When I was 3, my father and mother decided to move here from the prairies. It was for Mom’s sake, who was raised in Toronto and Aurora areas.
But my Dad never regretted the move. “It’s a beautiful province,” he would say. “It has every kind of landscape – it is never dull.”
I agree. From the Great Lakes, which are the greatest group of lakes in the world, to scenic farmlands, small mountain ranges, numerous rivers and smaller lakes to great and vast forests there is great variety. It was known mostly for its great source of timber in the 1800’s which was seemingly its most valuable resource.
Rich in natural beauty and history, Ontario is inspiring to the imagination. It is the most populous province in Canada and was first inhabited about 12,000 years ago by groups of Aboriginal people.
After about the year 1600, Europeans (such as French and British explorers, Jesuit priests, French courier de bois and fur traders) came. ‘
Famous explorers in history were Etienne Brule, Henry Hudson and Samuel Champlain. French missionaries were the earliest Europeans even a little before this time.
Jean de Brebeuf and Gabriel Lalement worked among the Huron in the land of the Wendat near Midland on Georgian Bay, the Jesuit headquarters being at Saint Marie.
Then came the struggle of the French and British for domination of Ontario and the War of 1812 which saw Americans try to annex parts of Canada. First Nations were involved in this war as well.
On the Nottawasaga River at what is now Wasaga Beach, the cargo schooner Nancy became the last surviving British ship on the great lakes in 1813. She escaped into Lake Huron, was wintered and refitted.
The Nancy, although she was burned and sunk, played a valiant role in the war when Americans were trying to prevent supply ships getting to Fort Mackinac.
Geographically Ontario is very unique. Manitoulin Island is the world’s largest fresh water island (in Georgian Bay). Wasaga Beach is the world’s longest freshwater sandy beach, 14 miles long.
In fact, Ontario is the second largest province in Canada. It contains 250,000 lakes which comprise 1/5th of the world’s fresh water. It is hugged by the great lakes, James Bay and Hudson’s Bay. Many rivers course through it. It includes spectacular Niagara Falls.
And yet, it is a land of varied landscape from the rocky Canadian shield to a high percentage of the richest farmland in Canada to the grassy lowlands of the north.
Rich in culture and industry, Ontario has large beautiful cities which have much history. Toronto boasts the CN Tower, a spectacular structure. But with all of this development Ontario also is heavily forested and its provincial parks and protected areas are more than 9 million hectares in size.
Ontario’s historical buildings abound and have been carefully preserved. Forts and pioneer villages around the province have been accurately rebuilt.
The native people were in great evidence in Ontario when the white man came. The Ojibwa, Huron and Iroquois were farming the land in southern Ontario. The Tobacco Nation (Petun) was located in Nottawasaga Township.
The Huron had principal villages between the Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe and had large tracts of land under cultivation in corn, beans, squash and sunflowers.
On Georgian Bay in the 1800’s, steam craft were prevalent in the Collingwood Harbour, both freight and passenger steamers. Transportation was easier here for both natives and settlers because of the many lakes and rivers. In the War of 1812 there were military routes. And later in the century came the first railways.
The area of Simcoe County which is the subject area of ‘The Belle of Collingwood’ is found primarily between Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe and in the old days the Huron who inhabited it (Huronia) thought of it as an island because it was so surrounded by lakes and rivers. Their name for it was “Turtle Island”.
The word Ontario comes from an Iroquois word which means something like “beautiful water”. Ontario, so rich in natural beauty and history; no wonder that it is inspiring to the imagination!
The romance of the setting and the history not only lent itself to inspiring my first book ‘The Belle of Collingwood’ but my intention is to write another story, a next fiction book, set in beautiful, intriguing Wasaga Beach. Can’t wait to get started!
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