Pointe au Baril, Ontario
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Pointe au Baril, Ontario (2001 population: 505) is located on the east coast of Georgian Bay, in central Ontario, Canada ( ).
The community is located in the township of The Archipelago in the Parry Sound District.
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[edit] History of the name
Pointe au Baril was named after the barrel on the point that originally (1870s) marked the treacherous entry to the main channel from the open water of Georgian Bay. As the story goes, early fur traders from Penetanguishene lost a canoe near the point. Their canoe included a barrel of whiskey that was found by stranded traders the next spring. After a drinking spree the barrel was left on the point as a beacon. French mariners were soon calling it Pointe au Baril. Later this marker was improved to include a lantern in the barrel that would be lit by the first fisherman returning inland to light the way for the rest of the boats.
[edit] Pointe au Baril Station
There are two uses of the name Pointe au Baril. There is the original Barrel on the Point reference, and the actual village, built around a train station, some 11 km away by boat. Highway 69 follows the same path as the railway and they both run past the east tip of what is known as the Main Channel. This channel is a well marked route from the village to the lighthouse.
The village has a North Shore and a South Shore road but islander travel is by boat. The village is referred to as The Station by most residents. Pointe au Baril Station is well suited for launching water craft and is supported by many marinas and a substantial public dock.
[edit] Historic landmarks
[edit] The Lighthouse
The point is lit by the recently automated lighthouse. This historic lighthouse opens its doors for tours in the summer months. The lighthouse is a part of a light system which includes a range tower (about one half mile behind the lighthouse) and a turn buoy (about three miles off shore from the lighthouse) which work together to allow safe passage through the many shoals that cover the eastern coast of Georgian Bay. ( )
[edit] The Firetower
The Pointe au Baril firetower lookout was erected in the 1920's to act as early detection for forest fires in the region. This 80 foot light-steel tower was part of the Parry Sound Fire District tower system. It stood near the centre of the village, just west of the railway tracks and near the bay on a small hill. When aerial fire fighting techniques were employed by the province many of the towers like this one were disassembled in the early 1970's. The footings, however, are still there to this day.
[edit] Fishing and timber
Pointe au Baril became a community to support commercial fishing in the 1870s. The last fishing operation based in Pointe au Baril closed its doors in the 1980s.
There was also a lumber industry in the area during these same years. The pine, hemlock and yellow birch forestry ended in the 1940s, shortly after the end of World War II.
[edit] Today
The area is now primarily a cottage community on Highway 69. The channels and islands of the region make it a boating, fishing and islander paradise. It has also become a destination for snowmobiling in the winter months.
Amongst the many islands there is the historic Ojibway Club resort.
The population grows from a winter low of about 500 to a summer high of 8000 or more. Additional growth is expected in the future as Highway 400 is extended past the community.
[edit] Early explorer
The area was explored by Samuel de Champlain in 1615. A monument was erected in the 1940s to commemorate his travels through the area. It can be found near the newly renovated Ojibway Club, a favoured gathering place for many of the islanders.
[edit] References
- Our Pointe au Baril. Ruth H. McCuaig. 1989. ISBN 0-9691434-1-9
