Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 8-20-2020 1:00 PM The Impact of the Forest Products and Tourism Industries on the Development of the Bruce Peninsula, 1850-2019 Paul White, The University of Western Ontario Supervisor: Fleming, Keith, The University of Western Ontario : Krats, Peter V, The University of Western Ontario : Dove, Michael, The University of Western Ontario A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the Master of Arts degree in History © Paul White 2020 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Canadian History Commons Recommended Citation White, Paul, "The Impact of the Forest Products and Tourism Industries on the Development of the Bruce Peninsula, 1850-2019" (2020). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 7340. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/7340 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract This thesis demonstrates the role of the forest products and the tourism industries as drivers of the Bruce Peninsula’s economy. This was the last wilderness region of substantial size to be opened for settlement in southern Ontario. The relatively late arrival of settlers to the peninsula and its commercial development is paralleled in the limited attention historians have given to the region. Consequently, this thesis also attempts to fill the historiographical void in academic research of the Bruce Peninsula. The forest products industry and settlers both arrived on the peninsula in the late 1850s. This relationship was marred by conflict as they both competed to establish their place in the region. In the end, neither won, the limited quality of arable land sent many settlers westward in search of a better future and ultimately the forest products industry ceased to be more than a cottage industry supplying firewood to campers and local residents. This thesis explores how and why tourism on the Bruce Peninsula experienced a hesitant beginning, but in the end became a thriving economic driver for the region. Its remote location, limited travel access, and lack of capital necessary to establish a flourishing industry were all factors in this slow process. Finally, governmental assistance, a renewed interest in conservation, a demand for more recreation spaces, and the region’s unique natural and human history all came together to create a viable tourism industry that today sustains the Bruce Peninsula. ii Lay Summary This thesis demonstrates the role of the forest products and the tourism industries as drivers of the Bruce Peninsula’s economy. This was the last wilderness region of substantial size to be opened for settlement in southern Ontario. The relatively late arrival of settlers to the peninsula and its commercial development is paralleled in the limited attention historians have given to the region. Consequently, this thesis also attempts to fill the historiographical void in academic research of the Bruce Peninsula. The forest products industry and settlers both arrived on the peninsula in the late 1850s. This relationship was marred by conflict as they both competed to establish their place in the region. In the end, neither won, the limited quality of arable land sent many settlers westward in search of a better future and ultimately the forest products industry ceased to be more than a cottage industry supplying firewood to campers and local residents. This thesis explores how and why tourism on the Bruce Peninsula experienced a hesitant beginning, but in the end became a thriving economic driver for the region. Its remote location, limited travel access, and lack of capital necessary to establish a flourishing industry were all factors in this slow process. Finally, governmental assistance, a renewed interest in conservation, a demand for more recreation spaces, and the region’s unique natural and human history all came together to create a viable tourism industry that today sustains the Bruce Peninsula. iii Table of Contents Abstract ii Lay Summary iii Table of Contents iv Acknowledgements v Introduction 1 Chapter One: Historiography 7 Chapter Two: Settlement of the Bruce Peninsula 17 Chapter Three: Lumbering on the Bruce Peninsula 27 Chapter Four: Bruce Peninsula Tourism 59 Conclusion 92 Appendices 102 Bibliography 131 Curriculum Vitae 138 iv Acknowledgements The process of researching and writing this thesis has not been a solo project. There are many people to thank for their assistance along this interesting research journey. First, and foremost, I would like to thank my thesis supervisor, Dr. Keith Fleming, whose patience, suggestions, and gentle prodding are responsible in large part to my becoming a better historian and making this thesis a much better academic product. I would also like to thank my other academic team members, Dr. Peter Krats, Dr. Michael Dove and Dr. Zack Taylor, who have all made valuable contributions to this effort. Thanks also to Laura Sagermann, Fathom Five National Marine Park, who provided access to valuable information concerning Parks Canada’s impact on the Bruce Peninsula; Mark Sprang, Archivist, Historical Collection of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University; the Ministry of Natural Resources Library and Archives staff, Peterborough; and the archivists at the Weldon Library Archives, University of Western Ontario. I have been graced with the friendship and encouragement of many people, but two friends have stood out, Sara Khorshid and Kara Brown, who encouraged me throughout the process. And finally, and certainly not the least, my wife, Judy Coates, who suggested that I return to school to complete a Master’s degree, and has supported me throughout the process with reading, editing, and most of all, encouragement. Thank you! Postscript: I must also thank my grandmother Nellie Rowe, who infused a love of the Bruce Peninsula’s history through stories of her family who were the first settlers on the peninsula, arriving before the 1854 treaty was signed. Her enthusiasm for the region’s history without a doubt has impacted on my love of the Bruce Peninsula and its history. v Introduction The Bruce Peninsula was the last wilderness region of substantial size to be opened for settlement in southern Ontario. The relatively late arrival of settlers to the peninsula and its commercial development is paralleled in the limited attention historians have given to the region. At almost the same time as settlers arrived in the 1860s, hoping to create an agricultural economy, commercial lumbering interests turned their attention to the forests of the peninsula. Despite efforts to facilitate settlement alongside lumbering, disputes between the competing interests often arose. Regardless of the antagonism between the two groups, there were also benefits for both. Lumbering attracted ancillary job-creating commercial enterprises such as sawmills, new or improved port facilities, shipping companies, and businesses supplying diverse commodities to forestry workers. Settlements to service these varied commercial and industrial requirements were usually established in conjunction with the erection of mills on the peninsula. These communities were often located adjacent to rivers and streams that could power the mills, or along the shoreline where natural harbours provided safe mooring for vessels transporting forest products. This thesis, by tracing the influence of the forest products and tourism industries on the Bruce Peninsula from the mid-nineteenth century until 2019, fills a longstanding historiographic void. Beginning with the impact of the forest products industry, it examines various historical and geographical factors that impacted, both positively and negatively, development on the Bruce Peninsula. When the forest industry declined and largely ceased to influence the peninsula’s development, it was supplanted, albeit only gradually, by a focus on tourism that remains central to the Bruce Peninsula’s present-day economic wellbeing. Somewhat ironically, 1 tourism on the peninsula emerged in response to humans being drawn to a natural environment which the forest industry had done much to diminish. Tourism’s rise in influence was slower and more fitful than smooth and successful. For at least half a century following the forest industry’s diminution to little more than a cottage industry serving a primarily local market on the Bruce Peninsula, the tourism industry struggled to flourish. Not until the 1950s and 1960s did sufficient influences align to enable tourism to establish a secure foundation in the region. And then it was the creation of two national parks, Fathom Five National Marine Park and Bruce Peninsula National Park, that solidified tourism as the driver of the region’s economy. The history of the Bruce Peninsula is a unique southern Ontario story, as many of the influences on its development were more representative of the experiences of districts in northern Ontario. As will be shown, it was the growth of tourism based on such popular and increasingly accessible activities as shipwreck diving, camping, hiking, and exploring that the Bruce Peninsula’s unique natural setting offers that would restore and enhance the region’s economic prospects. For instance, in 1987, the federal government created Fathom Five National Marine Park and Bruce Peninsula National Park. As Appendix “L” illustrates, records from fiscal years 1990-91 show combined visitation of 212,6941 for the two national parks. The records for fiscal years 2018-19 show that combined attendance for the two parks had grown to 744,035.2 These significant attendance numbers suggest that the economy of the region has grown due to increasing numbers of visitors3 to the region. The impact of the increase in visitation is reflected 1 Although the two parks had been in operation since 1987, Fathom Five National Marine Park did not have tabulated results until fiscal year, 1990-91.