Silver Islet 1868

Photo by Jocelyn Gordon - August 21, 2005

Plaque Location

The District of Thunder Bay
The Township of Shuniah
In Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, within view of the former mine site, at the foot of Highway 587, south of Pass Lake

Plaque Text

Off this shore lies Silver Islet, once a barren rock measuring about 25 metres in diameter, where silver was discovered in 1868 by Thomas Macfarlane. The claim was purchased in 1870 by a company headed by A. H. Sibley, and one of the partners, W. B. Frue, was appointed mine captain. Frue waged a constant battle against the lake which undermined extensive crib work used to bolster the restricted working space. Despite this problem and the difficulty of housing miners and transporting supplies in the isolated region, this famous mine produced $3,250,000 worth of silver ore before it was closed in 1884.