HomeMy WebLinkAbout724Photocopy of a newspaper article taken from the Pickering Bay News, Wednesday,
July 11. 1979, page 18.
"PAGE 18 Wednesday July 11, 1979 PICKERING'S BAY NEWS
FRENCHMAN'S BAY
Probably the only natural harbour along the north shore of Lake Ontario is Frenchman's
Bay located here in Pickering, about 20 miles east of downtown Toronto.
The history of Frenchman's Bay goes back several hundred years and the first mention
of it in writing is in a piece about the Jesuit priests who set up a mission among the
Indians here back in the 1600's. In the late 1800's and early 1900's, the Bay as it was
known was a very busy commercial port.
Boats docked at the wharfs to load grain and lumber and all day long wagons in summer
and sleighs in winter could be seen making their way down Liverpool Road to the Bay.
Naturally these wagons and sleighs were horse drawn which meant that for farmers
from the Uxbridge area it was a two-day journey. Most of them stayed overnight at the
Liverpool Arms located at the corner of No. 2 Highway and Liverpool Road, this very
same building is still standing today, although recently moved back from the highway.
As highways improved and rail lines came in existance, the shipping business at
Frenchman's Bay gradually declined. For many years, even up to the 1930's,
there was still commercial business coming from the Bay. Several made a living
from going out daily on commercial fishing while others were in the ice block business,
serving the homes at the Bay, Dunbarton and Pickering.
Eventually these too died out and the Bay was left for the sportsmen. For many years
there has been an active yacht club at the Bay and today nearly half the water is covered
with boats tied up at marinas.
Older Pickering residents will recall with nostalgia many of the old family names around
the Bay. There were the O'Brians, the Avis's, the Annans, Mansfields, Hilts,
Fertiles just to name a few. These are the people who knew the Bay for what it once
was and for what it has become today.
For some time there has been a move on to get the Bay away from private ownership.
It is the only piece of land under water along Lake Ontario's north shore that is privately
owned. At present it belongs to Pickering Harbour Company and it presents a very
unusual and sometimes uncomfortable situation.
Frenchman's Bay, only a few years ago, the mecca for the boating buff, has become so
crowded with commercialism that today it is only little more than enough room to get out
onto the lake. Residents and those from Metro would like to see the Bay wide open again,
so that regattas for the young people could be held in safety, that once again boats could
sail back and forth with a good sweep from shoreline to shoreline.
What is the future of Frenchman's Bay? It is very hard to say at the moment, except there
are those faith ful few who have'a very deep love for Frenchman's Bay, remembering
what is used to be. They are still working at getting it away from private control.
Whatever the final judgement on the outcome of the Bay, it will always remain a beautiful,
natural harbour and a body of water that Pickering people can feel proud is part of their
heritage."