On the Shores of Scugog - 1934 (2nd Ed.)

Cat No.:   CA0396:

The title of the book is rather misleading. Scugog itself could apply to either the town or the lake, both having the same name, but it turns out that the author interpreted “the Shores” as extending as far as Pickering and Lake Simcoe westward and ‘a good distance’ eastwards towards Peterborough. On the other hand it does devote a whole chapter to Port Perry which actually is on the Shores of Scugog. Originally in the county of Ontario, now obsolete, it currently occupies a borderline position in both Durham and Victoria counties, a location in Reach Township. In today’s geography it might best be described as lying between Kawartha Lakes and Oshawa, Ontario.

This digital edition is a reproduction of the 2nd edition of this book, which was originally published in 1913, the additional 20 years providing enough material to approximately double the book’s size including adding substance to the original where additional information has come to light. Both editions were written by Samuel Farmer, a newspaper publisher in Port Perry.

The book claims to be composed of two parts; the Pioneers and Local Historical Interest although it is not immediately obvious what form this separation takes. It is, however, indicative of the breadth of subject matter contained, both in topic and in area. For example it includes stories of the first pioneer settler - and his family - who arrived in Reach township in 1821, and a chapter titled “A Brief Survey of Present Conditions” the “present” obviously being the early 1930’s. In area the places mentioned included: Ashburn, Beaverton, Borelia, Brooklin, Cannington, Columbus, Claremont, Duffin’s Creek, Greenbank, Manchester, Manilla, Oshawa, Port Perry, Prince Albert, Utica, Uxbridge, and Whitby to select a few.

Author Farmer’s choice of subjects is wide and all embracing. Titles of the 36 chapters include: Clearing the Land, Fashions, Roads and Rigs, Hotels and Whisky, Lake Scugog Moods, Military Matters and Local Personalities. Clearly the reader will be able to obtain a rounded experience of all aspects of life in this primarily rural area of Upper Canada / Ontario from its earliest days of settlement up to the 1930’s - just before the advent of personal transportation and communication so radically changed the dimensions of what we consider to be “accessible” territory, and our lifestyles.

This is an accurate reproduction of a relatively rare book, particularly in this 2nd edition with its expanded scope filling 256 text pages (including line drawings by Marian Farmer) and additional photographic portraits and landscape pages. This digital edition carefully processed to allow computer searches and enhanced with our FastFind technology for almost instantaneous results.

No. of CDs is:  1 ;   Format is:  PDF ;   Searchable?:  YES;

FastFind:  Yes;  ISBN No.:   978-1-927503-12-6 ;