In Search of Lanark

William F.E. Morley was Curator of Special Collections, Douglas Library, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario.

The places in Lanark County described in this book are listed in the Contents, A-Z, and thus they appear in the series of 42 articles (about 120 pages) which comprise the book itself: Almonte to Watson’s Corners. These articles appeared earlier in The Canadian, the weekly newspaper of Carleton Place, Ontario, during 1976-77, and were first brought together in a selection published in two “printings” in 1980. The Foreword tells us that this is the second edition, and notes on the verso of the title-page and the back cover add that it is “revised.” It would have been useful if this information had appeared, along with imprint details, in the customary place on the title page, where in fact only the title and authors’ names appear. The Foreword also informs us that this new edition includes several communities, notably Smiths Falls, excluded before because they are outside the circulation area of The Canadian. The present work thus presents a more complete account, though the authors lay no claim to comprehensiveness as to settlements, families, or buildings described. Neither are the articles intended to be an authoritative history of Lanark County. Yet, after these negatives have been observed, the result is a remarkably interesting and useful booklet.

Lanark has a good lead over many Ontario counties in terms of natural beauty and antiquity, and because so many of its fine old buildings still stand, in an excellent state of preservation. The booklet abounds in black-and-white pictures of churches, mills, and private houses (so many of them built in local stone), as well as of the picturesque and sometimes rugged countryside. Each article tells something about the origin of the name of the community, and of its early settlement and its settlers. The growth, and sometimes the decline, of the place is sketched out, with references to commercial development in mills and factories, and to social and religious institutions. The entire account is so richly woven with local anecdote, and the statistics and sources (when given) are so unobtrusive, that the work may be enjoyed for its human interest. One is most readily caught up in the joys and fears and accomplishments of the pioneers who settled this attractive and historic region.

The last page contains a brief list of authors and titles (but not imprints) of local histories of Lanark, and other sources, and concludes with biographical notes on the present two authors. The lack of an index is somewhat offset by the alphabetical arrangement of the articles.