Today is the anniversary of the first official baseball game played under the Knickerbocker Rules.  The game was played in Manhattan in 1845 and these rules evolved into the rules of modern baseball.

A St Marys connection to the history of baseball is through Dr Adam E Ford who lived at 157 Queen St W. (built in 1857).  He wrote a letter in 1886 to the Sporting Life that detailed a baseball game he witness in Beachville on June 4, 1838, Militia Muster Day.  It is the first documented evidence of a baseball game in Canada.

Ford was one of the town's first doctors and was St Marys Mayor in 1877.  The following year Robert Guest leader of the Temperance Society died after a drinking session at Ford's office.  Ford was charged with poisoning Guest but was cleared by the coroner.  Ford's reputation was ruined and he left St Marys in 1880 for Denver where he wrote his letter.

This Friday, June 2 at 1 pm there will be a dedication ceremony for the addition to St Marys Museum, 177 Church Street South. Refreshments and tours of the facility follow the ceremony.

Guest speaker will be Larry R Pfaff of the Art Gallery of Ontario.  Larry Pfaff is the co-author of Early St Marys, author of Historic St Marys and the co-chair of Heritage St Marys.

The museum is in a house built in 1854 for George Tracy and given to the town in 1926 by John Grieve Lind. It been home to the museum since 1959.

The 2006  town budget announced this week includes $92,000 to repair the VIA Rail train station roof.  The roof is made with cedar shingles. Additional repairs at the station, such as new windows and insulation, will be done next year.

The building was built for the Grand Trunk Railway in 1907.  Today, along with the VIA ticket office, the station contains a tourism office and St Marys building department.

The town's oldest house at 105 Queen St is for sale for $579,000.  The original house was built in 1843 for St Marys founder Thomas Ingersoll. In 1914 a second storey was added as well as the veranda.  The house was designated an Ontario Heritage Property in 1987.  The 5-bedroom house has most recently been the Hawk-Ridge Hollow Bed and Breakfast. 2005 photo

V & S department store will be opening March 23 at 151 Queen St E.  The store has been vacant since July of last year when the ladies wear store closed after operating there for 15 years.

The block was built in 1890 as the A.H. Lofft dry goods and clothing store and was designated an Ontario Heritage Property in 1983.

There is a panoramic view of the adjacent stores at Queen Street 2003