An independent, sourced history About this project
Why this site exists, how it checks what it says, and how to tell us when it gets something wrong.
Who’s behind this
Delhi Tobacco is an independent local-history project, designed and built by Great White North Design in Norfolk County. It is not affiliated with the Delhi Tobacco Museum & Heritage Centre, Norfolk County, any tobacco company or any grower organization.
Tobacco built farms, halls and fortunes around Delhi. It also produced a commodity whose health effects reshaped public policy and helped end the industry. Both histories belong here, and this site tells them side by side.
The museum in Delhi holds collections, artefacts and memories this site can only point to. If you’re reading this nearby, plan a visit.S6
- IndependentNo institution or industry signs off on what we write.
- No tobacco advertisingNo tobacco or nicotine ads, sponsorships or affiliate links, ever.
- Both historiesThe prosperity and the health record, told together.
- Private land stays privateFarm kilns and barns are shown by general area only, never an address.
How we check things
Numbers, dates and quotations carry a source marker. Tap it to see the source; every chapter ends with its own list.
Figures from a community history, a speech or a single report are attributed in the sentence, not just footnoted.
When sources disagree, we show both and say which we follow, in a “Sources differ” box.
When we get it wrong
We want to know. Send a correction with a source if you have one, and we’ll check it against what we’ve cited. Every chapter shows the date it was last reviewed, and any material change is noted at the foot of the chapter and in the log below.
| Date | Page | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| — | — | No corrections yet. |
Using our writing
The writing on this site is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence (CC BY 4.0). You may copy it, quote it at length, translate it and adapt it, for any purpose, in a classroom, a newspaper, a book or Wikipedia, as long as you credit Delhi Tobacco, link back to the page, and say if you changed anything.
A credit like this is enough: Delhi Tobacco, delhitobacco.ca, CC BY 4.0. Chapters, communities, places and people pages end with a ready-made citation you can copy.
The licence covers our own text only. It does not cover photographs and documents, which belong to their archives, families and other holders and appear under the licences shown with each one; the Delhi Tobacco logo, badge and illustrations; or words quoted from other writers and speakers, which remain theirs.
Where the pictures come from
Every photograph is self-hosted and reused under its licence. Archival photos are shown in warm monochrome and keep their archive references; modern photos are shown in colour.
Filling the KilnsCa. 1909–1930 · Ontario agricultural representativeArchives of Ontario, RG 16-274, I0033984 · OGL-ONSource ↗
Tobacco and curing barnsCa. 1920 · Audio-Visual Education BranchArchives of Ontario, RG 2-71, I0004344 · OGL-ONSource ↗
Essex County – Tobacco FieldCa. 1909–1930 · Ontario agricultural representativeArchives of Ontario, RG 16-274, I0032837 · OGL-ONSource ↗
Tobacco curing huts, Tillsonburg1952 · Ontario tourism promotionArchives of Ontario, RG 65-35, I0014896 · OGL-ONSource ↗
Tobacco curing huts (kilns) near Tillsonburg1958 · Ontario tourism promotionArchives of Ontario, RG 65-35, I0005587 · OGL-ONSource ↗
Tobacco field in Long Point1952 · Ontario tourism promotionArchives of Ontario, RG 65-35, I0015246 · OGL-ONSource ↗
Tobacco field in Long Point1959 · Ontario tourism promotionArchives of Ontario, RG 65-35, I0005691 · OGL-ONSource ↗
Farmer preparing tobacco seedlings for planting, near TillsonburgCa. July 1969 · Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Communications BranchArchives of Ontario, RG 16-276, I0003187 · OGL-ONSource ↗
Man and woman in tobacco fieldCa. 1945 · Gordon W. PowleyArchives of Ontario, C 5 Gordon W. Powley fonds, I0002761 · Public domainSource ↗
Girl in a tobacco field with a horseCa. 1945 · Gordon W. PowleyArchives of Ontario, C 5 Gordon W. Powley fonds, I0002759 · Public domainSource ↗
Girl sitting in a tobacco fieldCa. 1945 · Gordon W. PowleyArchives of Ontario, C 5 Gordon W. Powley fonds, I0002760 · Public domainSource ↗
Belgian Canadian collection – tobacco farming1928–1929 · Unknown (family album)Archives of Ontario, F 1405 Multicultural History Society of Ontario fonds, I0057362 · Public domainSource ↗
Belgian Canadian collection – tobacco farming1928–1929 · Unknown (family album)Archives of Ontario, F 1405 MHSO fonds, I0057363 · Public domainSource ↗
Belgian Canadian collection – tobacco farming and Mrs. Van Compern1928–1929 · Unknown (family album)Archives of Ontario, F 1405 MHSO fonds, I0057364 · Public domainSource ↗
Belgian Canadian collection – tobacco farming; postcard of Tillsonburg1928–1929 · Unknown (family album)Archives of Ontario, F 1405 MHSO fonds, I0057361 · Public domainSource ↗
Tobacco harvesters / Cueilleurs de tabac1900–1910 · UnknownLibrary and Archives Canada, MIKAN 3642780 · CC BY 2.0Source ↗
Edouard Jacobs seated on a tractor with the tobacco harvest from his farm in Vittoria, OntarioUnknownLibrary and Archives Canada · CC BY 2.0Source ↗
$80,000,000 Industry: Canadian Tobacco Harvest Under Way (Photostory #26)13 September 1955 · National Film Board of Canada; photos by Chris LundNational Film Board of Canada · Public domainSource ↗
Delhi 1867-1967, Heart of the Tobacco Country (town sign)Wikipedia uploader (PD-self)Wikimedia Commons · Public domainSource ↗
Tobacco kiln used as the Delhi District Chamber of Commerce / Rotary information centre2000 · RTBoughnerWikimedia Commons · Public domainSource ↗
Tobacco and Turbines: old and new economy in Port Burwell2011 · Sean HurleyWikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0Source ↗
Tobacco farm in Norfolk County on a summer afternoon2012 · GVnayRWikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0Source ↗
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Get in touch
Stories, photos, corrections and questions all go through one form, so nothing gets lost. For the design and build of this site, visit Great White North Design.