Lambton County Archives Blog

What is True History? The Shaw Gusher Question

Portrait of John Shaw

Portrait of High Nixon Shaw

What are historical facts? Who decides what gets written in the history books?

Historians use primary sources (material written or created at the time of the events) to interpret what happened in the past. Secondary sources (textbooks, magazine articles) are written to explain a historian's interpretation of the past.
So what happens when historians cannot agree on one version of history? Who decides which facts are right?
This type of historical...

Sarnia's Boys' Brigade Hall and Armoury

[IMAGE] Thomas Nisbet with eight members of his Boys' Brigade company
Sometimes one man's vision for a single organization can have positive implications for the rest of the community. This was definitely the case when T.W. Nisbet embarked on an ambitious project to build a hall for the Boys' Brigade.
The Boys' Brigade was conceived by Sir William Alexander Smith in Glasgow in 1883. The organization's goal was "the advancement of Christ's kingdom among boys, and the promotion of habits of obedience,...

Lost Burial Grounds - Victoria Cemetery Controversy

An old church site has caused a big stir in Lambton County and raised ethical questions about burial grounds and monuments. This blog post will provide a brief outline of the controversy and then summarize some of the documents in our collection at the Lambton County Archives that point to the existence of a pioneer cemetery.
At the beginning of October a small woodlot at 8947 Petrolia Line was cleared by a bulldozer. When a citizen noticed broken monuments on the bulldozed site, the individual posted...

¡Hola! Lambton

When you think of Lambton County's nineteenth century oil boom, do you think of exotic beaches, palm trees and sunshine? Probably not! Would you be surprised to hear that at least one newspaper in sunny Mexico City was reporting on our local oil industry in the 1860s? The international appeal and impact of our local oil history is truly astounding!
Reporter Felix Foucou wrote for The Two Republics, an English-language newspaper that was distributed in Mexico City. It was published between 1867...

Preserving Historical Documents: Caring for your family documents at home

Preservation at Home

Many family documents, photos, letters, and diaries are passed down from generation to generation. You can help to preserve your own family documents by properly storing and safely handling them in your home.

By keeping your documents in appropriate conditions, you can help ensure that they are preserved for generations.

Storage Conditions

Temperature extremes and fluctuations lead to degradation of documents. UV light from the sun or interior light bulbs can cause paper to degrade...