Museum (HA) Introduction
Introduction
The history of agriculture in the County of Oxford is strongly linked to the stories of the people of this county. The first settlers to arrive established themselves upon the rich soils of the forested lands and immediately set to work preparing the earth for cultivation. The efforts of Upper Canada’s first Lieutenant-Governor, Sir John Graves Simcoe, should be recognized, for Simcoe understood that land without settlers capable of being good farmers was valueless. Simcoe not only actively sought settlers that would be successful, but took a personal interest in farming and in 1792, following the first session of the Legislature, organized ‘The Agricultural Society of Upper Canada. From the very earliest settlement of Upper Canada, agriculture has received support from the government. However, the primary burden of cultivating the land and feeding the country has always fallen upon the shoulders of the country’s rural communities and their farmers.
