Committee working to highlight Thorburn history with kiosk for 150th
A group of volunteers hopes to put Thorburn’s history on display this summer as the village celebrates its 150th anniversary.
Gail Jordan, who grew up in Thorburn, didn’t want to see the milestone pass by without any recognition, so she is spearheading an effort to install a kiosk highlighting the history of the community. If all goes according to plan, she hopes the kiosk will be installed by the end of the summer.
The plan is for the kiosk to house three interpretive panels. The first panel will include the area’s earliest history, including maps, land grants, and a description of the way of life and industries in the beginning.
The second panel will focus on the early 1900s with the community's types of industries, where people would find work, the school, churches, sports and clubs, interesting facts about events, and more. The third panel will include more recent history about the changes, people who helped manage change and the evolution of the village and surrounding villages of Greenwood, MacLellan’s Brook, Coalburn and MacLellan’s Mountain.
Local historian and graphic designer John Ashton of Ashton Creative Design has helped create 13 other similar kiosks throughout rural Pictou County and is on the committee for this project as well.
One of the challenges with a project like this, he said, is trying to decide what information to include.
“It’s the decision of the committee to make sure that it’s a fair representation of the community and pinpoints things that happened in the community that are really valuable to the community, like the mining and sports and some of the lodges that were there,” Ashton said.
Before the arrival of the European settlers, the Mi’Kmaq would have inhabited the region during parts of the year, he said.
“They were nomadic,” Ashton said. “In the winter, they would go inland to make a living there and then they’d go to the seacoast in the spring, summer and fall.”
The earliest European settlers would have been Scottish farmers.
What really grew the village to what it is today was the mine that started in 1872 and brought in immigrants from France, Italy and other countries.
“Thorburn was built on coal mining, basically. Before then, it was just farmland,” he said.
With that influx of immigrants, industry started.
“At one time, Thorburn was booming,” says Kathryn Campbell, another committee member. “The main street had three stores. My grandfather had one of them.”
Her grandfather’s store was D.I. Johnstone and Son.
“I remember going out back and the squeaky boards and there’d be a great big wheel of cheese. That was a treat when you got out there and got that,” she said.
For the kiosk to be a success, the committee needs community involvement in providing information and raising enough funds.
The project is estimated to cost around $30,000.
While the committee is
planning to apply for grants from various levels of government, they also hope individuals and businesses will contribute.
One way that people can contribute is through an ancestral acknowledgement plaque. These plaques, available for a $250 contribution, will be placed below the panels and allow people to dedicate them in remembrance of their ancestors.
If you have information or photos that you think may be of interest or want to know more about the project and how to contribute, email Jordan at gailjordan38@gmail. com.