Welcome to Algonquin Park Heritage! It's a place to find all kinds of wonderful books, pictures, videos and now a podcast about the human history of Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada. For over 25 years I have been researching, collecting stories, photographs, maps, narratives and other memorabilia about the people who have lived in and loved Algonquin Park. Explore and Enjoy!!!
Gaye I. Clemson
Gaye I. Clemson
About Us
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Gaye I. Clemson
Gaye's personal history in Algonquin extends back over sixty years to when as an 8-month old, her parents first brought her to their cottage on Canoe Lake. From the vantage point of a bushel basket under a large pine tree, high above the lake, she watched them build a little cabin in the wilderness. Every nail, shingle, window and piece of recycled lumber had been driven up from Toronto, carried across the lake in a small boat and then hauled up the hill following a narrow path cut through the forest. She heard her first telling of the Tom Thomson mystery sitting by a campfire with one of the locals, Jimmy Stringer, whose older brothers had been around during the time of Thomson's death. As a ten-year old, she was an extra, in Jimmy's youngest brother Omer Stringer's ,Ontario Motor League camping safety movies, that demonstrated proper ways to paddle and portage a canoe and back-country camp. Later Michael Budman, of Roots fame, sparked her interest in solo canoeing and canoe tripping whilst he was Canoeing Director at nearby Camp Tamakwa, This culminated in her achieving a Masters in Canoeing with the support of the late Dave Conacher at Taylor Statten's Camp Wapomeo in the mid-1970s.
Inspired in 1996 to learn more about the history of her fellow leaseholders, she spent four years paddling around Canoe Lake with her twin boys exploring its shores and visiting neighbours, from whom she collected all sorts of stories and anecdotes, old photographs and manuscripts. Her first book, published in 2001, was a short story about one resilient neighbour, Gertrude Baskerville, who, spent over 35 years living alone on Tea Lake and for a time, was known across North America in the 1970’s as the Lady of Algonquin Park. Her second, Algonquin Voices: Selected Stories of Canoe Lake Women, won in 2002 the Ontario Historical Society's Alison Prentice Award for that year's Best Women's History. In 2004, she was asked to expand her scope to the entire park and spent several years researching and seeking out the history of every leasehold family in the Park. This work culminated in the publication of Treasuring Algonquin: Sharing Scenes of 100 Years of Leaseholding, which was published in 2006. Since then another six books on people and landmarks in Algonquin and environs have been published as well as a now discontinued 3-act murder mystery party-game that re-enacted the uncovering of the facts and fiction surrounding the drowning of artist Tom Thomson on Canoe Lake in 1917.
Roderick (Rory) MacKay
Like Clemson, Roderick (aka Rory) MacKay’s personal history in Algonquin extends back over sixty years, when as a 5-month old, his parents first brought him to their cottage on Lake of Two Rivers. Employed as a seasonal interpretive naturalist at the then Algonquin Park Museum on Found Lake, and later a prolific interviewer of ‘old timers' in the 1970s, Rory was for many visitors their first exposure to Algonquin’s natural, human and archaeological history. His first book, Spirits of the Little Bonnechere, shared the history of exploration, logging and settlement of the Little Bonnechere River, located on the eastern side of the Park from about 1800 to 1920. Since then he has written a number of acclaimed works including an extensive biography of J. R. Booth one of Canada's leading lumberman, railroad magnate and industrialist, as well as the recently updated history of Algonquin, Algonquin Park - A Place Like No Other. Even now, every summer he can be found manning the blacksmith's shop at Logger's Day at the Algonquin Logging Museum.
Gaye's personal history in Algonquin extends back over sixty years to when as an 8-month old, her parents first brought her to their cottage on Canoe Lake. From the vantage point of a bushel basket under a large pine tree, high above the lake, she watched them build a little cabin in the wilderness. Every nail, shingle, window and piece of recycled lumber had been driven up from Toronto, carried across the lake in a small boat and then hauled up the hill following a narrow path cut through the forest. She heard her first telling of the Tom Thomson mystery sitting by a campfire with one of the locals, Jimmy Stringer, whose older brothers had been around during the time of Thomson's death. As a ten-year old, she was an extra, in Jimmy's youngest brother Omer Stringer's ,Ontario Motor League camping safety movies, that demonstrated proper ways to paddle and portage a canoe and back-country camp. Later Michael Budman, of Roots fame, sparked her interest in solo canoeing and canoe tripping whilst he was Canoeing Director at nearby Camp Tamakwa, This culminated in her achieving a Masters in Canoeing with the support of the late Dave Conacher at Taylor Statten's Camp Wapomeo in the mid-1970s.
Inspired in 1996 to learn more about the history of her fellow leaseholders, she spent four years paddling around Canoe Lake with her twin boys exploring its shores and visiting neighbours, from whom she collected all sorts of stories and anecdotes, old photographs and manuscripts. Her first book, published in 2001, was a short story about one resilient neighbour, Gertrude Baskerville, who, spent over 35 years living alone on Tea Lake and for a time, was known across North America in the 1970’s as the Lady of Algonquin Park. Her second, Algonquin Voices: Selected Stories of Canoe Lake Women, won in 2002 the Ontario Historical Society's Alison Prentice Award for that year's Best Women's History. In 2004, she was asked to expand her scope to the entire park and spent several years researching and seeking out the history of every leasehold family in the Park. This work culminated in the publication of Treasuring Algonquin: Sharing Scenes of 100 Years of Leaseholding, which was published in 2006. Since then another six books on people and landmarks in Algonquin and environs have been published as well as a now discontinued 3-act murder mystery party-game that re-enacted the uncovering of the facts and fiction surrounding the drowning of artist Tom Thomson on Canoe Lake in 1917.
Roderick (Rory) MacKay
Like Clemson, Roderick (aka Rory) MacKay’s personal history in Algonquin extends back over sixty years, when as a 5-month old, his parents first brought him to their cottage on Lake of Two Rivers. Employed as a seasonal interpretive naturalist at the then Algonquin Park Museum on Found Lake, and later a prolific interviewer of ‘old timers' in the 1970s, Rory was for many visitors their first exposure to Algonquin’s natural, human and archaeological history. His first book, Spirits of the Little Bonnechere, shared the history of exploration, logging and settlement of the Little Bonnechere River, located on the eastern side of the Park from about 1800 to 1920. Since then he has written a number of acclaimed works including an extensive biography of J. R. Booth one of Canada's leading lumberman, railroad magnate and industrialist, as well as the recently updated history of Algonquin, Algonquin Park - A Place Like No Other. Even now, every summer he can be found manning the blacksmith's shop at Logger's Day at the Algonquin Logging Museum.
Books I've Written
Early in the 20th Century, the Grand Trunk Railway System decided to build three wilderness getaways in Algonquin Park, The Highland Inn on Cache Lake in 1908, Camp Nominigan on Smoke Lake and Camp Minnesing on Burnt Island Lake in 1912. Their belief was that the then new middle-class interest in recreational tourism, would likely be a great driver of railway passenger traffic, if tourists had a fun destination to visit. This narrative shares stories from guests, visitors, leaseholders and staff from their heyday beginnings to their eventual demise.
Early 20th C. Algonquin Cottage Cookery - A Whimsical Stroll Through the Recipe Box of Canoe Lake's Jean Bertram Pirie
Part culinary history, part Pirie family storytelling and part cookbook, this narrative brings to life what it must have been like cooking over a hot wood stove, miles from civilization during the first decades of the 20th C. when Afternoon Tea was the norm and a new world of cake recipes had taken North America by storm.
Part culinary history, part Pirie family storytelling and part cookbook, this narrative brings to life what it must have been like cooking over a hot wood stove, miles from civilization during the first decades of the 20th C. when Afternoon Tea was the norm and a new world of cake recipes had taken North America by storm.
Algonquin Defining Moments: The Tom Thomson Series
A three-part series of episodes featured in July 2021 on the Algonquin Defining Moments podcast on he life, art, mysterious death on Canoe Lake n 1917 and the ongoing mythology that has evolved around artist Tom Thomson from the 1940s to today.
A three-part series of episodes featured in July 2021 on the Algonquin Defining Moments podcast on he life, art, mysterious death on Canoe Lake n 1917 and the ongoing mythology that has evolved around artist Tom Thomson from the 1940s to today.
Governor Smith's Ontario Retreat - An Madawaska's Hamilton-Haskin Family Who Kept it Safe (1896-1957)
Written from the perspective of a 250-year old white pine tree, this narrative traces the history of former Vermont Governor Edward Curtis Smith's Ontario Retreat on Victoria Lake and caretakers Wilmot and Victoria Hamilton who resided there for over 60 years from 1896-1957, raising 15 children along the way.
Written from the perspective of a 250-year old white pine tree, this narrative traces the history of former Vermont Governor Edward Curtis Smith's Ontario Retreat on Victoria Lake and caretakers Wilmot and Victoria Hamilton who resided there for over 60 years from 1896-1957, raising 15 children along the way.
Gertrude Baskerville: The Lady of Algonquin Park
In 1941, Gertrude Baskerville set out with her ailing WWI veteran husband and 16-year old son, to join her brother in establishing a new life on the shores of South Tea Lake in Algonquin Park. Within a year her husband had died of lung ailments, her son was shipped overseas to fight in WWII and her brother had moved to British Columbia. Gertie, decided to stay and made a living hooking rugs of artist Tom Thomson's paintings. She became known as The Lady of Algonquin Park in the 1970’s.
In 1941, Gertrude Baskerville set out with her ailing WWI veteran husband and 16-year old son, to join her brother in establishing a new life on the shores of South Tea Lake in Algonquin Park. Within a year her husband had died of lung ailments, her son was shipped overseas to fight in WWII and her brother had moved to British Columbia. Gertie, decided to stay and made a living hooking rugs of artist Tom Thomson's paintings. She became known as The Lady of Algonquin Park in the 1970’s.
Algonquin Voices: Selected Stories of Canoe Lake Women
This book shares the trials and tribulations of Canoe Lake pioneers, business leaders, children’s' camp directors and independent spirits including a number whose lives Tom Thomson touched such as Annie Fraser, proprietress of Mowat Lodge who likely knew a lot more about his death than she ever let on; Louisa Blecher, mother of Martin Blecher, the man who was silently accused of playing a hand in Thomson's death; Molly Colson, owner of the Algonquin Hotel where Tom was last seen; and the elusive Winnifred Trainor, his alleged love interest.
This book shares the trials and tribulations of Canoe Lake pioneers, business leaders, children’s' camp directors and independent spirits including a number whose lives Tom Thomson touched such as Annie Fraser, proprietress of Mowat Lodge who likely knew a lot more about his death than she ever let on; Louisa Blecher, mother of Martin Blecher, the man who was silently accused of playing a hand in Thomson's death; Molly Colson, owner of the Algonquin Hotel where Tom was last seen; and the elusive Winnifred Trainor, his alleged love interest.
Canoe Tripping in Algonquin Park Then and Now
In late September 1903, Ernest Machado, a 35-year old Boston architect, his older brother Jose, brother-in-law Alfred Whitman and three park rangers headed out from Canoe Lake on a twelve-day canoe trip through the Algonquin wilderness. In the summer of 2013, over a century later, the author and four companions repeated this trip with a view to contrast and compare the experiences both physical and spiritual.
In late September 1903, Ernest Machado, a 35-year old Boston architect, his older brother Jose, brother-in-law Alfred Whitman and three park rangers headed out from Canoe Lake on a twelve-day canoe trip through the Algonquin wilderness. In the summer of 2013, over a century later, the author and four companions repeated this trip with a view to contrast and compare the experiences both physical and spiritual.
Rock Lake Station: Settlement Stories Since 1896
In 1896 J. R. Booth set out to build a railway from Ottawa to Parry Sound so that goods and grain from Canada's west could reach markets in the north east. For 40+ years one of the key stops along the way was Rock Lake Station in Algonquin Park (now a public campground on Highway 60). Beginning as an important source of gravel for the rail bed and later a layover spot for railway workers, Rock Lake soon became a mecca for camping and fishing enthusiasts, leaseholders, loggers, and railway workers interested in escaping city life. In its heyday (until the 1930s) the train was the lifeblood of this little community.
In 1896 J. R. Booth set out to build a railway from Ottawa to Parry Sound so that goods and grain from Canada's west could reach markets in the north east. For 40+ years one of the key stops along the way was Rock Lake Station in Algonquin Park (now a public campground on Highway 60). Beginning as an important source of gravel for the rail bed and later a layover spot for railway workers, Rock Lake soon became a mecca for camping and fishing enthusiasts, leaseholders, loggers, and railway workers interested in escaping city life. In its heyday (until the 1930s) the train was the lifeblood of this little community.
A Paddler's Guide to the Lost History of Algonquin Park's Canoe Lake
14 kilometers from Algonquin Park's west gate, the Canoe LakeAccess Point on Portage Bay beach, is host, on a typical Saturday or Sunday during the heat of the summer, dozens of visitors whoventure onto the lake in rented canoes to paddle in the 'wilderness'. Most are unaware of the history of the lake around them. This book is a paddler's guide to various points of historical interest. It is designed to identify locations, historical roots and to share stories about the human history of this unique locale.
14 kilometers from Algonquin Park's west gate, the Canoe LakeAccess Point on Portage Bay beach, is host, on a typical Saturday or Sunday during the heat of the summer, dozens of visitors whoventure onto the lake in rented canoes to paddle in the 'wilderness'. Most are unaware of the history of the lake around them. This book is a paddler's guide to various points of historical interest. It is designed to identify locations, historical roots and to share stories about the human history of this unique locale.
Treasuring Algonquin: Sharing Scenes from 100 Years of Leaseholding
Among the many who treasure Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada are a small group of leasehold residents who have occupied small corners of the Park since the earliest days of the 20th century. It is a book about their heritage, the depth and breadth of their roots in the community, their traditions and experiences living and settling in the forest 35 miles from the closest town, their passion for Algonquin and its tradition of multiple-use, their community and its activities and their contributions to the environment and to quality Park experiences.
Among the many who treasure Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada are a small group of leasehold residents who have occupied small corners of the Park since the earliest days of the 20th century. It is a book about their heritage, the depth and breadth of their roots in the community, their traditions and experiences living and settling in the forest 35 miles from the closest town, their passion for Algonquin and its tradition of multiple-use, their community and its activities and their contributions to the environment and to quality Park experiences.
MORE ABOUT: Algonquin Park's Portage Store- The History of a Canoe Lake Institution
Established by Molly Colson and her husband Ed, the then proprietors of the Algonquin Hotel just after Highway 60 opened in the mid-1930s, the P-Store, as the locals, call it has had many reincarnations. Learn about the history of this venerable institution, which hosts hundreds of visitors every week from the Victoria Day Weekend in late May to Thanksgiving in early October who come for everything from an afternoon paddle, to pick up last minute canoe trip outfitting suppliers or permits or just an ice cream cone or a Canoe Lake memory from the gift shop. Whatever type of visitor, there is always something of interest at the Portage Store.
Established by Molly Colson and her husband Ed, the then proprietors of the Algonquin Hotel just after Highway 60 opened in the mid-1930s, the P-Store, as the locals, call it has had many reincarnations. Learn about the history of this venerable institution, which hosts hundreds of visitors every week from the Victoria Day Weekend in late May to Thanksgiving in early October who come for everything from an afternoon paddle, to pick up last minute canoe trip outfitting suppliers or permits or just an ice cream cone or a Canoe Lake memory from the gift shop. Whatever type of visitor, there is always something of interest at the Portage Store.
MORE ABOUT: Algonquin's Grand Trunk Railway Hotels: A Complete History of the Highland Inn, Nominigan and Minnesing
Early in the 20th C the Grand Trunk Railway System built 3 hotels in Algonquin Park as a means to increase rail traffic. The Highland Inn on Cache Lake was built first in 1908 and a few years later two wilderness camps were added Nominigan on Smoke Lake and Minnesing on Burnt Island Lake. This narrative shares the history of all three when owned by the G.T.R. and their ongoing evolution into the 1950's and beyond.
Early in the 20th C the Grand Trunk Railway System built 3 hotels in Algonquin Park as a means to increase rail traffic. The Highland Inn on Cache Lake was built first in 1908 and a few years later two wilderness camps were added Nominigan on Smoke Lake and Minnesing on Burnt Island Lake. This narrative shares the history of all three when owned by the G.T.R. and their ongoing evolution into the 1950's and beyond.
Books Rory has Written
Algonquin Park- A Place Like No Other
Archival records and oral history interviews provide the foundation for this incredible masterpiece sharing the complete history of Algonquin Park's formation and development. Topics include key insights into the history of its original indigenous descendants, explorers and loggers, rangers and poachers, squatters and leaseholders, scientists and civil servants to name just a few. It is indeed a needed addition to any Algonquin Park lovers bookshelf.
Archival records and oral history interviews provide the foundation for this incredible masterpiece sharing the complete history of Algonquin Park's formation and development. Topics include key insights into the history of its original indigenous descendants, explorers and loggers, rangers and poachers, squatters and leaseholders, scientists and civil servants to name just a few. It is indeed a needed addition to any Algonquin Park lovers bookshelf.
This book by Rory MacKay tells the story of the type of structure that housed the shantymen of the Ottawa Valley during the 19th Century, serving as kitchen, dining room, living room and bedroom all in one. Included here are narratives 'of the time' as well as recollections in later years of folks to lived and worked the in the lumber industry in the 1800's. Here can be found information about the character of the men who spent their winters in the woods along with all of the supplies needed and how they got there. Included also is a special chapter on the camboose shanty exhibit at the Algonquin Logging Museum.
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It's hard to believe that at one time that this little corridor leading into the Ottawa-Huron tract was one of the busiest for both natives and newcomers alike. This narrative shares revelations and reflections of the area's hidden heritage including an update on archaeological investigations carried out along the river between 1995 and 2016.
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