Rural History Roundtable
Photograph: Large group eating meal after raising barn, Stephen Sylvester Main collection, University of Guelph Library, Archives, and Special Collections, Agricultural History (XA1 MS A230 #214)
The Rural History Roundtable is a speaker series that has been in operation since 2002. It hosts scholars of international repute and provides a venue for graduate students to present their latest research. It is vertically intergrated drawing into its fold undergraduates, graduates, post-docs, faculty, archivists, alumni, and other members of the public.
All are welcome to attend!
The first hybrid presentation of the 2025-26 series will take place Tuesday, September 23rd in the University of Guelph's McLaughlin Library, Robert Whitelaw Room 246B, from 3:30-5:00pm EST. To view the presentation on Zoom, please register here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/becoming-green-gables-the-making-of-a-famous-farmhouse-tickets-1689243255049?aff=oddtdtcreator
Presenter: Dr. Alan MacEachern (History, Western University)
Title: "Becoming Green Gables: The Making of a Famous Farmhouse"
In 1909 Myrtle and Ernest Webb took possession of an ordinary farm in Cavendish, PEI. Ordinary but for one thing: it was already becoming known as inspiration for Anne of Green Gables, the novel written by Myrtle’s cousin LM Montgomery and published to international acclaim a year earlier. The Webbs welcomed literary pilgrims, soon took in summer boarders, and, in the decades that followed, contributed actively to making “Green Gables” a major tourist destination.
During all this, Myrtle Webb kept a diary. It is a rich portrait of early-to-mid twentieth century rural Canada, but from the vantage point of a property well on its way to becoming the most famous house in Canada. Alan MacEachern will talk about having used Myrtle’s diary to tell her, the Webbs’, and Green Gables’ story in his book Becoming Green Gables and the website GreenGablesDiary.ca.
Questions? Please contact:
Dr. Ben Bradley
ben.bradley@uoguelph.ca
Dr. Rebecca Beausaert
rbeausae@uoguelph.ca
For a list of past Rural History Roundtable speakers, see here.
