The Story of Strabane

For Cecil Hamilton, the past and the present live side-by-side in the west Flamborough community of Strabane. Originally published in 2009, we revisit Cecil’s book by publishing it once again. From an article featured in a November 2019 edition of the Flamborough Review:

The former educator, who was born and raised on a farm on 8th Concession West, hopes to bring history to life for a new generation. The Story of Strabane focuses on the period between 1830 and 1940, including a treasure-trove of historical photos, snippets of handwritten notes, postcards and documents that provide a glimpse of the hamlet’s early days. As well, Hamilton drew up a series of family trees to help the reader keep straight all the relationships and community connections as they evolved over the years. Divided into four sections, The Story of Strabane aims to paint a picture of the very often difficult, isolated life of early settlers.

While the legal documents, local architecture and county records were all fascinating reading material, for Hamilton the real key to writing the story of Strabane was getting to know the people. “I wanted to preserve a taste of what’s gone before,” he said. “You need to know the roots of the community.”