Bringing the past into the present and sharing it one tale, talk or tour at a time – for area historian and author Chris Carter, this is his passion.
“Everything that happened in Canada from the mid 1600s through confederation, happened in this area,” says Carter, currently in the midst of a free seven-part lecture series at The Canadian Transportation Museum and Heritage Village.
“We had five forts in Essex County in 1812-15. How many know that – let alone can name them?”
As one of the earliest settled and historic sites in all of Canada, Essex County is an area many do not give full proper recognition to, says the 54-year-old Carter. He hopes his ongoing efforts do something to change that.
“I feel many do not appreciate what we have here. Look at Niagara-on the-Lake. We are just as old and have as much history as they do. Now we have the wineries as well,” he says.
“Our story, history, should be promoted more than it is. Detroit’s as well. The two areas can keep you very busy for a week holiday or a stay-at-home vacation.”
Although Carter points out some 30-plus history groups around Essex County, he feels much more needs to be done to capitalize on this interest.
“Essex County has more history groups than any other county in Canada. That alone shows you how much history we have. We also have two of the best history research societies in Ontario, both known by most historians in Ontario.
“The tourism business needs to do more to work with this theme.”
Carter tells Boom Magazine that his love of all-things-old in Essex and Kent counties started with a trip across the Detroit River, to another nearby area rich in its own well-documented stories of yesteryear.
“I remember going on a field trip to Greenfield Village in grade six. It was then that I fell in love with history,” says Carter, crediting his father and family trips around town as other influences.
“At Walkerville (Collegiate Institute), I took every history class offered – about 12 in five years. Grade nine was all Essex County history. That did it, I fell in love with learning what happened in the backyard of where I lived.
“I learned that I grew up on the grounds of Moy Hall. They built ships at the end of Gladstone Avenue, right where I lived.”
After graduating St. Clair College and moving away from the area for business reasons, fate would see Carter eventually move back to the area in Harrow. It became the start of his investigations into both the history of his new surroundings and of his own family — enough to publish his first of several works.
Chris Carter has written a series of ‘tour books’ designed to help people drive around Essex County and learn about local history. – John Chan photo
“Harrow/Colchester is the oldest planned town this side of Kingston. I learned my family arrived in 1792 and are classified as United Empire Loyalists,” he says. “They ended up starting a town called Olinda, an iron mining and smelting town. Upon digging for information about this town I only found one paragraph in an old Ghost Town book. I knew then it was time to dig on my own.”
Carter’s thirst for more of this forgotten area of Essex County uncovered enough information to form a 300-page effort he titled, Tour Olinda: Essex County’s Only Ghost Town. It has since gone on to become his biggest bestseller.
“Olinda employed enough people it ended up having one-third of the population of Essex County at the time,” says Carter, who employed a publishing style far-removed from mere facts and photos.
“The book is set up as a driving tour. Get in the car, follow the directions, enjoy your Sunday afternoon drive, explore the sites and shops of the county and learn its history.
“I have many driving tour books out now,” he adds, including: Tour the Ghost Coast: County Road #50, Tour 1812 War Sites in Essex and Kent Counties, Tour Colchester: The Way We Were, Tour Essex/Kent Counties Heritage Trail: Early Settlement of African Canadians, as well as Tour Essex: The Lost Communities.
In addition, Carter has also published Upper Canada’s Early Iron Industry, 1814: The Deadliest Battle on Essex County Soil, War of 1812 Battle Poems, and Freedom – The Last Stop: A Scrapbook of Black History, among others.
Along with his free lectures, Carter also conducts free tours, leads presentations for various groups and teaches courses at Elder College.
“It is interesting the number of young people that have completed my driving tours,” he notes.
Carter is currently working on books detailing both the 1837 Rebellion and Stage Coach Routes and Inns of Essex County.
“Hopefully enough will be found for tours,” he says, excitedly.
Camp Palmer/Barretville, at the corner of Concessions 8 and 15 in Essex County, is depicted in this map that is in one of Chris Carter’s books. The self-contained community of Camp Palmer boasted a blacksmith shop, general store and mail stop, Carter says. “After Camp Palmer was no more, a Mr. Barret operated the mill there and the community was re-named Barretville,” he says. “In the 1930s, the land had been cleared of trees and sold for farms; the sawdust was carried off in order for the farmers to work the land. The school was eventually closed and the building moved to Six Corners, where it still stands as a residential place.”- Courtesy Chris Carter
Carter’s lecture series
Chris Carter’s final two parts of his current lecture series take place March 17 (Tour Essex: The Lost Communities) and April 21 (Isaac Brock). Both run from 1-3 p.m. at The Canadian Transportation Museum and Heritage Village, 6155 Arner Townline, Essex, ON. Visit ctmhv.com or call 519-776-6909 for more information. Books by Carter will be available for purchase at each session. For more on Carter, visit touressex.ca.
