Dufferin County

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Local histories are improving, becoming more professional in text and
presentation. While this one certainly illustrates that trend, it is
still a local history, perched midway between being an amateur effort
and a professional publication.

Dufferin County is a small county in south-central Ontario, located
slightly to the northwest of Toronto. It is farm country, dotted with
rural villages and featuring exceptional scenery in the form of gentle
waterways and rolling hills. To a considerable extent the sheep, horses,
and small farms that dominated the area in the past now take second
place to boutiques and craft stores, bed and breakfasts, trendy
restaurants, and parks, all designed to capture the Toronto day-tripper
market.

The book is generously illustrated with reproductions of archival
photos from approximately 1880 to 1950, and colour photos of the county
today. The archival photos, however, are seldom presented to advantage,
being too small and murky. The modern colour photos are at the good
amateur level, attractive but usually trite in subject and unimaginative
in composition. There are a couple of exceptions; a few of the colour
plates are worthy of gallery space.

The extensive text is well researched and comprehensive, with historic
facts presented with an awareness of the lure of a good story and the
appeal of the unusual.

This book will be treasured by local residents and by the thousands of
tourists who visit the area each year.