"The tree fell with a crash of accumulating thunder, as if ancient
Nature were alarmed at the entrance of social man into her innocent
solitudes with his sorrows, his follies, and his crimes. I do not
suppose that the sublimity of the occasion was unfelt by the others,
for I noticed that after the tree fell, there was a funereal pause,
as when the coffin is lowered into the grave; it was, however, of
short duration for the doctor pulled a flask of whiskey from his
bosom, and we drank prosperity to the City of Guelph"
This passage, recorded by John Galt in his Autobiography, describes
the felling of the tree on April 23, 1827 that signalled the
beginning of the City of Guelph. On April 23, 2002, Guelph celebrates
its 175th birthday. In honour of this occasion, the Guelph Public
Library has assembled this virtual exhibit, entitled Older Than You:
Celebrating Guelph's 175th Birthday. We invite you to take a tour back
in time, to see select areas of the City as they have looked through
the years, and to trace their development over the decades. All
images in this exhibit are taken from archival photographs held by
the Guelph Public Library Archives. If you would like to learn more
about the photographs, or any other material held by the Guelph
Public Library Archives, please contact the
archivist.
If you are ready, simply use the menu on the left to begin your
travels through Guelph's history. Enjoy!
Happy birthday Royal City!
Selection of the categories and themes has been based solely on the
availability of archival photographs in the Guelph Public Library
Archives to support an exploration of the subject matter in keeping
with the aims and structure of this exhibit.
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