History is a timeless concept; one definition of the word simply states that it is “something in the past,” however, that past could be yesterday or thousands of years ago.

More often than not historical objects will be undated leaving the researcher or archivist to make an educated deduction (or possibly use specialized testing equipment) to determining the age or at least the era for the item.

Generally this approximation is adequate, however, for some items, such as old photographs it is desirable to try and be a little more accurate. This is where old fashion research and good local knowledge are definitely assets.

The picture featured today is an old undated photo taken at the four corners in Norwood looking west down Peterborough Street (now Highway 7). The Asphodel Norwood Historical Group recently shared this photo on their Facebook page with the simple request to guess the date. Their followers did not disappoint and a small flood of guesstimates were soon posted. Dates varied greatly with the oldest at 1870 and the most recent in the 1940s.

So, let’s go down the rabbit hole and see how close we can narrow down the date it was taken.

To start, the last building we can see in the distance on the left hand side is called the Roxburgh Block. It was built in 1876 and is still there today. Narrowing it in a little further is the presence of what looks like hydro lines. However, the utility poles in the picture are actually holding telephone wires. This can be confirmed because the exchange was located in the Reynolds building, a portion of this large commercial block can be seen at the extreme left of the picture. This block of buildings........

© Peterborough Examiner