A Brief History of Ashburnham Memorial Park

The commanding hill in the ward of Ashburnham, Peterborough’s  East City, is know to local residents as Armour Hill. Its history from   ‘Armour’s Hill’ to the present day Ashburnham Memorial Park is a  testament to a small group of determined women. 

The first European to ‘own’ the land at lot 30 Concession 12 of  Otonabee was the Reverend Samuel Armour. He purchased 300  acres from Canada Company (a Crown land company) in 1833.  Armour built a house and barn near what is now the intersection  of Hunter Street E and Armour Road where he rented the  property to local farmers as livestock pasture.  

In the 1880’s the Federal Government expropriated land for the  building of the new Trent Canal. The route cut through the middle  of Armour’s land, skirting the hillside. By 1904 the canal was completed and the Peterborough Lift Lock opened on July 9. The following year the village of Ashburnham and the town of Peterborough amalgamated to create a new city.

In the early 1920’s the Armour estate was being dissolved and the  representing solicitors offered 35 acres of land on the top of the  hill to the City of Peterborough for purchase.  It was a subject of  great debate with arguments at City Council and in the local press  both for and against.  The land was recognized for its beauty and  commanding views and many argued the investment would be  worthwhile to create a war memorial and public park for citizens and visitors.  The sticking point was the asking price of $3000,  approximately $47,000 in today’s dollars. The question was put to  a public vote in 1922 and was defeated.     

The following year a group of 35 determined and resourceful  women, the Women’s Patriotic League of Ashburnham,  negotiated the purchase of the land with several hundred dollars  as a down payment. Over the next 14 years they organized teas, bazaars, bake sales and other fundraisers to realize the remaining  funds. The Women’s Patriotic League of Ashburnham arranged  and paid for the planting of 4,000 Scotch Pine and 2,000 Jack Pine  trees on the still bare pastureland. In 1930 they commissioned the  construction of the roadway and parking area, now known as  Museum Drive.   

It had been the original intention of the League to have a sign at  the entrance to the park, leaving the beauty of the hill itself and  the views of the countryside and the neighbouring Trent Canal to  serve as a memorial to those lost to the ‘Great War’. 

By 1937 the Women’s Patriotic League of Ashburnham was  disbanding and they chose to donate Ashburnham Memorial Park  to the people of the City of Peterborough to continue in  perpetuity as a Memorial. 

On June 24, 1959, a memorial cairn and plaque dedication was  held on top of the hill we know as Ashburnham Memorial Park. 

The Cairn is listed as an official War Memorial in the Canadian Military Memorial Database with a designated number: 35067-029.