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Historic - plaque for Tweed’s Centennial by W. Clyde Bell and Joanne Courneya The Tweed and Area Historical Society is sponsoring the erection of an Historical Plaque marking the 100th anniversary of the in- corporation of the Village of Tweed. The plaque will be presented by the Heritage Foundation, Ministry of Culture and Comâ€" munications at an unveiling ceremony at St. John's United Church Hall, Spring St. at 2 pm, Saturday, November 23. . The text of the plaque, written with the assistance of the Historical Society, includes the history of the village, with reference to the All-woman Municipal Council that made history in 1967: “During the 18305 a settle- ment, initially called Munroe’s Mills and later Hungerford Mills, developed here on the Moira River. In 1850, when its populaâ€" tion had reached approximateli’ , 100, it was surveyed and renamâ€" ed Tweed by prominent millowner, James Jamieson. The community grew steadily during the mid-19th century with the development of lumbering and mining in the area. Later, as agriculture assumed greater im- portance, it became a service cenâ€" tre for local farmers. By' 1891, when it merged with neighbour- ing Georgetown and was incorâ€" porated as a village, Tweed was served by tw0 railways, and had several small factories, numerous businesses and over 750 residents. In 1967, after decades of modest growth, the community gained widespread attention as the site of Canada’s first all- woman municipal council.” It is hoped that most - if not all â€" the members of the Centennial Allâ€"woman Council will attend the unveiling, at which the public is also welcome. Clyde Bell, then Editor of the Tweed News recalls the events leading up to the historic election of that special council. Mr. Bell said that at a first nomination meeting in the fall of 1967, Barbara Allen was ac- claimed Reeve of Tweed, with Dora Courneyea being acclaimâ€" ed as a councillor. A second nomination meeting was needed to fill the other three seats. .“It was Canada’s Centennial year, and an Allâ€"woman Council seem- ed a good idea for a project,” said Mr. Bell. “There was no law that said we couldn’t try, so I wrote an editorial in the Tweed News.” ‘ After the second nomination meeting, five persons had let their name stand: Tweed News staff member Amelia Bosley, temâ€" porary Tweed News staff member Chris Sinclair, Land O’ Lakes Tourist Association secretary Janet Whitfield, and two men - Anglican 'minister'Rev. Sinclair (no relation) and Burt Thompson. The two men plus Amelia Bosley won the three vacant council seats in the 1967 municipal election. But Burt Thompson took a job in another community and resigned, and Rev. Sinclair was transferred to another parish. This opened the door for Mrs. Sinclair and Mrs. Whitfield to join Tweed council. “I knew the night editor at the Toronto Globe and Mail," said Mr. Bell. “1 called him right after the swearingâ€"in. The story broke on the front page of the Globe and Mail the next morning.” The event brought this comâ€" munity much publicity, and ar- ticles were written about the council in North America and in Europe. The All-woman council was not to last, though. In the next election, Mrs. Whitfield was defeated by a man.