HomeMy WebLinkAbout580"Article from the Pickering News, undated.
Do You Recognize This Location, by Barry Murkar.
Residents of Bay Ridges may not recognize the photo above, but the location is the east side
of Frenchman's Bay, near the north end. The buildings are grain elevators with two boats tied
up in front, and the year is about 1876.
Frenchman's Bay did a flourishing business in those years, as boats came in to load up with
sailing masts, pine logs and square timber.
Widening and dredging of the channel entrance began as early as 1843. The machinery used
was operated by horse-power and
for a few years, The Bay was a busy port. As the Grand Trunk Railway got under way,
business at The Bay started to decline.
In later years with a grant from the province, help and additional help from the township, t
he Pickering Harbour Company dredged the channel, built a light house,
a wharf and elevators that would hold 50,000 bushels of grain.
At this time and for a number of years following, a great deal of barley was shipped from this
port to a profitable market in the United States. This continued until a heavy duty placed on
barley by the Congress
made it unprofitable to produce barley for export to that country.
This was the end of an era for The Bay. Since that time it has become a popular recreation
area, and people bring boats from all over Metro and other areas to cruise and fish.
In the old days, the kids used to dive from the second floor of the elevators into the Bay and,
some of them used to hitch rides on the boats sailing out of the Bay to Toronto.
Those were the days.......
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