Postcard Memories is a series of historic views, stories, and photos of Bradford and the area, a trip down memory lane on a Saturday morning.
The first meeting of Innisfil Historical and Archaeological Society occurred on Oct. 10, 1972, at the new municipal building at Barclay.
Reeve George Burton conducted the election of officers and urged the new society to record the history of Innisfil by tape, pictures and the written word. Hugh Jackson, of St Paul’s, was elected as the first president. He spoke to the 25 attendees about Innisfil being “steeped in history”.
Mr. Jackson, having established himself as an authority on Indian life in Innisfil, displayed many relics unearthed from Innisfil sites. Current records on our website indicate the depth and longevity of his archaeology involvement. His oldest digs were quite likely in June 1947 at the south half of lot 10 & 11, Con. 13 and lot 18 Con. 13 Innisfil. His handwritten archaeology notes from September 1955 report on the Roy Stuart site located on the north half of lot 16, Con. 13 in Innisfil, with the following and many others researched over subsequent years: the McDonald site on SH Lot 20, Con. 12, the Ray Jobbitt Site on Lot 25 Con. 12, the Selby Carr site on Lot 18 Con. 13.
You will note the society was first named Innisfil Historical and Archaeological Society, a true indicator of Hugh’s primary interest. His oldest son Brian recalls as a child, accompanying his father on a road trip to Northern Simcoe County and stopping on route to peruse several Indian sites. After his dad’s death, various boxes of Innisfil acquired artifacts were sorted through and shared. To this day, Brian treasures an encased display of native pipes in his home.
In reading through the November minutes of 1972, it was reported that each meeting’s program was designed so that both archaeological (dig planned for Saturday) and historical topics (Clements Cemetery) were covered. A competition sent out to all Innisfil Schools to design the first crest for IHAS was won by Sunnybrae student Lee Anne Weber in December of 1972. Other than the society’s name change, this crest was used up until 2021.
Information sources:
- Brian Jackson
- 1972 Barrie Examiner Article
- Handwritten archaeology notes of Hugh Jackson (Scanned by Bill Warnica to www.ourstoriesinnisfil.ca )
Submitted by Innisfil Historical Society
