Ontario's Missing Provincial Plaques
Fourteen Provincial plaques seem to have gone missing. I have made several attempts to locate the following plaques based on the location information I was given by Ontario Heritage Trust but I've been unsuccessful. If anyone knows anything about the location of any of these plaques, please contact me at the email link in the menu above. Your help would be most appreciated. Credit will be given for any plaques found. Thanks.
Plaque Title: Alligator TugLocation as given by Ontario Heritage Trust: In Lynnwood Park, Norfolk Street North at Alligator Lane, Simcoe, County of Norfolk.
Plaque Summary: A boon to the flagging lumber industry in the late 19th century, the amphibious Alligator scow produced by West & Peachey of Simcoe was able to tow large log booms cheaply and efficiently from areas that were previously inaccessible. Note: According to a message received on May 2, 2008, from one of the contributors to this site, George Nassas, "a new plaque has been sent out by the Heritage people but hasn't been mounted. When it is it'll probably be relocated to a park by Argyle St. near a working tug that the city has on display."
Plaque Title: Discovery of the Sudbury Basin
Location as given by Ontario Heritage Trust: Near the site of the Murray Mine, Highway 144, about 3 km northwest of Sudbury.
Plaque Summary: In 1883, Canadian Pacific Railway construction crews inadvertently discovered what proved to be nickel-copper sulphides along the railway's right-of-way. The interest stimulated by this discovery eventually led to intensive mining of the rich mineral holdings of the geological formation known as the Sudbury basin. Note: According to an email I received May 31, 2006, from George Nassas, this plaque is missing. The post it stood on is there, but the plaque itself is gone.
Plaque Title: Dreamer's Rock
Location as given by Ontario Heritage Trust: At the rock, Whitefish River First Nation, Birch Island Lodge Road, east off Highway 6 about 12 km northeast of Little Current, Whitefish River First Nation, District of Manitoulin.
Plaque Summary: A shallow depression at the summit of a tall quartzite rock served as the site for a rite of passage for aboriginal boys approaching the age of puberty. Reclining in solitude in the elongated hollow, a boy would fast and through dreams receive visions of the future from his guardian spirit.
Plaque Title: Ernest Thompson Seton
Location as given by Ontario Heritage Trust: At Riviera Park, Lindsay, City of Kawartha Lakes.
Plaque Summary: An amateur naturalist and freelance illustrator, Seton combined his two interests to produce some 40 books of stories about North American wildlife. As a child he lived on a farm in the Lindsay area.
Plaque Title: Fort Lac La Pluie
Location as given by Ontario Heritage Trust: On Keating Avenue, south of Riverview Drive near the site of the former fort, Fort Frances, District of Rainy River.
Plaque Summary: An important North West Company post situated between the Red River and Fort William, Fort Lac La Pluie (or Rainy Lake House) was the centre of much activity in the fur trade during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It served as a meeting place for traders from Montreal in the east and those from the Athabaska country to the west.
Plaque Title: Founding of Lucan
Location as given by Ontario Heritage Trust: On the grounds of the community centre, 263 Main Street, Lucan, County of Middlesex.
Plaque Summary: In anticipation of construction of the Grand Trunk Railway to Sarnia, the site of Lucan was subdivided into lots, the first of which were sold in 1855. Mills, stores and hotels were built and with the completion of the rail line, Lucan prospered.
Plaque Title: Indian Flint Bed
Location as given by Ontario Heritage Trust: In front of the water station in Ipperwash Provincial Park - 3 km north of Highway 21 on County Road 6, County of Lambton.
Plaque Summary: Outcroppings of chert along the shoreline of Lake Huron provided aboriginal inhabitants with flint for fashioning arrow points and spearheads. Scientific analysis suggests that these flint beds were used from 700 BC until the advent of European trade goods in the 17th century.
Plaque Title: Lady Aberdeen
Location as given by Ontario Heritage Trust: On the grounds of Rideau Hall, 1 Sussex Drive, Ottawa.
Plaque Summary: Widely respected for her organizational skills and strong commitment to public service, Lady Aberdeen served as president of the International Council of Women from 1893 to 1939. During the Earl of Aberdeen's term as governor-general, she helped to form the National Council of Women of Canada.
Plaque Title: Mine Rescue Stations
Location as given by Ontario Heritage Trust: At the Big Nickel, on the east side of Big Nickel Mine Road, north off Highway 17 West, Sudbury.
Plaque Summary: After a disastrous fire at the Hollinger Mine (Timmins) in 1928, mine rescue stations were established in several communities, including Sudbury. The stations stocked emergency gear and trained miners in rescue techniques, helping them to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies in the mines. Note: According to an email I received May 31, 2006, from George Nassas, this plaque is missing due to construction at the site.
Plaque Title: Opeongo Road
Location as given by Ontario Heritage Trust: On the grounds of the post office in the vicinity of the former colonization route, Highway 60, Barrys Bay, County of Renfrew.
Plaque Summary: Part of a network of colonization roads constructed by the government to open the hinterland for settlement, the Opeongo Road was completed as a winter road from Farrells Landing (Castleford) to Opeongo Lake by 1854. The offer of free, 100-acre lots along the road attracted many settlers to Renfrew County.
Plaque Title: Outlaw Bridge
Location as given by Ontario Heritage Trust: At the bridge, Middle Falls Provincial Park, Highways 593 and 61, southwest of Thunder Bay.
Plaque Summary: Completed in 1917, this was the first bridge to span the Pigeon River. It was financed primarily by the Rotary Clubs of Port Arthur-Fort William and Duluth, and became known locally as the Outlaw Bridge because it had been built without a formal international agreement. Note: According to an October 11, 2005 Thunder Bay newspaper article sent to me by Dave Fernie, the plaque has been stolen from its location in Pigeon River Provincial Park.
Plaque Title: Red Rock
Location as given by Ontario Heritage Trust: Near the cuesta, Highway 11/17, just west of Red Rock, District of Thunder Bay.
Plaque Summary: A striking geological structure, the Red Rock cuesta is composed of layers of rock formed deep in the earth during the Precambrian era. Millions of years of erosion and probable gouging by Pleistocene glaciers have exposed the rock to view.
Plaque Title: William Cameron Edwards
Location as given by Ontario Heritage Trust: At the site of the ruins of his sawmill complex, Parc du Moulin, Edwards Street, north of Highway 17, Rockland, United Counties of Prescott and Russell.
Plaque Summary: A leading lumber producer in the Ottawa valley, Edwards owned many mills in Rockland and Ottawa. As the member of parliament for Russell from 1887 to 1903, he vigorously promoted the interests of lumberers in provincial forestry policies. Note: According to some information I received in July 2007 from the Rockland Library about this plaque, it is in storage because the brick/cement structure fell apart. There is talk of rededicating it next year when the Town of Rockland is 100 years old.
Plaque Title: ZEEP Reactor
Location as given by Ontario Heritage Trust: In front of the public information centre at Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories, off Highway 17, about 8 km northwest of Chalk River, County of Renfrew.
Plaque Summary: The first nuclear chain reaction in Canada was initiated on September 5, 1945 when the ZEEP reactor went into operation at Chalk River. The small, experimental reactor was named Zero Energy Experimental Pile because it was developed to produce only one watt of heat.
