For me, the understanding and colouring of the modern history of Blackstone Lake starts with the stories and biographies of the settlers that tamed and worked the land surrounding the lake. As they did so, a historical framework of personalities, knowledge of the of the lake and a system of morals developed.
I started out to answer what seemed to be some major questions to ask the archives and of history itself. They being the origins of each settler, why they or their ancestors came to Canada, and then to Ontario if not directly and why and when they came to the Parry Sound area. I felt that there must have been highly compelling reasons for why a family would leave their home country. Was it war, economics or perhaps very personal reasons? …show more content…
Although only peripherally associated with Blackstone (through the Rankin Brothers ' lumber camp), their large family impacted Foley and Conger beyond most common families and their story illustrates the hardscrabble life of the late 1800s Parry Sound farmers. Unique amongst any other resident over a very large region around Parry Sound, Zachariah Watts was a black man, the first and during his lifetime, the only such man surviving his childhood as a Missouri slave. His story is worthy of an epic by itself. Zachariah 's farm was located on the shores of what is now called Oastler …show more content…
The forest affords much protection, and, situated as it is close to a large body of water, the atmosphere is of a nice even temperature, nor will it ever be otherwise; for there are ridges of rock running thro ' the country which will prevent it from being entirely cleared, so that the District will not be subject to those sweeping currents of air which are so frequent in some of the front townships and are so trying upon the constitution of man. The climate is exceedingly healthy, and, unless in cases of accident the services of the doctor are seldom
I started out to answer what seemed to be some major questions to ask the archives and of history itself. They being the origins of each settler, why they or their ancestors came to Canada, and then to Ontario if not directly and why and when they came to the Parry Sound area. I felt that there must have been highly compelling reasons for why a family would leave their home country. Was it war, economics or perhaps very personal reasons? …show more content…
Although only peripherally associated with Blackstone (through the Rankin Brothers ' lumber camp), their large family impacted Foley and Conger beyond most common families and their story illustrates the hardscrabble life of the late 1800s Parry Sound farmers. Unique amongst any other resident over a very large region around Parry Sound, Zachariah Watts was a black man, the first and during his lifetime, the only such man surviving his childhood as a Missouri slave. His story is worthy of an epic by itself. Zachariah 's farm was located on the shores of what is now called Oastler …show more content…
The forest affords much protection, and, situated as it is close to a large body of water, the atmosphere is of a nice even temperature, nor will it ever be otherwise; for there are ridges of rock running thro ' the country which will prevent it from being entirely cleared, so that the District will not be subject to those sweeping currents of air which are so frequent in some of the front townships and are so trying upon the constitution of man. The climate is exceedingly healthy, and, unless in cases of accident the services of the doctor are seldom