Pickerel Landing Village

History

Photo of building
An original building
©Jeri Danyleyko

Pickerel Landing Village got its start when a Mr. McDougal from Toronto formed the Pine Lake Lumber Company. McDougal purchased the mill, formerly owned by the Ontario Lumber Company in French River, in 1910. It took another two years for them to disassemble and ship the equipment and machinery to Pine Lake and then reassemble and have it ready for operation.

The first store and post office were actually located about a mile or so away. They built the Wanikewin Lodge on the north shore of the Pickerel River on the newly constructed Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) line. In 1910, Martin Henry Fenton opened a store, hotel and resort, and added a seasonal post office in Wanikewin Station. Residents had little choice but to travel by boat to Wanikewin in order to pick up their mail. In 1911, the post office became permanent. That lasted until 1918 when Pickerel Village received its own post office. The Wanikewin post office reverted back to a seasonal operation finally closing in 1925.

Another mill, the Tie & Lumber Co., lay further west of the landing. Both mills had spur lines. The Tie & Lumber had a short spur, while Pine Lake Lumber’s spur, which almost encircled the two townsites, contained two long shunting yards.

Pickerel Village was effectively divided into three separate townsites. The first was situated directly south of the landing, surrounded by the spur to the north and the west. The squashed the yards behind the row of houses and businesses, while the mill stood to the east. The row aligned the Catholic Church, Greneau’s store, and five dwellings. Nearby the spur was a boarding house, office, barn, wharf, pump house and a home.

North of the mainline, separated by a small pasture and a bush, lay the second site. Clustered somewhat in a “L” pattern, it contained the school, a boarding house owned by the H. Lotie Co., a barn, icehouse and about 12 homes, three of which were duplexes. In 1922, Dean Udy moved to this location from French River and established a second store. Several years later, they moved the church beside the store. Slightly east, on the CPR mainline, stood the water tower and sheds and farther down sat the Pickerel Landing CPR station.

The third site consisted of Newton Town, situated east of the Pine Lake mill, below a ridge. Approximately six homes, haphazardly erected, all belonging to the Newton family, stood nearby. A store and dance hall that operated until the 1970’s opened later on.

The post office first opened on February 2nd 1918. E.G. William and later his brother, H.E. William operated it until 1929. That same year, it moved to Udy’s store. In 1954 it moved again, this time to the Trottier’s store at the landing. It still operates to this day.

The Tie & Lumber Co was the first mill to close in 1928. The Pine Lake mill burned two years later and was never rebuilt. A smaller mill, the Trottier Mill, opened from 1941 to 1950. Although a steady string of villagers left during the depression years, a few remained. By the 1950’s many were able to commute and by 1961 the population stabilized at 116 residents. The summer cottage boom filled the area with tourists and seasonal residents.

Today some structures still stand at the landing and are in use permanently or seasonally. A trailer park also stands at the former “first” townsite. Extensive foundations remain from the mill site. The upper village still contains two structures, one still used as a boarding house or lodge. The station foundations also remain. They lie on the right hand side of the crossing just before entering the settlement.

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