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CHRISTIE LAKE ASSOCIATION |
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History of Christie LakeA Short History of Christie Lake and Surrounding AreaLocation & Facts: Christie Lake is located approximately 15 km southwest of Perth in the Tay Valley Township (formerly townships of Bathurst, Burgess and South Sherbrooke) in the County of Lanark. The geographic coordinates of the lake are centred on - 76° 26' 19" W longitude and 44° 48' 16" N latitude (N.T.S. Map Sheet, Perth 31 C/16 edition 4).
Why So Named – “lost to posterity” Sometime prior to 1816, Christie Lake1 was called Myers Lake as was the Tay River named the Pike River. The original spelling of the lake was Christy’s Lake which was subsequently changed by the Geographic Board of Canada to Christie Lake on April 10th, 1908. Anecdotal evidence indicates that Christie Lake was so named after John Christie around 1816. Two prominent families living on Christie Lake at that time were the Allan`s and the Christy's – word has it that they drew straws to decide which family name would be used to identify the lake. Another possibility taken from a Perth Courier article under the pen-name Rusticus, dated 18 July 1899 states “Mrs. Code and Miss Code with Miss Christy, Ottawa are among the late arrivals at the Christie’s Lake House. Miss Christy must feel honoured to have such a beautiful lake as ours named after her”. Interestingly the following statement also found in The Perth Courier; August 29, 1968, “The early history of Christies Lake is lost to posterity. If there is a Christie who settled there and perpetrated his name in this lake, no information is obtainable”. Archival records show a John Christy1, born in Greenock Scotland in 1791, his wife Isabella (nee Wright) and one daughter sailed on the ship Eliza with 122 people on board from Scotland approximately 3 August 1815 arriving Quebec City 22 September of that same year. It has been assumed that they, along with 20-30 other persons headed for Lanark, wintered somewhere between Cornwall and Kingston which was the norm in those days due to distances and harsh winters. The Christie2 family occupied Concession 2, Lot 2 in Bathurst District in 1816 according to a census at that time. Little else is known about the Christie family save that they had 10 children: Agnes (baptized at the Perth Presbyterian church, Perth on 4 May 1817), George (died at 42 in 1862, requires confirmation), Archie, James, William (died at 22 in 1862, requires confirmation), Charlie, Mary, Victoria, Christina and John Jr. The 1842 census of Bathurst Township recorded the following: Christie, John, Irish, Con 2 Lot 2, 1816 (meaning the year of arrival), Born There 3 (meaning number born abroad), Born Here 8 (meaning number born in Upper Canada). The bottom line is that there remains no clear evidence to date of how Christie Lake obtained its name. Footnotes 1 & 2: The name Christy and Christie have been spelled as originally found when researching the data. Initial Settlers & Township Evolution For the aboriginal peoples the rivers and lakes of the Township were the highways of this land; abundant with fish, game, wild rice, maple sap and wild fruits. Traditional seasonal resting and gathering places were located along rivers and lakes. This historic area was settled in the early 1800's, when several hundred Scottish and Irish settlers and soldiers established early communities in Stanleyville, Glen Tay, Allan’s Mills, Maberly, Bolingbroke, Feldspar, Althorpe, Harper, Rokeby, Brooke, Wemyss, Fallbrook, Playfairville and DeWitts Corners. Their descendants, together with the original settlers stayed to build farms, beautiful stone and log homes, and were an industrious and competent work force. The first part of the present amalgamated township to be settled was North Burgess Township, named in 1794 in honour of the Rev. Thomas Burgess, Bishop of Salisbury. Bathurst Township was surveyed in 1816 for settlement by both British emigrants and ex 1812-14 War soldiers and seamen. It was named for Henry Bathurst, third Earl of Bathurst and Secretary of War and the Colonies from 1812-1827. The first emigrants from Britain settled as farmers along the Scotch Line in 1816. South Sherbrooke was surveyed in about 1819 and named after Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, a successful general in the War of 1812-14 and Governor-in-Chief of Canada from 1816-1818. The Bathurst District was a historic district in Upper Canada which existed until 1849. It was created in 1822 from the Johnstown District and contained Carleton County. The district town was Perth. In 1824, Lanark County was created from part of Carleton County. In 1838, Carleton County became part of a new Dalhousie District. In the same year, some townships were transferred from the Johnstown District to Lanark County. In 1845, Renfrew County was created from part of Lanark County. Then in 1849, the district was replaced by the United Counties of Lanark and Renfrew. Lanark County Military Settlements The birth of the Perth Military Settlement; also referred to as the Perth Military Colony (a name given to the body of soldiers, who having been honorably discharged from military service were sent to take up land in Lanark County) began on April 18, 1816 according to a contemporary report by Col. Christopher Myers. Its population was approximately 1900 in 1817. The Rideau Valley settlements primary intake was from Lowland Scotland. The Lowlanders arrived late in the season and lived in temporary accommodation in Cornwall, Kingston and Brockville. Ex-soldiers were also heading to the Rideau Valley at this time having served in the Napoleonic Wars of 1812-1814. The government offered free passage and land which it had obtained from the resident Algonkiam First Nation encompassing the “lakes North of the Rideau River”. Settlers obtained land in the three newly surveyed townships of Bathurst, Drummond and Beckwith initially developing along the so-called Scotch Line. Perth became the administrative centre. The farms along the Christie Lake road were taken up mostly by Lord De Watteville men, and a number settled in Burgess and Montague. Marks Family3 of Christies4 Lake Thomas Marks was the father of the seven Marks Brothers who became known throughout America in the theatrical world. Robert Marks, the eldest brother, was the founder and manager of their enterprise which varied from solo tours and duos, trios and troupe entertainment all of which was in great demand by theatrical managers during the great era of vaudeville. The Marks brothers’ vaudeville history traveled across Canada for 50 years (Robert, Tom, Alex, Jack, Joe, McIntyre and Ernie: as well as two sisters Nell and Libby who were never on stage). They first came to life in 1870 when Robert W. Marks, the elder, attended a medicine show in Maberly – the star of which was King Kennedy billed as “The mysterious Hindu from the Bay of Bengal”. Robert Marks was quoted as saying “let’s hitch and take 50/50 of the profits”. Therein was the foundation of the Marks Brothers beginnings. Footnote 3: Marks Family data taken from records at the Perth Courier, August 29, 1968 & The Perth Museum Footnote 4: The name Christies has been spelled as originally found when researching the data. One of the most outstanding landmarks on the shores of the lake is the old Marks homestead which was in fairly good shape as late as the 1970s. As the Marks Brothers companies began to fold in the 1920s most returned to their Christie’s Lake farm of their boyhood. The Killarney of Canada” was the name given to it (assume ChristieLake and not the homestead) by the late Thomas Marks, the little bit of heaven set in the heart of Lanark County. The Arliedale Inn was built by Tom on the site of his father’s homestead on Christie’s Lake. It unfortunately burned to the ground in the late 1920’s believed prior to 1929. Mary Pickford Several famous entertainers back in the early 1920’s spent some of their summers vacationing on Christie Lake. International silent movie star and later to be producer, Mary Pickford, was one of them. She was born in Toronto April 8, 1892 as Gladys Smith. She owned property on the North Shore on a small picturesque peninsula not far from the current Marina, across from Joe’s Island. She would take the train from New York City to Christie Lake along with her friends including the vaudeville entertainers, the Marks Brothers. Her summer home sat empty for many years and by the mid-1960’s all that remained standing was part of the stone fireplace that sat in the middle of what would have been the living room. Following several successful films by the age of 24, under her new name of Mary Pickford, she became Hollywood’s first millionaire. In 1919 together with Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and her husband Douglas Fairbanks formed United Artists so that they could produce their own movies. In 1975 she received a lifetime achievement award at the Oscars. Following the end of her movie career in 1933, she was engaged in film production work and charity functions. Mary died in 1979 at 87 years old. The cottage had been sold to a millionaire from New York City, Mr Sackett whom has also passed on. Canadian Pacific Railway (Christie Lake N Shore) Surveying of the line was initiated in 1905. It was felt by CPR officials that the proposed route would serve as an alternative to the busy Ontario & Quebec Railway (O&QR) line to the north where it was expected double tracking may be required in the near future. Once again, however, further work on the proposed line lagged and it wasn't until May 1912 that grading work commenced. The divisional point chosen for the route was Trenton. In 1913, the line was officially leased for a period of 999 years to the CPR. By June 1914, the new line was completed its full intended length from Agincourt to Glen Tay. The Christie Lake Station, built as a section house, was at Mileage 24, part of the Belleville Subdivision, located at the head of the bay near R.W. Mark’s cottage about ½ mile from Big Cut. This part of the line was constructed by the CLO&WR and was opened to traffic on June 1st, 1914, by the Canadian Pacific Railway, under lease. However, the Canadian Shield and the Mud Lake crossing presented formidable engineering skills to be overcome. The “Big Cut” at Christie Lake, “Deadman’s Cut” near Davern Lake and the rock along Sucker Lake required extensive blasting and moving of the rubble to low spots for fill. Cuts and fills were the work of the day for the right of way. Now Mud Lake was most difficult to span. It is recorded that “the lake is only two or three feet deep but the bed is a mass of semi-liquid mud some 20' deep under which is a thick stratum of blue clay, very soft at the top followed by thin layers of sand, gravel and hard pan” which made it necessary to carry the centre pier down to a depth of 103 ft below the water level in order to reach solid bedrock! The pier on the west shore had to be carried down 56ft and the east side, 30ft. These three piers were sunk under air pressure using reinforced concrete caissons with steel cutting edges. Canadian Bark Works A 17 acre parcel of land on the North shore of Christie Lake was sold to the Canadian Bark Works company by Oliver Burns, one of the pioneer settlers in the Christie’s Lake section of Bathurst Township. It was started in 1868 to extract tannin or tannic acid from the bark of hemlock which was then so plentiful in the area. This tannin extract was shipped to tanners as far away as Boston and the United Kingdom. A fire consumed the premises on 11 November 1871, however $20,000 of hemlock bark was saved as it was stored in the surrounding neighbourhood farms. The Canadian Bark Works closed operation in 1874 owing to the diminishing supply of hemlock bark. This local industry located on the South end of the lake subsequently vanished. Summer of 1929 The events which took place that summer would have a lasting effect on the community for many years. Joe Marks and two of his brothers formed a softball team at the head of the lake in July while Alan James of Perth formed another team at the foot of the lake in August. Late August both teams combined and staged a Sports Day and Ball Tournament. This was the first of 18 such events, the final one being held in 1946. Then on 15 August 1987 the first Ball Club reunion was held in the Tysick’s Hall to mark the 58th anniversary. Camp Opemikon The earliest record we have of a local Scout camp was at Black Rapids in 1921. In succeeding years, Scout camps were held in various sites along the Ottawa River with a well having to be drilled at each site. The acquisition of a permanent site was imperative and such a site was found on Christie Lake in 1937 by Jonathan T Armstrong, better known as J.T.A. or Jack, then Executive Secretary of the Ottawa District Council. A Camp Committee composed of several prominent Ottawa business and professional men initiated the negotiations which led to the purchase of 100 acres from Mrs. Annabelle Sweetman and 50 acres from Mr. George Noonan. The purchase price for the two properties totaled $2,000. The first camp was held there in 1938. Meals were cooked on wood stoves in the open with a marquee tent being erected as a dining shelter and the campers slept in tents. Christie Lake Camp Christie Lake Camp was started in 1922 by a young Juvenile Court judge who wanted to take a new approach with youth in trouble with the law. Judge Jack McKinley first called his venture the Ottawa Boys’ Camp. He felt that many boys he saw in court needed “adjustment and reclaiming” rather than punishment, and wanted to create a place that would focus on “giving the boy responsibility, handling him with friendship, teaching him the general principles of good citizenship and doing so with the help of the open air.” Soon after purchasing the property on Christie Lake in 1923, the name changed to Christie Lake Boys’ Camp. Within a few years, the camp expanded its mandate to include boys from low-income families, who were not involved with the Juvenile Court. To reflect the integration of girls in 1991, the camp name changed from Christie Lake Boys’ Camp to Christie Lake Camp for Boys and Girls, and now is simply Christie Lake Camp. Notes of Interest
Photos of Historical InterestClick on a photo for a larger version.
This photo was taken sometime in the 1890's at the Red Cedar Inn on the dock. In the photo are R.W. Marks, Tom Marks, Jack Marks Joe Marks and two Matheson female cousins.
This photo was taken at Jordan's - no date available
This photo was taken in 1931 at a ball diamond onthe North Shore of the lake - it was a baseball game between Perth and Tichborne |
