Biscotasing, Ontario

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Biscotasing, often referred to as simply Bisco, is a railroad town in Northern Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1884 by Canadian Pacific Railroad as a railway construction town, and the first divisional point west of Sudbury. The rails of westward track laying gangs reached this area in October 1884.

The early development of the village of Biscotasing was dictated solely by the needs of the railway. The CPR acquired a four hundred and seventy acre parcel of land at Biscotasing in 1884 and by November had cleared thirty acres. A frame station the size of 30 x 35 feet, was constructed, with offices upstairs, a large freight shed 40 x 140 feet, a Telegraph Office, several residences for company Officials and a number of boarding houses were completed before the end of that year. A WYE track had also been installed to allow work trains to turn around prior to returning to the east. Later a roundhouse was built to service the locomotives.

In his book The Last Spike historian Pierre Berton wrote about Biscotasing, as it was April 1, 1885, when the first soldiers on their way to the Riel Rebellion passed through (see The Last Spike, page 368).

As a divisional point, Biscotasing did not last much beyond the era of construction, when Chapleau was selected to replace it, being itself, about midway between Sudbury and Lake Superior. Soon after, the town lost its importance as a railroad town but still existed as a quiet fur trading town. The railway provided an inland access point to waterways flowing south to Lake Huron north to James Bay, and subsequently developed as a center for Indian trade in the region.

The local water routes also helped to develop Biscotasing as a major center for lumbering. In 1884, Public Lands Surveyor James Allan noted that timber in the area had been overrun by fires and was of very little value, consisting mostly of scrubby spruce and small pitch pine. In 1884 a sawmill was in operation at Biscotasing, mostly to serve the requirements of CPR construction.

The first permanent sawmill was established by Sadler and O'Neil in the early 1890's. Robert Booth and Patrick Shannon, were also actively logging this region from 1895. Booth and Shannon produced square timber, which was taken by CPR to Papineauville for export to Britain, from the Port of Quebec. By 1903 Booth and Shannon were the only lumber producers in Biscotasing, possibly having taken over and expanding the O'Neil mill which closed in 1898.

The original Booth and Shannon mill was destroyed by fire June 13, 1913. It was subsequently rebuilt, at which time Robert Booth left the partnership, with Patrick's son, the firm was reorganized as P. & G. Shannon. In 1923 the mill was sold to Midland lumbermen Pratt and Shanacy. The mill closed in 1927 for want of timber. The mill was dismantled and removed by 1938.

Many of the old buildings in Biscotasing that survive to-day are from the sawmill era. A small steam locomotive, once used to switch cars of lumber from the mill to the lumber piling grounds, sat for many years, derelict on the mill property, across the tracks, opposite the Pratt and Shanacy company store. In 1958, David L. Pratt, of Toronto donated his father's steam engine for display at the Algonquin Park Logging Museum.

From railway construction camp, to fur trade depot and lumbering center, Biscotasing was also established in 1922, as the first place in Northern Ontario to use aircraft for forest fire surveillance.

The village of Biscotasing, on Biscotasi Lake, is an access point for canoeists, fishermen, and back-country campers. It has one general store that functions as the post office, tackle shop, grocery store and LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario), a community center, a church, and a one-room train station. Although the year-round population is only 22, during the summer season, the population swells to around 300, mostly tourists. The town is accessible by VIA Rail, floatplane, or by a long drive on a gravel/dirt road from Highway 144.