Vanished Villages of Middlesex

Geoff Hayes is an associate professor of History and the Director of
International Studies Option at the University of Waterloo.

This is a highly detailed survey of nearly 170 crossroads, hamlets, and
villages that once dotted the nine townships of Middlesex county in
Southwestern Ontario. The author has done a great deal of research in
local archives, land records, atlases, and directories. She has also
interviewed many residents, who have given her many of the photographs
and local anecdotes that appear throughout this attractive volume.

There is much to commend this work to genealogists and those interested
in the “ghost towns” of Ontario. Although the system of referencing
is uneven, Grainger has wisely drawn on primary sources as much as
possible. The highly detailed entries include plenty of names, in both
the text and the index. The photographs complement the text well, as do
the post-office marks that are often all that remain of what were once
thriving communities. Less helpful are the overly simple township maps
that begin each chapter.

Ultimately, this book is a plea to conserve Middlesex County’s
history. It is unfortunate that Grainger does not recommend what should
be preserved and why. Readers may also feel a bit overwhelmed by the
enormous amount of detail and lack of context. Grainger rightly notes
how the railways and later automobiles brought both prosperity and
decline to these centres, but she does not tell us when the rail lines
or county roads were first established. Nor do we learn when any of the
townships were surveyed, or even when Middlesex County was first
incorporated. A brief overview would have helped the reader consider
what is truly worth saving, or at least commemorating.

Like every other county in Ontario, Middlesex could not resist the
immense forces of change we have witnessed through the last two
centuries. Grainger’s work is not without its flaws, but her survey of
these largely lost and forgotten communities reminds us of what little
value we have placed in our rural past.