Stratford is a city on the Avon River in Perth County in southwestern Ontario located at the junction of Highways 7-8 and 19. When the area was first settled by Europeans in 1832, the town site and the river were named after Stratford-upon-Avon, England.In 1832, the Canada Company initiated the development of “Little Thames” as the market centre for the eastern Huron Tract. By 1834, a tavern, sawmill, and gristmill were built and a year later a post office called Stratford was opened. With the coming of the railroad in the 1850s, the village became a thriving administrative and commercial centre. Railway repair yards were opened here in 1871, and the town continued to expand.The town is the home of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival which began in 1953. The annual festival brings thousands of theatre goers and tourists to the area. The world-renowned festival takes place in four theatres throughout the city.The Stratford Summer Music Festival has been held for several seasons and features indoor and outdoor performances by international, classical, and world music artists as well as young Canadian performers around downtown Stratford.Each year twenty-four white swans and two black swans are released into the Avon River. Barbara Raue, a wife, mother and grandmother, is an avid reader and writer. She has researched and compiled several family histories. In 2010, Barbara published her book "Coins of Gold," which celebrates the courageous life of her mother, May Todd. Barbara's second book is a historical fiction "Arrows, Indians and Love" which takes place in Boonesborough, Kentucky during the time of Daniel Boone. Barbara has published her third book, "The Life and Times of Barbara" and has completed nine volumes in that series, namely, Inventions, Entertainment, East Coast Trips, Olympics, Wonders of the World, Caribbean Cruises, Animals, Storms and Other Major Disasters in My Lifetime, and Wars, Terrorist Attacks and Major Disasters of the 20th and 21st centuries. In 2013 Barbara published her book on the history of The Cromwell Family. Barbara is pursuing her interest in photography and architecture with a desire to Save Our History One Photo at a Time by preserving a record through photos of old buildings from the 1800s and 1900s with their unique architecture. The centre gable Gothic cottage is the most popular house style in Ontario in the 19th century with variations in brick, stone and wood. In many towns, the desire is to preserve some of our architectural heritage. Stratford Ontario in Colour Photos is the subject of Book 56 in the Cruising Ontario series. The colour pictures show architectural styles and features. This is a link to Barbara's website to view all of her books barbararaue.ca