County Courthouse, Drummond St. E.

In 1872 the Registry office, a one story stone building,  was erected to store all the registry information for Lanark County, until the information was transferred to much larger premises on Sunset Blvd. and from there to the present location in Almonte. (from The Merchants, Professionals and Tradespeople of Perth, by Gus Quatrrocchi).

“Symbolic of Perth’s militia role, and of that of the Rideau military settlements, are the two historic field guns that protect the Court House Green given to the town in 1820. They were built by Dutch-born master founders Jan and Pieter Verbruggen of the British Royal Brass Foundry in 1775 and 1776. Both are 3-pounder light-infantry guns constructed in the “Galloper” tradition of the 1740s; the smaller is a General Pattison “grasshopper”, the only known surviving gun of its kind; the other is a General Townsend “butterfly”  (also known as Congreve’s 3-pounder or Light Common 3-pounder). The guns were cast as part of the armaments to accompany General John Burgoyne and the British Army in 1777 on his raid from Canada to divide the rebellious colonies along the Hudson River-Lake Champlain axis during the American Revolution.

In 1820 Lord Dalhousie, governor-in-chief of the Canadas, requested that the two guns be sent to Perth…to applaud and encourage the military spirit in the new settlements and induce them to form volunteer companies. It had the desired effect and a Perth Artillery Company was formed around the two guns, which arrived about 1824.

The guns are an important part of Perth’s symbolism and setting. They evoke the military origins of pioneer settlement and the role of the militia in defending the country, and they serve as a landmark in the collective memory of the community.” (from Perth Tradition & Style in Eastern Ontario, by Larry Turner)