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• Founding of Cobourg, The
  Saw and grist mills erected in this area during the first decade of the 19th century fostered the development here of a small settlement. The completion of the Kingston Road by 1817 facilitated its growth and within a decade it had a population of about 350. Known as Hamilton, then Cobourg, the community expanded rapidly as a commercial and shipping centre and as a port of entry, particularly after harbour improvements were completed in 1832...

• Victoria Hall
  One of the finest public buildings in Canada, this imposing structure was built as an expression of civic pride and confidence in the future. It was begun in 1856 and opened by the Prince of Wales four years later. Designed by the renowned architect Kivas Tully, Victoria Hall is classical in form and is distinguished by elaborately carved ornamentation, an elegant pediment supported by four Corinthian columns and a massive, column-ringed cupola. The building's interior...

• Church of St. Peter, The
  This Anglican church was begun in 1851 to replace a frame building erected in 1820. Distinguished by the stepped battlements of its façade, the new building was designed in early Gothic revival style by the noted architect Kivas Tully, who was later responsible for Victoria Hall, Cobourg. After the plan was altered, St. Peter's was constructed by the contractor, Samuel Retallick, and gradually encased the earlier church, which was dismantled. On October 15, 1854, this...

• Cobourg and Peterborough Railway 1852-1898, The
  Largely financed by the citizens and town, Cobourg's railway to Peterborough was chartered in 1852 and opened in 1854. Like many others of this period, it suffered from excessive optimism, land speculation and faulty engineering. Ice made the three-mile-long Rice Lake bridge unsafe and finally destroyed it 1860-61, ending use of the northern section. Reorganized in 1866, the remaining part carried considerable iron ore from Marmora. The line was acquired by the Grand Trunk in 1893 and closed in 1898.

• Honourable James Cockburn 1819-1883, The
  A Father of Confederation, James Cockburn was born in Berwick, England and came to Canada with his parents in 1832. Admitted to the bar in 1846, he formed a partnership with D.E. Boulton in Cobourg, and in 1849 established a law practice independently. Entering politics, he represented Northumberland West in the Legislative Assembly of Canada, 1861-67, and served as solicitor general, 1864-67. At the Quebec Conference of 1864, he shared in drafting the plan for...

• Marie Dressler 1868-1934
  Leila Maria Koerber, a talented actress and singer known internationally as Marie Dressler, was born in Cobourg. About 1883, she joined a touring stock company, later gaining recognition on Broadway in a series of successful comedy productions, including "Tillie's Nightmare". Although she made her first film in 1914, entitled "Tillie's Punctured Romance" with Charlie Chaplin, her real success in motion pictures began in 1930 when she played in "Anna Christie" with Greta Garbo. During the...

• Victoria College
  The cornerstone of this building was laid June 7, 1832, and teaching began in 1836. First operated under a royal charter by the Wesleyan Methodists as Upper Canada Academy, in 1841 it obtained a provincial charter under the name Victoria College, giving it power to grant degrees. Victoria's first president was the Reverend Egerton Ryerson, newspaper editor and founder of Ontario's educational system. In 1890, the college federated with the University of Toronto and, in 1892, left Cobourg.

• William Weller 1799-1863
  This resident of Cobourg was the province's leading stage coach proprietor from about 1830 to 1856. His Royal Mail Line ran from Hamilton to Montreal, with links to other centers. In February 1840, Weller drove the Governor-General, Charles Poulett Thomson, from Toronto to Montreal in the record time of 37 hours and 40 minutes. Three times mayor of Cobourg, he was also chairman of its Harbour Commission, president of the Cobourg-Rice Lake Plank Road Company and organizer of the International Telegraph Company.