Rokeby, Ontario

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Rokeby, Ontario was the Government townsite located on the mainland at Bobcaygeon, Ontario, Canada, by the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, Sir John Colborne. Through common usage and the establishment of a Post Office in 1838, the name Bobcaygeon came to describe the entire town. The name has effectively been lost, with the bankruptcy of Rokeby Lumber in 2002. Rockeby Park was the home of John Morrit, in County Durham, England. This was close to the confluence of the river Greta and the river Tees. This area inspired the painting 'Rockeby', by Turner, which depicts the waterfall and rocks at the 'meeting of the waters'. It seems likely that both Colborne and Thomas Need would have been familiar with this part of England, and possibly with the painting. They would certainly have been familiar with the epic poem Rockeby, by Sir Walter Scott, which was written, and set, in that locality. Rockeby would have been a natural choice for this place of rapids, rocks, and waterfalls - which we now know as Bobcaygeon.