A piece of Norfolk’s history has returned back home.
In December, Norfolk County Sports Hall of Recognition Chair Heather King received an unexpected package from Tennessee.
In it was a beautiful silver trophy from the family of Nelson Ross Gilbert.
An article that came with the item explains that prize was “presented by the inhabitants of Simcoe to the Champion Baseball Club. Norfolk. Dominion Day 1871”.
Two references to the trophy were found in the then-Norfolk Reformer, the first on June 15, 1871, previewing a celebration of Dominion Day on July 1st of that year.
That year, a group representing Lynedoch comprised of Nelson Robert Gilbert, W.A. McLim, John Murray, L. Olmstead, A. Armstrong, John Beal, John Shepherd, Wm Dawson, and F. Crysler emerged victorious in a field that included Simcoe, Vittoria, and Port Dover.