Fonds F3118 - Robert Cardwell fonds

Robert Cardwell was born on Oct 8th, 1936 to Herbert and Aileen Cardwell, and grew up at Wallace Point, Peterborough , where he, along with his two siblings, George Herbert, (deceased) and James William helped out with a multitude of family enterprises. In 1959, Robert married Maureen Madelon (Ward) (deceased 1995), and moved to Toronto to attend the Ontario College of Art. After a brief move to Belleville, a job offer at the Dupont Factory saw a final move to Kingston, and a few years later, a career long position with the Department of National Defense as a Graphic Artist. Robert and Maureen raised their 4 children, Robert Ward, James Kenneth (Hiromi Okano), Jonathon William, (Patricia Ongaro) and Jennifer Ann (Andy O’Donoghue) in the 1856 James Medley limestone house in Barriefield, which ignited a lifelong passion for historical architectural preservation.

A founding member of the Pittsburg Historical society, Robert authored, edited, contributed and published multiple papers and photographs in Historical Society Journals, books, essays and presentations, including co-editing the book "Barriefield, Two Centuries of Village Life" in 2015. Robert was a long standing member and past president of both the Pittsburg Historical Society and the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee, and has received multiple honours and awards for his significant contributions to the preservation and promotion of the local historical record. In 2016, Robert was awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for his commemorative work on the 200th anniversary of Barriefield. Robert is survived by his wife Elizabeth Lotton (Boyd), who has been his life partner since 1997.