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Bobcaygeon Road, The
This colonization road was designed to open up the districts lying inland from the settled townships. Construction began in 1856 from Bobcaygeon running northward to the interior of Haliburton. In 1858, Richard Hughes was appointed government land agent at Bobcaygeon and directed the progress of settlement. Free grants of land along its route were made to persons fulfilling the required settlement duties. By 1863, the road, sections of which follow the boundaries between Victoria and... -
Brockville Tunnel 1860, The
Construction of Canada's first railway tunnel, which runs from this point for 1,730 feet in a northerly direction, began in September 1854. Designed to give the Brockville and Ottawa Railway access to the riverfront, it was opened on December 31, 1860. This railway, incorporated in 1853, ran from Brockville to Sand Point near Arnprior, with a branch line from Smiths Falls to Perth. Its first train left Brockville's Grand Trunk station on January 25, 1859... -
Brockville, Westport and Sault Ste. Marie Railway, The
This railway received its charter in 1884, and on July 1, 1888, began service between Westport and Brockville, a distance of 45 miles. Lack of funds prevented the extension of this ambitious line toward its intended destination, Sault Ste. Marie, but it operated for 15 years. In 1903, unable to meet obligations incurred during construction, it was taken over by an American trust company and reorganized as the Brockville, Westport and North-Western Railway. That company... -
Bytown and Prescott Railway Company 1850, The
This company, incorporated in 1850, built a railway from Prescott to Bytown (Ottawa) for the shipment of lumber and farm products to the markets of the northeastern United States and Montreal. Substantial funds were raised at Bytown, Prescott and other municipalities along the line. In 1851, Walter Shanly, Chief Engineer, started construction, and a train first ran from Prescott to Bytown on Christmas Day 1854. The railway, renamed the Ottawa and Prescott in 1855, was... -
Canada's First Aerodrome
In May 1915, Curtiss Aeroplanes and Motors, Ltd. established Canada's first aerodrome and flying school on this site. The school, and the Curtiss aircraft factory on Strachan Avenue in Toronto, were managed by John A.D. McCurdy, Canada's first aviator. Most of the graduates went to England at their own expense, to join the Royal Flying Corps or the Royal Naval Air Service. When the Royal Flying Corps, Canada was created in January 1917, its first... -
Canadian Northern Railway, The
Incorporated in 1899 under the leading railway promoters Sir William Mackenzie and Sir Donald Mann, the Canadian Northern undertook construction of a line from Winnipeg to Port Arthur. Avoiding Lake of the Woods, the rail line left Manitoba at Sprague, crossed a small portion of Minnesota, and re-entered Canada at Rainy River. Construction of a rail bridge at Rainy River in 1902 coincided with completion of the railway to Lake Superior. By 1906, the Canadian... -
Canoe Route to the West, The
Here, when the canoe was the principal means of travel, explorers, voyageurs, missionaries and others bound for the West, left the Ottawa River and followed the Mattawa River to Lake Nipissing, the French River and the upper Great Lakes. For over 200 years, the Mattawa River formed part of the route linking the St. Lawrence River settlements with the vast interior of the continent. Among the historic figures who passed here were: Samuel De Champlain... -
Canoe Route to the West, The
The French River formed a vital link in the historic canoe route via the Ottawa and Mattawa Rivers and Lake Nipissing, which connected the settlements on the St. Lawrence with the upper Great Lakes and the far West. Most of the famous Canadian explorers, missionaries and fur traders of the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries followed this waterway. Here passed: Brûlé, discoverer of Lake Huron; Champlain, "Father of New France"; the Jesuit martyrs, Brébeuf... -
Charles Rankin 1797-1886
This pioneer surveyor was the pathfinder who opened much of this region to settlement. Born in Enniskillen, Ireland, Rankin came to Upper Canada with his family at an early age. He was appointed a deputy provincial surveyor in 1820 and at first worked in the southwestern section of the province. In 1833, he began surveying the Nottawasaga Bay area and settled on some 200 acres of land west of the present town of Thornbury. His... -
Cobourg and Peterborough Railway 1852-1898, The
Largely financed by the citizens and town, Cobourg's railway to Peterborough was chartered in 1852 and opened in 1854. Like many others of this period, it suffered from excessive optimism, land speculation and faulty engineering. Ice made the three-mile-long Rice Lake bridge unsafe and finally destroyed it 1860-61, ending use of the northern section. Reorganized in 1866, the remaining part carried considerable iron ore from Marmora. The line was acquired by the Grand Trunk in 1893 and closed in 1898. -
Desjardins Canal, The
In pioneer days, waterways provided the essential means of transportation. Dundas, located at the head of navigation on Lake Ontario and the eastern terminus of the "Governor's Road," was thus in a favoured position. However, in 1823, the government authorized the construction of a canal for larger vessels through Burlington sand-bar. Since its completion would make the shallow approach through Coote's Paradise marsh inadequate, Pierre Desjardins, an enterprising settler from France, formed a company in... -
Explorers of Muskoka and Haliburton
Following the War of 1812, expeditions traversed the wilderness between Lakes Simcoe and Muskoka and the Ottawa River, seeking a route across Upper Canada less open to attack than by the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario. In 1819, Lieutenant J.P. Catty, R.E., crossed by way of Balsam and Kashagawigamog Lakes and the York and Madawaska Rivers. Lieutenant Henry Briscoe, R.E., and Ensign Durnford, R.E., ascended the Muskoka in 1826, proceeding via Lake of Bays, Lake... -
First Steam Train 1853, The
On May 16, 1853, the Ontario Simcoe and Huron Union Railroad Company operated the first steam train in Canada West from Toronto to Machell's Corners (Aurora). The train, consisting of four passenger and freight cars was drawn by the steam engine "Toronto," the first locomotive constructed in what is now Ontario. The arrival of the railway accelerated the development of this community, which was incorporated as a village in 1863 and a town in 1888... -
Fort Frances Canal 1878
Constructed 1875-1878, during Alexander Mackenzie's administration as part of a larger project intended to improve communication with the West, the Fort Frances Canal provided unbroken communication between Rainy Lake and Lake of the Woods. In conjunction with land and water stretches of the "Dawson Road" between Shebandowan and Lake of the Woods, it provided a temporary connection with completed sections of the C.P.R. The importance of the canal diminished when the C.P.R. route was altered... -
Forwarding Trade at Prescott, The
Before the completion of the canals between here and Montreal in 1847, Prescott was the eastern terminus of Great Lakes navigation. Established at the head of Galops Rapids in 1810, it soon became a centre for the forwarding, or shipping, trade and an important centre in Montreal's commercial system. One of the earliest forwarders at Prescott was Captain William Gilkison, who began operations on this property about 1811. As the population of Upper Canada increased... -
Founding of Almonte, The
The sawmill and grist-mill completed here on the Mississippi River in 1823 by Daniel Shipman provided the nucleus around which a community known as Shipman's Mills had developed by 1824. About 1850, two town plots were laid out here - "Victoria" by Edward Mitcheson and "Ramsayville" by Daniel Shipman. They were combined in 1853 as "Waterford," which in 1855 was renamed "Almonte," probably after Juan N. Almonte, a famous Mexican general and diplomat. The opening... -
Founding of Aylmer, The
In October 1817, John Van Patter, an emigrant from New York State, obtained 200 acres of land and became the first settler on the site of Aylmer. During the 1830s, a general store was opened and village lots sold. Originally called Troy, in 1835 it was renamed Aylmer after Lord Aylmer, then Governor-in-Chief of British North America. By 1851, local enterprises included sawmills and flour-mills powered by water from Catfish Creek. Aided by easy access... -
Founding of Bala, The
Thomas W. Burgess, Bala's first settler, brought his family here to "Musquosh Falls" in 1868, probably aboard the steamer "Wenonah." Burgess opened a sawmill and store to serve the pioneers attracted by Muskoka's free land grants. A post office, named after Bala in Wales and with Burgess as postmaster, was established in 1872. That year, the Musquosh Road linked Bala with Gravenhurst and, by the 1880s, the settlement was benefiting from a growing tourist trade... -
Founding of Bath, The
Settlement of this village, one of Ontario's oldest communities, began in 1784 when discharged soldiers from Jessup's Rangers, a Loyalist corps, took up land grants in the vicinity. The sheltered harbour here provided easy access, stimulating the growth of a community. Connected to Kingston by an early waterfront road, the hamlet, called Ernestown, contained a tavern, a church and an academy by 1811. A significant shipbuilding industry developed and, in 1816, the "Frontanac," the first... -
Founding of Baysville, The
Surveyed in 1862 by Robert T. Burns, P.L.S., McLean Township was opened for settlement in 1868 under the Free Grants and Homestead Act of that year. The three lots on which much of Baysville is located were granted in 1871 to William H. Brown (1840-1920), a sawyer from the vicinity of Brantford. Brown, who filed sub-division plans in 1873 and 1875, built a sawmill, which became the nucleus of the settlement. He served as postmaster... -
Founding of Bobcaygeon, The
In 1833, shortly after the settlement of this region began, Thomas Need settled here at "Bobcaygeon," the narrows between Sturgeon and Pigeon Lakes. When the government began the construction in that year of a small lock and canal, Need surveyed a village plot that was named Rokeby by Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Colborne but was still commonly called Bobcaygeon. Need later opened a store and erected a grist-mill. By 1857, the community contained only 150 inhabitants... -
Founding of Bracebridge, The
In 1862, the Muskoka Road, a colonization route built to open this region for settlement, was completed to the first falls on the north branch of the Muskoka River. A settlement, including a tavern, a lumber mill and a store, soon developed and two years later a post office named Bracebridge was opened. When regular steamship service began on Lake Muskoka in 1866, Bracebridge became the northern terminus and prospered as the distribution centre for... -
Founding of Burritt's Rapids, The
In 1793, Stephen and Daniel Burritt, two brothers from Arlington, Vermont, settled in this vicinity. A bridge, sawmill and school were built here at "Daniel Burritt's Rapids" before 1826. In 1830, Henry Burritt, Daniel's nephew, began to develop his property on the Oxford side of the river. By 1831, a store, tavern and several houses were built and, on the Marlborough Township side, Christ Church was begun. A post office called "Burritt's Rapids" was opened... -
Founding of Carleton Place, The
The families of Edmond Morphy and William Moore became, in 1819, the first settlers on the site of Carleton Place. About 1822, Hugh Boulton built a mill here on the Mississippi River that provided the nucleus around which a community, known as "Morphy's Falls," had become established by 1824. It also contained a sawmill, stores, a tavern, tannery, ashery and a blacksmith's shop, and later a textile mill and stove foundry. A post office named... -
Founding of Chesley, The
A small settlement, "Sconeville," developed here following the erection of mills on the Saugeen River by Adam Elliot in 1858-59. A post-office, named after Solomon Chesley, a former Indian Department official, was established in 1865 and, three years later, village lots were laid out by Elliot's son John. The hamlet quickly matured into a thriving community. In 1879, with over 900 inhabitants, it was incorporated as a village and council meetings commenced in 1880. A...