Journal traces Wellington County’s people, places
FERGUS – The Wellington County Historical Society (WCHS) published the 39th issue of the Wellington County History Journal on June 15.
The WCHS has published an annual issue of the journal since 1987, educating those interested about the layers of local history that inform the region.
The volume is composed of seven chapters, all from local writers whose interests connect us to Wellington County’s past.
Local researcher Karen Smart recounts how Black families like the Travises escaped slavery and oppression south of the border to establish the Queen’s Bush Settlement, between present day Waterloo and north Wellington.
Elsewhere, retired teacher Bob Love provides reminiscences of his time teaching at Rockwood Centennial Public School.
Editor Elysia DeLaurentis provides an article about the curious case of alligators on the loose in Wellington County during a halcyon time prior to stricter regulations regarding wildlife importation. DeLaurentis said it was Bob Love’s reminiscences about getting an alligator in the mail as a joke by colleagues at Rockwood that inspired her to develop a set of clippings on alligator sightings into a more fulsome article.
DeLaurentis first recounts the story of Dr. Abraham Groves, a prominent Fergus physician whose pet alligator got loose, causing fear among locals until the gator’s remains were discovered on Groves’ property after his passing.
Subsequently, H. Gordon Green, a fur dealer from Arthur, raised two alligators imported from North Carolina on his farm only for one to escape. There would be continued periodic alligator sightings by locals until the late 1930s.
DeLaurentis says she hopes the journal will provide readers a sense of place.
“Whether you’re a long-standing resident or someone new to Wellington County, history is fun because it makes you feel more deeply rooted in your community”, DeLaurentis said.
The latest issue of the Wellington County History Journal is available at Magic Peeble Books, the Wellington County Museum Gift Shop, I Love Chocolate and the Bookery, or at one of the WCHS’s regular meetings.
