One of John's daughters, Mary, married Frank Lavalley and then built a home in the area that was then known as Lavalley Bay. William Mulcahey, an Irishman, is believed to be the first non-Aboriginal resident on the lake.
In the late s, on the brow of a hill on the south shore of Baptiste Lake, he cleared land for farming. Further to the east, he built a large and elegant home, which now continues as the main lodge of Birch Cliff Lodge. Five of those initial tourists banded together and purchased the first cottage lots.
Mulcahey built a general store shortly thereafter on the hill overlooking Baptiste Station below. He provided a dining room for loggers, trainmen and travelers passing through, in addition to boarding rooms located above the store and boxcar cabins located nearby for overflow guests. Later, he sold the store to Hiram and Elizabeth Grant, who with their daughter Mabel ran the store and post office for many years before they sold it in turn to Bruce Montgomery in Under new ownership in by George and Susan Poulton, the old store was demolished and a new, railway- themed facility established Country Fare Inn , with a general store, a restaurant, and guest rooms.
By , with a store, a school at the top of Station Hill, a church on Bowen Road, and new settlers arriving, Mulcahey's vision of a village on Baptiste Lake was fulfilled It should be noted that the church was moved, board by board, from its place on the hill and rebuilt on its present location on land donated by Mrs.
Hiram [Elizabeth] Grant. Mulcahey decided to open up cottage lots and extend the road to the east of his house. The new development became Fell Road. The first person to build a cottage was John Payne. He and his wife Gertrude established Edenswold, a business providing dining, boarding and cottaging. Peter and Wallace. The line was approved for passenger use in , but did not reach Bancroft until Owner W.
Myles built 6. The railway soon went bankrupt, and was purchased by Charles Pusey and Henry Howland, who rebuilt it to serve their mine at Irondale. By the railway went as far as Mud Creek the current causeway on Baptiste Lake. In places like Baptiste Lake, trains had to be hauled over hills in sections. The grade from Baptiste village to Highland Grove, along the shore of the lake, is the steepest and longest grade in Canada east of the Rockies.
The railway carried the mail until the s. When highways 62 and 28 were built, the railways were doomed. At least three famous Canadian painters have produced works at Baptiste Lake, which is a testament to the enduring beauty of the landscape. For three years in the s, A. A drawing titled "Lake Baptiste" is also known. Jackson, another member of the Group of Seven, also sketched on Baptiste Lake.
Tourism on Baptiste Lake began in earnest in the s, and many lodges and camps flourished on the lake for many years. Only a few examples are cited here. He and his wife Edythe opened for the summer season, and by most of the present Birch Cliff cottages had been built. The main lodge, the original Mulcahey home built around , contained the dining room and kitchen, and later an office, store and lounge.
Most early guests came from Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. A large fleet of flat-bottomed wooden boats, painted white with green trim and powered by five horsepower motors, took guests and their guides fishing. In the s and s, fishing lodges such as these provided employment for a large number of guides, supplying much-needed income for year-round residents. Chief Jean, son Sam and grandson Jack Baptiste were prominent fishing and hunting guides during this period.
Since David Milne purchased the resort in , it has been remodeled and upgraded to a four-star level, so that Birch Cliff Lodge continues to be one of the most attractive and historically representative cottage resorts in Ontario.
Rangers Lodge also began in On July 15 of that year, the Wigwassin Post of the Rangers was founded by the first five boys who had been guests that summer. The Post Lodge, completed in June , was constructed of white pine logs. It was 60' by 60', including a 20' verandah that ran the length of the building. Of the 15 rooms, 10 were allotted to the boys, sleeping four to a room with two double bunk beds, or "lumberjack style", as they called it.
Applications were limited to 40 in order to ensure that each boy received sufficient attention and instruction. I found a bunch of overhanging trees by cruising the shorelines and looking for obvious cover that could hold bass. Even if it looked like it had potential to attract bass it was worth a look—I managed to boat some good numbers of smaller bass on fallen trees and small lily pad weeds along the shorelines.
I caught and released some real good largemouth bass on the more isolated shoreline sections that had trees, fallen logs and weed growth mixed along the shorelines. We didn't have much time to fish for those big brown smallmouth that are so popular on this lake, but that's for another Ontario trip this Fall when the trees are in full color and the bass are putting on the feed bag big time.
Contact Information Visit www. Phone: Email: info birchclifflodge. All photo credits: Karl Kalonka. Map Legend. Home Free Maps Fish. Ontario Campers Cup. Free Maps 5. See All Maps. Species Confirmed Lake Trout. Smallmouth Bass. Yellow Perch. Brown Bullhead. Longear Sunfish. Rock Bass. Black Crappie. Northern Pike. Largemouth Bass.
0コメント