The University congratulates professor emeritus, local historian and author Dr. Elwood Jones upon being honoured in July 2014 with the Ontario Historical Society’s Carnochan Award for his years of service to the Ontario historical and heritage community.

Originally from Saskatoon, Professor Jones has become one of the region’s most recognized historians with over a dozen publications on local history to his name, including Peterborough: The Electric City (1987), a book that brought the city’s historical identification as a pioneer in the use of electricity back into popular awareness.

Prof. Jones attributes his love of local history to natural curiosity. “Wherever I go, I want to know about where I am,” he explains. “I always thought everyone else did too,” he adds laughingly.

This curiosity led Prof. Jones to help found the Trent Valley Archives in 1989 where, for 25 years, he has been integral to the day-to-day running of the operations in addition to editing the Archives’ quarterly magazine, The Heritage Gazette. Recently, the Archives significantly expanded their holdings with the acquisition of the Peterborough Examiner’s photographic archives.

Prof. Jones’ prolific career has seen him take on many roles, including director of the Canadian Historical Association, director of the Ontario Historical Society, co-founder and president of the National Archival Appraisal Board, and president of the Peterborough Historical Society, as well as editor of the Journal of the Canadian Church Historical Society, and the PHS Bulletin.

Well known for his weekly column in the Peterborough Examiner, Prof. Jones has written more than 300 articles on local history, a selection of which were published in An Historian’s Notebook: 100 Stories, mostly Peterborough (2010).

Prof. Jones retired from Trent in 2006 after 37 years. His contributions were recognized at that time with Trent’s Eminent Service Award.