Trent Valley Archives

09/06/2025

LOW STOCK ALERT! We have just two copies left of Green Routes: Experiencing the Peter Robinson Emigration 1825 by Rosemary McConkey in our bookstore. We will not be reprinting this book, so this is your last chance to add this fantastic resource on the Peter Robinson emigration to your library.

The book can be purchased for $35 at our archives building at 567 Carnegie Avenue Tuesday-Saturday from 10am-4pm or on our website, here: https://trentvalleyarchives.com/shop/green-routes-experiencing-the-peter-robinson-emigration-1825-2/

While you're there, you can also peruse all the other fabulous books on the Peter Robinson emigration we carry, including the Nine Ships Bicentennial Souvenir Book, Peterborough: Spirit of Place (featuring an article by Patrick Leahy on the emigration), and the Homecoming 75 souvenir book.

08/24/2025

On Sunday, August 10, Trent Valley Archives (TVA) held their second of two Beyond the Ships' Lists tours in St. Peter's Cemetery. The tour was a fitting closure to our Bicentennial Commemoration Week, as it profiled the descendants of many of the original Peter Robinson Emigrants, discussing the places they moved to and the career paths they took and highlighting the incredible legacy, spanning 200 years, of Peter Robinson's emigration experiment.

Although it was a hot afternoon, tour guides Gillian Holden and Maddie More entertained their tour groups by telling stories of tragedy and triumph and explaining how the descendants buried in St. Peter's Cemetery were connected to the original Peter Robinson Emigrants who sailed across the Atlantic on nine ships in 1825. Many of the tour participants learned more about their ancestors during the course of the tour!

Thank you to the Trent Valley Archives for enriching visitors' historical knowledge with their walking and cemetery tours throughout our Bicentennial Commemoration Week. If you're local to Peterborough and didn't get an opportunity to attend this tour during our Bicentennial Commemoration Week, make sure you're following TVA on their social media. They're planning on reprising the tour once more this fall!

08/23/2025

Rubidge, Hilliard, Stewart, Fairbairn. These are names most Peterburians will know, as they'realso the names of some of Peterborough's well-travelled streets. But as you're driving, biking, or walking through town, have you ever thought about the people these streets are named after, and why a street was named in their honour?

On our Movers and Shakers tour in Little Lake Cemetery, join local historian Karen-Carter Edwards to find out what contributions these "movers and shakers" made to the Peterborough community, alongside other prominent Peterburians with last names you might recognize. A diverse group, they include pioneers, businessmen, politicians, military personnel, religious leaders, patrons of the arts, and more. Each one contributed to shaping Peterborough into the vibrant community it is today.

The tour is happening TOMORROW, August 23, at 11am. It's also the only time we're running the tour this year, so you won't want to miss it! Tickets cost $20 each and can be purchased on Eventbrite, here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/movers-and-shakers-tickets-1337358728959?aff=oddtdtcreator

[Image Caption: Cropped image of J. R. Stratton's home on George Street, now Sadlier House, taken in 1909.]

08/22/2025

On Friday, August 8, Trent Valley Archives (TVA) held their second of two Peter Robinson's Peterborough walking tours. On the tour, TVA archivist, historian and tour guide Elwood Jones took the group back in time to 1825, providing a glimpse into what the community (that would later become known as Peterborough) looked like at the time of the Irish emigrants arrival.

Highlights included Victoria Park where a plaque stands in tribute to the Robinson Emigrants; the site where Government House, Peter Robinson's office, once stood; Peter Robinson Place; and Millennium Park where the Peterborough Canadian Irish Club placed a monument honouring the Robinson Emigrants in 1975.

The tour finished at Princess Gardens, where the group got to enjoy lemonade and cookies in their aptly named Peter Robinson Room. Thank you to the Gardens of Peterborough for hosting us at the end of the tour and to the Trent Valley Archives for enriching visitors' historical knowledge with their walking and cemetery tours throughout our Bicentennial Commemoration Week!

Image Credits: Linda Cardona

08/19/2025

Who is a mover and shaker? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a mover and shaker is "a person who is active or influential in some field of endeavor," and fortunately for Peterborough, dozens of influential people have called the city home over its 150+ year history.

On our Movers and Shakers tour this Sunday, August 24 at 11am, join local historian Karen Carter-Edwards in Little Lake Cemetery to learn about some of them. You'll hear their names, see their final resting places (often befitting their prominent place in the community), and explore why they could be considered a mover and shaker.

Tickets cost $20 each and can be purchased on Eventbrite, here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/movers-and-shakers-tickets-1337358728959?aff=oddtdtcreator

08/19/2025

Our Women's History tour celebrates women from all walks of life who contributed to making Peterborough the vibrant community it is today, and we're pleased to be offering it again this year as a part of our 2025 tour season!

Join local historian Karen Carter-Edwards in Little Lake Cemetery this Friday, August 22 at 7pm to learn about the artists, authors, athletes, educators, philanthropists, politicians and military professionals that our community would be nothing without.

As you walk through the cemetery on what promises to be a quiet late summer evening, you'll hear the stories of women like Iva Campbell Fallis, one of Canada's first female senators, and Charlotte Nicholls, whose generous financial gifts funded significant public projects like hospitals and parks.

Tickets cost $20 each and can be purchased on Eventbrite, here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/womens-history-tickets-1337315198759?aff=oddtdtcreator

[Image Caption: Strike at Nashua Paper, August 16, 1972]

08/09/2025

Happening tomorrow afternoon! Don't miss Crossing Over Playwright Ed Schroeter's 10 minute play, Robinson Reconsidered.

10 Minute Sunday - a festival of fast, fierce theatre -is coming to Peterborough!

🗓️ August 10
✨ 10 original plays
⏱️ 10 minutes each
💵 Just $10 a ticket!

📍 Tickets available now at the PTG box office or online here:
https://ci.ovationtix.com/35868/production/1238993

Discover exciting new work by Ontario playwrights—from sharp comedy to heartfelt drama—all packed into one unforgettable afternoon.

📣 Ethel for Mayor
Ethel's husband is running for mayor...again. What could possibly go wrong?

🚗 Carpool
Commuters inadvertently drive into a Beckett play.

🏓 Let’s Play Pickleball
Marj tries to convince her reluctant husband, Herb, to join the local pickleball club.

💬 Small Talk
Paired by a blind date algorithm, a man and woman wrestle with the mistakes that ended their relationship 35 years earlier.

❓Wednesday Trivia
Trivia night turns sideways when the host gets an unfortunate phone call.

📜 Peter Robinson Reconsidered
A playwright gets dressed down by a historian for her interpretation of the 1825 settlement of Irish immigrants.

🤠 High Noon
Two old frenemies stand off before a fateful train ride in this mock Western comedy.

✈️ Enjoy the Ride: Inspired by Anthony Bourdain
A romantic tribute to Bourdain’s life philosophy.

📸 Photo Finish
Sisters Fran and El make a shocking discovery while sorting their late mother’s keepsakes.

💘Another Word for Single
Will Sam finally meet his true love in person or will another bizarre emergency keep them apart?

07/26/2025

A few of our publications will be represented at this event!

07/24/2025

We're gearing up for our last Peterborough Perpetrators tour of 2025! We had a full group last week who were just as enthusiastic about the new story additions as the first group, and we're excited to run the tour one more time for those of you who haven't had a chance to hear the new stories.

The tour will be taking place TOMORROW July 25 at 7pm, and knowledgeable tour guide Maddie More is ready to take you on a walk through Downtown Peterborough to tell you about some of Peterborough most notorious (and lesser-known crimes). Tickets cost $20 each and can be purchased on Eventbrite, here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/peterborough-perpetrators-tickets-1337312590959?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

07/20/2025

If you missed your chance to see Nick van der Graaf's film The Backwoodsman at ReFrame earlier this year, he will be screening the film again this Thursday, July 24 at 3pm. The screening is presented in conjunction with Nine Ships and the Bicentennial of the Peter Robinson Irish Emigration to our region in 1825, and will be held at the community room inside the main branch of the Peterborough Public Library.

The Backwoodsman is a short film that tells the story behind the folk song "The Backwoodsman," a song about a young lumberman who abandons his job hauling wood to go out drinking and dancing, and explores its connections to working class people and the strong Irish community in the Peterborough area.

Featuring interviews and musical performances from folk musicians and historians, the film documents not only the cultural context and meaning behind the song, but also the local musicians working in our area today to keep folk music and folk traditions alive for generations to come.

The screening is free to attend and open to the public. We were proud to sponsor the film at ReFrame this year and strongly encourage you to go to the screening to see the film if you haven't already. It's an excellent exploration of working class culture and folk music traditions in our area!

07/20/2025

Nobody captures the spirit of Ontario communities like photographer John McQuarrie, and we're excited to announce that he has finally added Peterborough to his Spirit of Place book series! The perfect addition to any Peterburian's coffee table, this 150+ page book features dozens of McQuarrie's gorgeous full colour photographs of Peterborough and the surrounding area paired with articles written by local authors and historians, including our archivist, Elwood Jones.

Just in time for the Bicentennial of the Peter Robinson Irish Emigration to our region in 1825, the book features an article written by Patrick Leahy, a descendant of one of the Peter Robinson emigrants, about the Emigration.

Copies of the book are $38 each and are expected to release on August 1, although they can be pre-ordered now by calling us at 705-745-4404 or emailing us at admin@trentvalleyarchives.com. In August, they will be available for purchase at our archives building during our operating hours, on our website, and at our table at the Nine Ships Bicentennial Heritage Fair from August 1-8 (which is taking place at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Peterborough from 10am-4pm each day).

As a special offer, each copy of Peterborough: Spirit of Place will also come with a copy of McQuarrie's previous book Trent Severn Waterway, free of charge!