Trenton at Confederation

Renovations to the Quinte West Public Library at Trenton have unearthed some interesting items. Among them was a 100cm x 150cm (40" x 60")  plan of the settlement created in 1867 by Village Clerk, Jeremiah Simmons (c.1807-1887). The map had been glued and stapled to a wooden board and was generally showing signs of its advanced age. It has now been removed from the board and transferred to the archives for safe-keeping. We have also photographed the map and shared it online to protect it from further damage by handling.

Jeremiah Simmons is also known for creating an oil painting of Trenton from Mount Pelion in 1842. In June 1963 Trenton Council discussed spending $125 to restore the painting, which had "lain unnoticed and neglected in the town office for many years." It is not clear whether this money was spent, but the Trent Port Historical Society noted in a Facebook post in 2016 that the painting was at that time part of the private collection of a Trenton family.