Charlton and Dack, Ontario - History - Early Settlement in Northern Ontario

Early Settlement in Northern Ontario

There were a couple of significant events which led to the settlement of Northern Ontario. First there was a large population boom in Canada between 1881 and 1900. Many people emigrated from Europe in hopes of a bright future. The second was that the limits of Ontario had expanded to James and Hudson Bay and Northern Ontario became known as “New Ontario”, 330,000 square miles (850,000 km2) of land). People were curious as to what kind of natural resources were in New Ontario. Surveyors divided the land into townships; Alex Niven surveyed Dack Township in 1887. They began selling crown land for 50 cents/acre ($124/km²) and the land sold quickly. From 1897-1901 80,000 acres (320 km2) of land had been sold in the Temiskaming area. The government had placed restrictions on the sale of each piece of property as a way to prevent speculators from buying up all of the land. Property owners were required to clear at least 15 acres (61,000 m2) of land, build a 16x20ft house, and spend a certain amount of time on the property. Veterans of the Fenian Raids and the Boer Wars were given free land in the North.

Purchasing land in the north was the easy part, the journey was a different story. Settlers had the choice of two routes to take to Charlton. They could make a 30-mile (48 km) walk from New Liskeard or take a steamboat up the Blanche River (Englehart River) to Tomstown and continue the remainder of the journey over land. Both were very difficult routes to take, but somehow they made it to Dack Township.

There were a few major developments between 1902 and 1904 that continued to bring people to the area and keep them here. In February 1902, Premier Ross proposed a bill for the Temiskaming Northern Ontario Railway Commission, and it was not long before there was a railway from Quebec, through the Clay Belt, and on to Winnipeg. By 1904, the railway made it all the way to Englehart. This was one of the first stages to developing the north. Secondly, Temiskaming was introduced to a mineral rush in 1903 when the first piece of silver was found lying on the ground in Cobalt.