Willow Creek Depot
Text from the plaque
During the War of 1812, the Nine Mile Portage from Kempenfel(d)t Bay to Willow Creek formed part of the vital route, via Yonge Street, Lake Simcoe, the Nottawasaga River and Georgian Bay which linked Upper Canada with the British posts on the upper Great Lakes. Here, beside the Minesing Swamp and 2 km from the landing on Willow Creek, were stored the hundreds of tonnes of military supplies and trade goods that maintained the western posts during 1814-15 and the years immediately following. The depot ultimately included some eight log structures built by the military authorities or fur trading companies, and was surrounded by a palisade measuring roughly 85 by 58 metres.
Transcribed from the marker, not summarised.
Find the place
The County of Simcoe
The Township of Springwater
At the Fort Willow Conservation Area
at the western end of the road named Portage Trail
which is the western extension of Road 43 west of George Johnston Road 4.1 km north of Road 40
Also recorded for this place: The County of Simcoe · The County of Simcoe
N 44 23.706 W 79 49.290
Recorded September 2016. Check current access before visiting.
Where it stands
Visitors' notes
December 3, 2014
The Willow Creek Depot site has been designated part of a National Historic Event, and will presumably be getting a federal plaque from the Historic Sites and Monument Board at some point. "Nine Mile Portage and Willow Depot National Historic Event" was announced on Dec. 1, 2014. It's puzzling why these locations were named an "event" and not a national historic site. These are places where things happened, not actions with nebulous locations. Glengarry Landing, which is part of the 'event' designation, is a national historic site in its own right. -Wayne