Elizabeth Gillham and Kelly Mathews had already done in previous books. Instead, they sought to offer a new narrative, one that would highlight the evolution of both the land and the community, using fresh perspectives on key events like Simcoe\u2019s legacy, the first settlements, and the Lloydtown Rebellion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the project progressed, the duo set an ambitious goal: to have the book completed in time for the Township\u2019s 175th anniversary year. For the next two years, Sharon scoured both online and physical archives, utilizing digitized newspapers, community museums, university collections, and government records across Ontario and North America. She also organized research trips to the Ontario Archives and numerous visits with long-time King residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Ann worked tirelessly on the writing, often uncovering fascinating stories she felt could not be left out of the book. To enrich the narrative, she has included vignettes by local authors\u2014many of whom are no longer with us\u2014that had previously been featured in the KTHS newsletter. These stories, shared by voices from King\u2019s past and present, offer intimate glimpses into the Township\u2019s history, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Out of Sight<\/em> by Margie Kenedy <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responding to Need, Adapting to Change Part 1: The Wheat Barn<\/em> by Phyllis Vernon <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Happened to the Rank-and-File Rebels from King? <\/em>by Patricia Blackstock <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Septimus Tyrwhitt<\/em> by Bertrand Duclos <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Henry Frost <\/em>by Richard Vien<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responding<\/em> to Need, Adapting to Change Part 2: The Bank Barn<\/em> by Phyllis Vernon <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever Need Existed in the Community; the Institute Was There<\/em> by Louise Di Iorio <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Long-Lost Trail<\/em> by Ken Carter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mount St. Francis Catholic Land Settlement Corporation<\/em> by Bev Flanagan <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lady in the Mud House: Blair\u2019s Story (1884 \u2013 1985)<\/em> by Gillian Watt <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pine Farms Orchard<\/em> by Tony Rolph <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pottageville Swamp: Zoological Studies Begin in Ontario<\/em> by Vicki Hotte <\/p>\n\n\n\n

King Township Public Library<\/em> by Gordon Craig and Sharon Bentley <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hospice King<\/em> by Susan Deschamps and Philomena Duley<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Accidental Archives<\/em> by Elsa-Ann Pickard<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the writing process, Ann and Sharon continued to weave these vignettes into the book, enhancing its depth and richness. By the time the manuscript was complete, they had crafted rough drafts for three of the book\u2019s nine sections, covering the entire span of King\u2019s history\u2014from the end of the Ice Age to the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The KTHS is deeply grateful to Ann Love and Sharon Bentley for their dedication to The History of King Township: A Community Shaped by the Land<\/em>. Their meticulous research and heartfelt storytelling have given us a treasure to enjoy for generations to come. This book is truly a labour of love, celebrating the unique history of King Township and the people who have called it home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pre-order your copy today and save! The History of King Township<\/em> will be available for $30 online and at the April book launch, where you can have it personally signed by the authors. After the launch, copies will be available for $40 at www.kingtownshiphistoricalsociety.com and at the King Heritage & Cultural Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please join us on Thursday, April 24th at 4:30 pm at the King Township Municipal Centre for this remarkable milestone in King\u2019s history. We ask that you kindly RSVP to kinghistoricalsociety@gmail.com so we can prepare for the event.<\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kim Sillcox Three years ago, at the outset of the King Township Historical Society\u2019s 50th anniversary year, local author and King resident Ann Love and King\u2019s retired deputy chief librarian Sharon Bentley, took on the monumental task of writing The History of King Township: A Community Shaped by the Land. The book, which chronicles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":36072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-03-02.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-9nN","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 14:33:49","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36071"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36071\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36073,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36071\/revisions\/36073"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}