KAWARTHA LAKES-Today much of the waterfront of the Kawarthas has been developed, as property owners take for granted that the government will always manage water levels to remain within very tight tolerances. Boaters assume that there will be enough water, even in summer, so they can always enjoy a trip around the lakes. At the same time, they expect that it will never rise sufficiently in spring to flood their boat house or carry away their dock. Having lakes whose water levels scarcely fluctuate is anything but a natural state of affairs, and requires the flooding of extensive areas to hold back water in spring to maintain navigation later in the year. The foundations of this system were laid in the nineteenth century, to facilitate floating logs downstream, and as many locks were built on the Trent-Severn Waterway. The original image was taken during the spring freshet, circa 1900, when the water level of Sturgeon Lake was high enough to overflow the locks. By then, there was a system of water level management, but it was not as precise as it is today.
Bobcaygeon was the first lock built as part of the Trent Valley Canal (as it was then called—the Severn section came later). Work began on the original Bobcaygeon lock on August 2, 1833, with the village’s proprietor, Thomas Need overseeing for the Commission to Improve the Inland Waters of the Newcastle District. When the big day came to let the water into the lock on November 4 of the next year, the waterway commissioners were shocked to find out that water flowed through the fissured rock of the lock pit. The levels of the lock were also set incorrectly, so it would not function at all until it was rebuilt a few years later.
Even before the lock became functional, the canal became a focal point of activity in Bobcaygeon. Originally, the locks were below the bridge, and the village’s saw and grist mills were on either side. James McConnell’s inn was among the first buildings erected at Bobcaygeon, in operation by 1833. With the rock of the south shore of Big Bob serving as its floor it was always prone to flooding. On May 1, 1836, Thomas Need observed, “the water is 18 inches deep in McConnell’s rooms.”
It took twenty years after work began on the construction of the Bobcaygeon Lock for a steamboat to be launched on the Upper Lakes. Beginning in 1853, James Wallis’ Ogemah (an Anishinaabe word for a civil leader or chief… he fancied himself as the leader of Fenelon Falls) towed timber and scows of lumber, while also running regular passenger service and carrying excursions. In 1866, the ship connected Lindsay, Bobcaygeon and Bridgenorth.
Fifty years after the Bobcaygeon lock was built, the second generation of Mossom Boyd’s family incorporated the Trent Valley Navigation Company in 1883—he had acquired the village from Need. The next year their steamer Victoria caught fire (presumed to be arson), but the charred timbers were found to be an improvement, so the hull was rebuilt as the Esturion, which would be the company’s flagship. It would be one of their longest serving vessels, running passenger service from Lindsay to Bobcaygeon, stopping at Sturgeon Point. It appears in the distance in this original picture, as it enters the Bobcaygeon Canal.
The original image shows downtown Bobcaygeon as it was at the turn of the century. Dan Cain’s store appears on the left, which would burn in a 1913 conflagration that destroyed that corner of town. It was rebuilt as the Bank of British North America (which would merge into the Bank of Montreal in 1918). The magnificent stone building has since become part of Bigley’s. Then as now, Bobcaygeon had a swing bridge, which in that era was much lighter and designed to accommodate horse traffic. On the north bank was a set of stairs which descended to Bobcaygeon’s bath house—which was located right beside the canal. The canal itself was a popular swimming spot for many years—though swimming in the canal is now illegal. The woods west of the bridge were a community park—and the tower from the village’s firehall is visible through the trees, at the right of the original image.
This story is part of our partnership with Maryboro Lodge, The Fenelon Falls Museum and was written by Glenn Walker.
If you want to make a donation to the museum, you can e-transfer to: [email protected] or mail a cheque to :
Maryboro Lodge Museum
Box 179
50 Oak Street
Fenelon Falls, ON
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