Manitoulin Island, located in the middle of Lake Huron in the Canadian province of Ontario, is the largest freshwater island in the world. On the island there are three big lakes, and several smaller ones. Collectors who like Sears tractors will enjoy a bit of interesting agricultural history in the community, in Kagawong. At Old Mill Heritage, there is brass placard proclaiming the building “is a monument to two major Ontario resource industries. Built to process local spruce into pulp, it diverted water power from the Kagawong River to drive this heavy machinery. Wet pulp was baled and shipped to Michigan to make Sears-Roebuck catalogues.” The pulp mill closed with the onset of the Depression but reopened in 1932 as a hydro-electric plant. Until 1949 it was the sole source of electrical power for Manitoulin Island. Ontario Hydro operated the plant from 1946 until an increasing supply of electricity from the mainland led to its closing in 1961. Local volunteers restored the building for community use in 1991. In the center of Old Mill Heritage is a museum that shares more of its history. Outside the museum are several pieces of equipment. Bruce Mercer, who works at the Kagawong township office, also serves as the marina manager. He explained that Kagawong – besides being home to the mill – has more agricultural history. “It was a port by 1870. We shipped livestock, fish and lumber. For years we had pens lined up by the shores for cattle, sheep, pigs, turkey and horses,” he noted. The building that serves as the marina store has pictures from years ago, including one of current Mayor Austin Hunt. The picture shows him back when he was a teen working as a guide. He is now 92 and one of the longest-serving politicians in Canada. Austin, who has been mayor since 1972, has a general store across the street from the marina, from where animals used to be shipped. He explained that Manitoulin Island until the late 1800s was a First Nations reservation and it wasn’t until the mid-19th century that white settlers arrived on the island. Most of the people are on the eastern end of the island, and the population swells in the summer months but drops again in the winter. All of Manitoulin depends heavily on tourism and summer people. Austin said until World War II that there was no highway and that much of the traffic was by boat. “The lake would freeze from Christmas to Easter. The first train traffic was in 1911.” He said the train carried livestock, like the boats. Many of the cattle are fenced by low-lying split rail fences fences because of the rocky soil. Austin noted when he was a boy, wild turkeys mixed among the cattle and there was a plant in Gore Bay that processed poultry, including the turkeys. There is also a nifty lighthouse and church in Kagawong with interesting history. If collectors are looking for a great place to stay on the island, Perivale Gallery offers House at Perivale and there is room for four adults. There are other bed-and-breakfasts and hotels available on the island, too. Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication. Learn more of Cindy’s finds and travel in her blog, “Traveling Adventures of a Farm Girl,” at http://travelingadventuresofafarmgirl.com |
