Oxford Local History Day 2024
at Ingersoll Library
11AM - Unlawful Behaviours: Female Deviants in the Oxford County Jail with Rebecca Beausaert, Adjunct History Professor, University of Guelph
This presentation will examine the various ways that women in Oxford County became entangled with the criminal justice system in the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. According to records from the Oxford County jail, local women purportedly committed a variety of crimes, ranging from vagrancy and prostitution to public drunkenness and murder. Despite the popular belief that Victorian and Edwardian women were virtuous, moral, and law-abiding, evidence from Oxford County reinforces the possibility that many women did engage in criminal acts, resulting in high-profile trials, significant jail time, and slanderous stories in the local press.
12 NOON - Ontario Barn Preservation Project with Shane Klassen
Oxford County representative of Ontario Barn Preservation, Shane Klassen, will give insight into preserving our historic cathedrals of the fields; barn architecture, cultural history and contribution to our rural landscape.
- Sharing knowledge with barn owners on how to preserve, renovate and repurpose their barns.
- Providing information on preserving old barns in a digital format to record the characteristics and history of Oxford County barns
1PM - Agricultural art of Ross Butler with David Butler
Born and raised in Norwich, Ontario, Ross Butler was a self-taught artist who made a lasting impression on the agricultural and art communities in Canada and the United States. Working out of his studio overlooking the Woodstock Town Square, Butler was commissioned by the Ontario government in the 1930's to paint "true types" for Canadian livestock breed standards to be used for agricultural education and breeding purposes.
2PM - The Potter's Field at the Rural Cemetery: Sharing Lost Stories with Cody Groat, Associate History Professor, UWO & Rebecca Small, Research Assistant
The Potter's Field at the Ingersoll Rural Cemetery is a section with nearly 400 unmarked graves for community members from a lower socio-economic status. This presentation will demonstrate the ways that Western University, the Town of Ingersoll, and the Township of Zorra are remembering the lives of those buried there, including those who were formerly enslaved and those who were unhoused.
Interactive displays & exhibits:
Oxford County Library
Oxford County Archives
Ingersoll Cheese & Agricultural Museum
Beachville District Museum
Oxford Ancestors
Ingersoll Pipe Band
Plattsville & District Heritage
Zorra Heritage Committee
Ontario Barn Preservation
Harrington Grist Mill