A historical perspective

by Allan McGillivray

Congratulations to the Cosmos on its 20th birthday, and for still blooming in this paperless world.

When the Cosmos was born, I was curator of the Uxbridge Historical Centre. Over the years I had collected a lot of local history of the Uxbridge area. The Cosmos gave me the opportunity to share some of that history, and I wrote articles under the heading, “HeritageTrails.” I guess that was appropriate as Uxbridge became known as the Trail Capital of Canada.

My article for the issue of October 27, 2005, was called “Oxbridge vs. Uxbridge.” I was explaining the difference between some history that has been passed down to us and documented history. Traditional history tells us that the first settler here put his oxen in the creek, put planks on their backs and pulled his cart over this bridge. He had made an ox bridge, and we have been told that’s where the name originated.

Actually the name came from Uxbridge, England, which is just west of London.

In 2016, Caroline and I were on a tour of England, and our first hotel was in the west part of London. The first morning we went for a walk, and to our surprise we saw a double decker bus with the name Uxbridge on the front of it. That was our welcome to London.

I really enjoyed writing the articles. Of course there was the challenge of coming up with a new topic every week. Also, I learned to keep within a certain number of words!

I wish the Uxbridge Cosmos many more years of blooms.

Allan McGillivray has long been involved in involved in various activities related to the local history of Uxbridge and Scott townships. His contributions include writing about the life and works of Lucy Maud Montgomery, who spent many years in Leaskdale. McGillivray and his work have been instrumental in preserving the history of the area and he has made significant contributions to the community's understanding of its past.