Hidden Ontario (9 page)

Cochrane has survived a rash of fires and, as pictured, many heavy winters.

Archives of Ontario

One of the first buildings in Cochrane was shipped on railway flat cars from its original site in Chapleau. The year was 1909 and the building was an Anglican Church. The church was set among the pine trees north of what was later known as Bishopthorpe. By 1914 there was also a Catholic Church and a Baptist Church.

The town underwent some changes after the fire of 1916. Residents opted for concrete foundations to beat the muskeg, and the streets in town were widened. By 1920 Cochrane had evolved from a frontier town into a prosperous centre. Although it was primarily a railway settlement, farming and lumbering had assumed important roles in the economics of the area. When prospectors discovered the minerals in the district, Cochrane quickly became a major supply and shipping point.

The town of Cochrane, located in the heart of excellent fishing and hunting country, is well-known to tourists. The popular Polar Bear Express conveys visitors on one-day train excursions in the summer, from Cochrane to the James Bay lowlands and the otherwise isolated communities of Moose Factory and Moosonee. The train operates from the end of June until Labour Day and offers the traveller a unique experience in northern sightseeing. Small planes, boats, and ski-doos can take you farther if you are keen to see more. A unique aspect to the train ride is that part of the track runs over bog land and involves a kind of “floating rail bed,” which you can actually feel in the way it rides. You can also see first-hand the way folks who live in remote areas have to travel. Tiny, isolated settlements exist along the route, where people wait beside the track; the train simply stops for them if needed.

Looking at Cochrane another way, you could say, “It's at the end of the road!” It is well worth visiting, because that kind of existence creates quite a different town.

 

Once you have experienced this picturesque town, you will understand why it draws visitors from all directions. It's a place where neighbours say hello and no one needs to honk. You feel as though you've stepped outside of time — the pace of life is from a bygone era. There are no high-rise buildings, no strip plazas, and no malls; Creemore has a deep kind of quiet peace.

Creemore, in Nottawasaga Township in the County of Simcoe, is situated on the Mad River, on County Road 9, just 24 kilometres (15 miles) southeast of Collingwood. It was Senator J.R. Gowan of Barrie, at the request of a village resident, who selected a name for the village. He suggested Creemore, from the compound Gaelic word
cree mohr
, meaning “big heart.” He certainly got the name right. It seems that everyone in Creemore is known by their first name.

The village itself was originally founded in the 1840s. By 1845 two early settlers, Nulty and Webster, formed a partnership and built a lumber mill and a gristmill on the Mad River. This certainly helped to promote settlement, and by 1849 Edward Webster opened the first post office. Webster had already operated a store in the settlement. G.I. Bolster worked as Webster's clerk before eventually opening his own business and becoming the postmaster. Other early pioneer settlers included T. Tupper, J.A. McDonald, the Bowermans, and Sam Wilcox.

It was the water power on the Mad River that attracted industries. The first carding mill in the township was operated at Creemore, and by the 1880s there were three hotels and four churches as well. The population of Creemore, by 1889, was nearing 800 residents. On November 20th of that year, a bylaw was passed to make Creemore a village.

Creemore is quite a magical place in the spring, when area rivers rise and beckon the trout from the bay. Some say the Mad River offers the best trout fishing in this part of Ontario. Summer breezes off the spring-fed hillsides of Creemore keep the residents cool. A walking tour of the community reveals beautiful Victorian architecture and numerous shops featuring antiques, clocks, specialty tea pots, interior decorating, original artwork, trendy clothes, Victorian lingerie, eco-friendly children's wear, hand-carved signs, a butcher, a barber, an excellent bookstore, and even a candlestick maker. There surely must be a baker here, too.

The Hughes homestead near Creemore is well-known to the locals for “unexplained activity.” The farmhouse, built circa 1860, has been the scene of many ghostly apparitions. None of the activity has been malicious; in fact, the Hughes family has had farming assistance from what they believe to be their other-worldly predecessors on the farm; some activity seems to relate directly to a native trail running the escarpment ridge. (To read more about the Creemore hauntings, please refer to this writer's book
Haunted Ontario Revisited
).

Today Creemore has become quite famous for its beer — namely, Creemore Springs Brewery Limited. In 1987 John Wiggins established the brewery for three good reasons: the building was already owned by Wiggins, the original investors owned an artesian well in the area, and it seemed to be the natural thing to slake one's thirst.

When John Wiggins opened the front door of Creemore Springs Brewery on August 15, 1987, he sold out of beer in four hours. Not surprising when you hear that world beer guru Michael Jackson (not the singer) calls Creemore Springs Premium Lager the best lager produced in North America.

At Creemore Springs they brew beer the old-fashioned way — pure and simple. They use only clear spring water, the finest malted barley, imported hops from the Czech Republic, and select yeast. The beer is brewed in small batches using an open-fired copper kettle method. In accordance with the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516, they use no additives, no preservatives, no adjuncts, no pasteurization, and no compromise.

In 1991 the company won “gold” for the best lager at the Toronto Beer and Food festival. A year later they won it again. By 1993 Creemore Springs won a
Toronto Star
readers' poll as the best micro-brewed beer in the province. That year, expansion efforts were completed, giving the brewery an annual volume of 1,200,000 litres.

In 1995 Creemore Springs spent another summer in short supply. The company reported that eager consumers were soon learning the secret Creemore delivery routes. And self-appointed investigators indicated that consumers were spotted in the wee hours outside beer stores, waiting in ambush!

A year later the brewery won another prestigious award: the gold medal for Pilsner Lager Category in the World Beer Championships. In November of that year, Creemore Springs released a second beer, UrBock. This seasonal phenomenon took the beer industry by storm. UrBock is now, according to Creemore Springs, “a legend to be appreciated each Christmas.”

Creemore Springs Brewery Limited has helped to attract a considerable tourist market to the community. Their store is located on the main street and guided brewery tours are offered. Visitors can treat themselves to a taste test. Clothing with the Creemore label is also for sale in the building.

Some old landmarks surviving in the village today are four churches built in the 1800s; the jail and the Parry house by the river, both of which date back to the 1860s; three hotels and the Casey Block, which once housed a sleigh and carriage shop and a cheese factory that is now a residential block. Local folklore has it that there is more than one ghost to be seen in the surrounding area. More relics from the past, one presumes. So, sometime when you feel like having a little surprise, a pint of prize-winning beer, a Sunday drive, perhaps, or even a good browse in the friendliest bookstore you'll ever see, steer your car to Creemore.

 

The territory known as Upper Canada was purchased by the Crown through a number of First Nations surrenders. Certain areas were set aside for continued use of Natives. As the number of European settlers increased, the Native population was increasingly confined to lands known as “Indian Reserves.”

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 addressed First Nations' ownership of land and by so doing confirmed that First Nations did indeed hold title to land. This necessitated the purchase of various tracts of land by the government, land that was paid for at the rate of only a few cents an acre.

It was the beginning of massive immigration into Southern Ontario. Within 41 years (1781–1822), all of this land was surrendered to the British Crown; 8.5 million acres were surrendered by the Mississaugas, alone. This was land bordered by the River Thames on the west, Gananoque River to the east, Lake Simcoe to the north, and the Ottawa River to the northeast.

In 1784 an agreement was made with the Mississauga bands for the sale of land east of the Etobicoke River and west of the Trent River for the purpose of British settlement. At the time, the Natives from the Bay of Quinte, the Rice Lake and Lindsay area, the Toronto area, and the Thames district travelled to Carrying Place for the formal exchange of land for gifts and money. Sir John Johnson, superintendent general of Indian Affairs, was present and distributed arms, ammunition, and tobacco to the Native parties.

The lands, as they were negotiated, were known to be bordered by the Tobeka Creek (Etobicoke) on the west and the Crawford Purchase on the east, running from Lake Ontario as far back as Rice Lake; west of Rice Lake, as far back as a day's journey, or more commonly “the distance at which a gunshot can be heard.” For this reason it became known as “The Gunshot Treaty.” Notably, the Gunshot Treaty was not ratified until the 1923 Williams Treaty, because no payment was ever made for the 1787 cession of parts of the counties of Northumberland, Durham, and York.

During the Toronto Purchase in 1805, Chief Quenepenon bitterly complained to British officials about the treatment of Natives by early settlers. He stated, “The inhabitants (of Toronto) drive us away instead of helping us and we want to know why we are served in that manner. Colonel Butler told us the farmers would help us, but instead of doing so, when we encamp on the shore, they drive us off and shoot our dogs and never give us any assistance as was promised to our chiefs.

“The farmers call us dogs and threaten to shoot us in the same manner when we go on their land. Our dogs, not knowing that they are doing wrong, run after sheep and pigs. When Sir John Johnson came up to purchase the Toronto lands we gave them without hesitation and were told we should always be taken care of and we made no bargain for the land but left it to himself (to determine the price). Now you want another piece of land. We cannot say no. But it is hard for us to give away any more land, the young men and women have found fault with so much having been sold; it is true we are poor and the women say it will be worse if we part with any more.”

Despite these misgivings, Quenepenon produced a map of birch bark representing the Burlington Bay tract. He then spoke, “We ask no price, but leave it to the generosity of our Father.”

The first missionary groups to begin work with Natives were the New England Company, formed in 1694 in the New England colonies. The New England Company, a non-commercial missionary society, moved to Upper Canada in 1822. Their goal was to work for and help settle the Natives. In 1829 the New England Company received a land grant for 1,600 acres in the north end of Smith Township, Peterborough County. The company's mission was to settle those Natives living in the remote parts of Newcastle District. The Native community of Curve Lake, originally Mud Lake, was born.

The company was also responsible for sending missionaries to Rice, Mud, and Scugog Lakes, Bay of Quinte, and Grand River to establish missions. Since the missionary society was wholly-dependent on private donations, costs were always kept at a minimum.

The property at the Mud Lake settlement was a tax-free grant from the government to the North West Company. Ten to 12 families resided in the Mud Lake vicinity and wished to remain there. The company agent, Reverend Scott, attempted to persuade the group to relocate to Lake Scugog. Scott was well aware of costs and felt one teacher and one preacher would be sufficient — no need to establish yet another community. The Natives at Mud Lake refused to leave the high quality, year-round fishing, the abundant game and fowl, the plentiful sugar maples, the wild rice, and the cranberries.

The Native village of Mud Lake came into being in 1830. Reverend Scott described his goals at this time by stating, “I had the greatest satisfaction of taking the Indians from their scattered wigwams and gave each family a strong and comfortable habitation with a cellar where a good supply of potatoes is laid in for the winter.”

Further change was in the offing even after a number of buildings had been erected. Missionaries and government officials felt it would be in the Natives' best interest to move the group to Chemong Lake. There the water was so low that year that a canoe could scarcely be paddled through the lake. If the Natives remained in such a swampy tract, there would be great suffering in the summer months from fever. The next year the situation improved as the water level rose and a dam was built at Buckhorn.