Artwork by Hap Wilson

A Trail of Human History

For hundreds of years the people of the First Nations, explorers, traders, trappers, loggers, farmers, fishermen, hunters, prospectors,shippers, businessmen and tourists used the Lake Temiskaming waterway corridor to access northeastern Ontario. Area settlement by the First Nation people has been traced back 6000 years. Silver, mined by the natives near the present day town of Cobalt, was traded throughout the woodlands area of eastern North America and as far away as Florida. Silver artifacts, found in burial mounds,date back 3000 years. The wealth generated by a more recent silver boom in Cobalt financed the creation of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The Montreal and Matabitchuan Rivers connect the towns of Elk Lake, Latchford and Temagami to Lake Temiskaming. The communities of Haileybury, New Liskeard, Notre-Dame-du-Nord and Ville-Marie surround the northern part of the lake with the towns of Temiscaming and Thorne at the southern end. Farm settlements at McLarens Bay and at the mouth of the Matabitchuan River, now cottage communities and access points for hikers and canoeists, were developed to service the lumber industry. A plaque commemorates the historic mission on the Ontario side of the Mission Narrows. The point opposite was the former location of theHudson’s Bay Company trading post Fort Temiscamingue. Once a destination for voyagers, this fort is now a tourist attraction. Anarea high point is Beaver Mountain at the Matabitchuan River mouth. Its lookout trail affords a broad viewscape.

Steam boats once traveled Lake Temiskaming, a part of the Ottawa River system that forms the border between Quebec and Ontario.The oldest building on the lake is the historic boat works at Point Opimica on the Quebec side. In the past tugboats could be seen towing huge log booms which were released to the flow at Opimica Narrows, the narrowest point of the lake. The old-timers say that here, in the spring, it was possible to walk across the river on the logs. Abandoned boom logs, chains and cables can be found along the shore. The remains of old logging camps and trapper cabins can also be found. Lake Temiskaming and the Ottawa River have been referred to as "Ontario’s Other Coast". The Ottawa River is a candidate for designation as a National Heritage River.

On June 11th ,1978, thirteen of thirty one people perished in the infamous St John’s Boys’ School tragedy. Lake Temiskaming has been unjustly stigmatized by this canoeing accident that resulted from the inexperience of the participants. This majestic lake is actually a wonderful place for a canoeing or sea kayaking adventure for the experienced paddler. A local club has re-enacted the journey of the voyageurs to Fort Temiscamingue. The Ontario shoreline, between McLaren’s Bay and the Matabitchuan River mouth, is remote, scenic and truly wild making it a perfect candidate for the development of a backpacking trail. There are many area trails that weave their way under giant pine trees and over Ontario’s highest ridges. From the Temagami wilderness to the rugged cliff tops of the Temiskaming shoreline hikers can walk into the past along a trail of human history.