The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

ds TP 16 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, January 4,1994 "Scugog"s Community Newspaper of Choice" > by Paul Arculus Sketches of Scugog is a historical column written by local resident and historian Paul Arculus and published in the Port Perry Star the first issue of each month. This is the third in the series of anticles. ® [J] [J - Final Changes In The Shape Of Lake Scugog Yes, Yes, Yes! We made a mistake in our last article. Somehow the gremlins were at work and the captions under two of the maps were interchanged. The caption which read "Wilmot map" should have been "Stegmann Map" and vice versa. If that had happened in my classroom | would have said "I was just checking to see if you were paying attention." However in this circumstance 1 will acknowledge the error and feel gratified that so many are reading these articles conscientiously. - Differences in Surveys The notable differences in the Stegmann and Wilmot surveys underline a situation which seems to have existed in the record keeping of the Surveyor General during the first half of the nineteenth century; the difficulty in resolving what appear to be differing interpretations of the landscape. As we pointed out in last month's article, Stegmann, in his 1804 survey indicated a large body of water at the south end of the lake where the marsh is now located below the causeway. Wilmot, however in his 1809-1810 survey indicated solid ground there. At this time we can only speculate over the reasons for these differences. Another Difference In 1813 William Chewatt was the senior surveyor and draftsman in the office of the Surveyor General. He had joined the Surveyor General's office as a surveyor in 1774. As was mentioned in last month's article he had surveyed much of the Saint Lawrence shoreline in A Missing Survey? The fact that this depiction of Lake Scugog shows no resemblance to Wilmot's survey raises the question as to whether or not another survey existed. We know that Wilmot did not survey Cartwright until 1816. However there are no other surveys on record between 1809 and the Chewett map of 1813. The entire period from 1806 to 1820 was spent in surveying the second and third tiers of townships in from the main lakes; Erie, Ontario, Huron and Simcoe. The surveyors were kept busy with this task and the likelihood of areas such as the Scugog basin being surveyed a second time is improbable, particularly since it was still unsettled, virgin land. We may never know the reasons behind Chewett depicting Lake Scugog in this unusual manner. James Chewett's 1820 Map Sometime around 1816, Willam Chewett retired after surveying for well over 40 years' He was replaced by Thomas Ridout as Surveyor General. Chewett's son, James Grant Chewett, became Ridout's Assistant Draftsman. In 1820, James set the record straight as far as the shape of Lake Scugog is concerned. In this year, a map drawn by him was released. (Map #21) It was a map produced for the Canada Company. This company purchased Crown land and advertised in Britain, Europe and North America to try to raise capital and lure settlers to this part of the country. His depiction of Lake Scugog is in complete conformity with the Wilmot surveys. There were no further deviations from this shape of the Lake until the 1840's when maps began to show a totally different shape. This time for a legitimate and obvious reason. James Chewett's map sets the stage for that dramatic change in the Lake Scugog; the flooding of the Scugog Basin. Purdy's Dam At Lindsay As all boaters, canoeists and fishermen Map 1 - William Chewett"s 1813 map of the Lake Scugog Area showing a curiously shaped lake. The western arm of the lake is shown as a mere river, no bigger than the Nonquon River immediately to the west. a eden preparation for the first Loyalist settlements in Eastern Ontario. That year, 1813, a map of the whole of Upper Canada was printed. It was a compilation of all the surveys completed by that time. In this curious map, (Map #1) we see the Nonquon River clearly and accurately depicted but eastern arm of Lake Scugog is strangely portrayed. But the most unusual aspect of the map is the depiction of the western side of the lake. It is shown as a mere stream, no bigger than the Nonquon River! Lake Scugog, on this map bears no resemblance to Wilmot's 1809-1810 survey, or Stegmann's 1804 survey for that matter. know, Lake Scugog flows north to the Scugog River which in turn also flows north through Lindsay to feed Sturgeon Lake and the Trent-Severn Waterway. In 1827, Willham Purdy and his two sons, Jesse and Hazard, entered into an agreement with the government to build a saw mill and a grist mill on the Scugog River where Lindsay now stands. In order to power the mills a large, continuous flow of water was needed. The Purdys erected a 10 foot high dam on the Scugog River for this purpose. This first dam was located at what is now the foot of Georgian Street. As an incentive to complete the dam and the mills within four years, the Purdys were.promised 400 destroying it and rescuing their land. acres of land (the site of present day [andsay) and a bonus of $600. The dam and the saw mill were completed by September 1828. They had no idea how long it would take for the dam to reach its capacity, probably These farmers from Cartwright, Manvers and Ops armed themselves with axes, attacked the dam and tore down the main part of the structure. Hazard rebuilt it as soon as it was safe to do so later that year. & Lindsay in 1827. Map 2 - James Grant Chewett's 1820 map of the Lake Scugog Basin. He depicts the lake exactly as we would expect it to be before the dam was built at what is now because their knowledge of the river and its source, Lake Scugog, was likely very limited. Mills Operating The water finally filled the millpond in April 1829, but the event was accompanied by disaster. As the water finally reached the top of the dam the pressure of the spring floods was too much for the structure. The dam broke. It took another year to rebuild. Thus tHe saw mill finally began its service in the spring of 1830. Purdy then began construction of a grist mill. It also began service that year enabling Purdy to claim his reward from the government. He was also allowed to keep one twelfth of grist produced. His customers came long distances to avail themselves of the mills. In spite of this industry, Lindsay itself remained a settlement of only a few families until toward the end of the decade. Purdy Leaves His Mills William Purdy was one of the many in Upper Canada who, along with Peter Perry and William Lyon Mackenzie, spoke out strongly against the Family Compact, the provincial government of the day. He was arrested and taken to Cobourg where he remained in jail without trial for some time. When he was released, he decided that the Lindsay area was no place for a critic of the government. He knew that the Reform movement wag strong in the Bath area where Peter Péfry and other leading reformers lived and spoke out with far fewer consequences than he had experienced. Purdy and his son Jesse moved there leaving his other son Hazard, to run his tills on the Scugog River. Purdy's Dam Destroyed Hazard Purdy had to face a threat from another source. The dam which ran his mills had flooded thousands of acres of land within the Scugog Basin. Although there were few settlers in the region, those that were beginning to make a living from the land were incensed by the fact that land which they had struggled to clear and establish as farmland had been flooded. In 1838 a fever swept through the area, probably due in large part to the increased number of mosquitoes that infested the flooded land. Many people died that year. The farmers of the Scugog Basin organized themselves and marched against the Purdy's dam intent on Canal Building Fever In the meantime, the government was ambitiously trying to establish supply routes for its settlers as they spread out across the province, developing communities away from the major lakes. In addition, businessmen were anxious to move their goods more efficiently. The Canadians were desperately trying to compete with New York State for market share in North America, and attempting to make in-roads into the New York- Montreal trade. . In order to accomplish all of these goals an era of canal building began. The Americans completed the Erie Canal in 1825. The Welland Canal was opened in 1829 and the Rideau five years later. In 1833 a commission was established to conduct a feasibility study of a Trent- Severn waterway. Almost immediately, construction of locks for the system was begun. Construction on a lock and a new dam at Lindsay began in 1838 and was completed in 1844. The new dam had a fall of only seven feet compared to Purdy's original 10 feet. The goW@rnment paid the Purdys $1,600 in compensation for the resulting loss in water power. The Bigelow Family The next stage in the history of the Purdy mill is yet another example of the way the communities of Upper Canada were so inextricably connected. In the spring of 1844, the Purdy family sold the mill and their tract of land. The man they sold out to was Hiram Bigelow, father of Joseph Bigelow who in 1851 came to Port Perry to develop the commercial life there. After purchasing the dam, Hiram Bigelow decided to try to maintain a constant water level for his mill and, as a result, for the entire Scugog Basin. In order to do this, in the summertime, he placed a one foot board along the top of the dam, thus maintaining the springtime flood level. Again the farmers rose up and smashed the top boards, but Bigelow replaced them. Hiram Bigelow died in 1853 but he had made an indelible mark on the history of this region; he had established the level of the lake as we see it today. This was the catalyst for the growth and development of the Scugog Basin for almost half a century. Next Month The IMirst Settlers of the Scugog Basin. BR OCC ll lll tC lt ela oh i a Hr ee oo