Biscotasing, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Biscotasing, often referred to as simply Bisco, is a community in the Unorganized North Part
of Sudbury District
in northeastern
, Ontario
, Canada
. It was founded on the shores of Lake Biscotasi on the Spanish River
in 1884 by Canadian Pacific Railway
as a railway construction town, and the first divisional point
west of Sudbury. The rails of westward track laying gangs reached this area in October 1884.
Biscotasing is an access point for canoe
ists, fishermen
, and back-country camper
s to the area including Biscotasi Lake Provincial Park. It has one general store that functions as the post office
, tackle shop, grocery store
and Liquor Control Board of Ontario
(LCBO) outlet; a community center; a church; and the one-room Biscotasing railway station
served by Via Rail
. The town also is accessible by floatplane
and by a long drive on the Sultan Industrial Road
. Although the year-round population
is only 22, during the summer season, the population swells to around 300, mostly tourists.
the size of 30 × 35 feet (10.7 m), was constructed, with offices upstairs, a large freight shed 40 × 140 feet (42.7 m), a telegraph office, several residences for company officials and a number of boarding houses were completed before the end of that year. A wye
track had also been installed to allow work trains to turn around prior to returning to the east. Later a roundhouse was built to service the locomotives.
In his book The Last Spike historian Pierre Berton
wrote about Biscotasing, as it was 1885-04-01, when the first soldiers on their way to the North-West Rebellion
passed through.
As a divisional point, Biscotasing did not last much beyond the era of construction, as Chapleau
, about midway between Sudbury and Lake Superior, was selected to replace it. Soon after, the town lost its importance as a railroad town but still existed as a quiet fur trading
town. The railway provided an inland access point to waterways flowing south to Lake Huron
and north to James Bay
, and the town subsequently developed as a center for Indian trade in the region.
The local water routes also helped to develop Biscotasing as a major center for lumbering. In 1884, Public Lands Surveyor James Allan noted that timber in the area had been overrun by fires and was of very little value, consisting mostly of scrubby spruce
and small pitch pine
. The same year a sawmill
was in operation at Biscotasing, mostly to serve the requirements of CPR construction.
The first permanent sawmill was established by Sadler and O'Neil in the early 1890s. Robert Booth and Patrick Shannon, were also actively logging this region from 1895. Booth and Shannon produced square timber, which was taken by CPR to Papineauville
for export to Britain
, from the Port of Quebec
in Quebec
. By 1903 Booth and Shannon were the only lumber producers in Biscotasing, possibly having taken over and expanding the O'Neil mill which closed in 1898.
The original Booth and Shannon mill was destroyed by fire 1913-06-13. It was subsequently rebuilt, at which time Robert Booth left the partnership, with Patrick's son, the firm was reorganized as P. & G. Shannon. In 1923 the mill was sold to Midland
lumbermen Pratt and Shanacy. The mill closed in 1927 for lack of timber. The mill was dismantled and removed by 1938.
Many of the old buildings in Biscotasing that survive today are from the sawmill era. A small steam locomotive, once used to switch cars of lumber from the mill to the lumber piling grounds, sat for many years, derelict on the mill property, across the tracks, opposite the Pratt and Shanacy company store. In 1958, David L. Pratt, of Toronto
donated his father's steam engine for display at the Algonquin Provincial Park
Logging Museum.
From railway construction camp, to fur trade depot and lumbering center, in 1922 Biscotasing became the first place in Northern Ontario to use aircraft (Curtiss NC
) for forest fire surveillance.
Sudbury, Unorganized, North Part, Ontario
Sudbury, Unorganized, North Part is an unorganized area in the Canadian province of Ontario, comprising all portions of the Sudbury District which are not organized into incorporated municipalities...
of Sudbury District
Sudbury District, Ontario
The Sudbury District is a district in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1894 from townships of eastern Algoma District and west Nipissing District....
in northeastern
Northeastern Ontario
Northeastern Ontario is the region within the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and east of Lakes Superior and Huron.Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timiskaming, Nipissing and Manitoulin; and the single-tier municipality of Greater...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It was founded on the shores of Lake Biscotasi on the Spanish River
Spanish River (Ontario)
The Spanish River is a river in Algoma District, Sudbury District and Greater Sudbury in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. It flows in a southerly direction from its headwaters at Spanish Lake and Duke Lake to its mouth at the North Channel on Georgian Bay, Lake Huron just outside of the community...
in 1884 by Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
as a railway construction town, and the first divisional point
Divisional point
In Canada, a divisional point is a railway depot that includes more than just a basic siding or station.- Overview :In the coal and steam era, a divisional point would include such amenities as a substantial passenger station, freight and baggage sheds, a roundhouse, water tank, coaling and sanding...
west of Sudbury. The rails of westward track laying gangs reached this area in October 1884.
Biscotasing is an access point for canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
ists, fishermen
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, and back-country camper
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
s to the area including Biscotasi Lake Provincial Park. It has one general store that functions as the post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, tackle shop, grocery store
Grocery store
A grocery store is a store that retails food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells these "groceries" to customers. Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items, are...
and Liquor Control Board of Ontario
Liquor Control Board of Ontario
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario is a provincial Crown corporation in Ontario, Canada established in 1927 by Lieutenant Governor William Donald Ross, on the advice of his Premier, Howard Ferguson, to sell liquor, wine, and beer through a chain of retail stores...
(LCBO) outlet; a community center; a church; and the one-room Biscotasing railway station
Biscotasing railway station
Biscotasing station is a Via Rail sign post request stop station located in the community of Biscotasing, Ontario, Canada on the Sudbury – White River train.-External links:*...
served by Via Rail
VIA Rail
Via Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. It is headquartered near Montreal Central Station at 3 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec....
. The town also is accessible by floatplane
Floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...
and by a long drive on the Sultan Industrial Road
Sultan Industrial Road
The Sultan Industrial Road is a private road in the Canadian province of Ontario. Originally built as a resource route for E. B. Eddy's logging and lumber operations in the northwestern Sudbury District, the road is now owned and operated by Domtar following its acquisition of E. B. Eddy in 1998...
. Although the year-round population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
is only 22, during the summer season, the population swells to around 300, mostly tourists.
History
The early development of Biscotasing was dictated solely by the needs of the railway. The CPR acquired a 470 acres (190 ha) parcel of land at Biscotasing in 1884 and by November had cleared 30 acres (12 ha). A frame stationTrain station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
the size of 30 × 35 feet (10.7 m), was constructed, with offices upstairs, a large freight shed 40 × 140 feet (42.7 m), a telegraph office, several residences for company officials and a number of boarding houses were completed before the end of that year. A wye
Wye (railroad)
A wye or triangular junction, in rail terminology, is a triangular shaped arrangement of rail tracks with a switch or set of points at each corner. In mainline railroads, this can be used at a rail junction, where three rail lines join, in order to allow trains to pass from any line to any other...
track had also been installed to allow work trains to turn around prior to returning to the east. Later a roundhouse was built to service the locomotives.
In his book The Last Spike historian Pierre Berton
Pierre Berton
Pierre Francis de Marigny Berton, was a noted Canadian author of non-fiction, especially Canadiana and Canadian history, and was a well-known television personality and journalist....
wrote about Biscotasing, as it was 1885-04-01, when the first soldiers on their way to the North-West Rebellion
North-West Rebellion
The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by the Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel against the Dominion of Canada...
passed through.
As a divisional point, Biscotasing did not last much beyond the era of construction, as Chapleau
Chapleau, Ontario
Chapleau is a township in Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada. It is home to one of the world's largest wildlife preserves. Chapleau has a population of 2,354 according to the Canada 2006 Census....
, about midway between Sudbury and Lake Superior, was selected to replace it. Soon after, the town lost its importance as a railroad town but still existed as a quiet fur trading
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
town. The railway provided an inland access point to waterways flowing south to Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
and north to James Bay
James Bay
James Bay is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean. James Bay borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario; islands within the bay are part of Nunavut...
, and the town subsequently developed as a center for Indian trade in the region.
The local water routes also helped to develop Biscotasing as a major center for lumbering. In 1884, Public Lands Surveyor James Allan noted that timber in the area had been overrun by fires and was of very little value, consisting mostly of scrubby spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
and small pitch pine
Pitch Pine
The Pitch Pine, Pinus rigida, is a small-to-medium sized pine, native to eastern North America. This species occasionally hybridizes with other pine species such as Loblolly Pine , Shortleaf Pine , and Pond Pine The Pitch Pine, Pinus rigida, is a small-to-medium sized (6-30 meters or 20-100 feet)...
. The same year a sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
was in operation at Biscotasing, mostly to serve the requirements of CPR construction.
The first permanent sawmill was established by Sadler and O'Neil in the early 1890s. Robert Booth and Patrick Shannon, were also actively logging this region from 1895. Booth and Shannon produced square timber, which was taken by CPR to Papineauville
Papineauville, Quebec
Papineauville is a town and municipality in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Papineau Regional County Municipality and part of Canada's National Capital Region...
for export to Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
, from the Port of Quebec
Port of Quebec
The Port of Quebec is an inland port located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It is the oldest port in Canada, and the second largest in Quebec after the Port of Montreal.-History:...
in Quebec
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
. By 1903 Booth and Shannon were the only lumber producers in Biscotasing, possibly having taken over and expanding the O'Neil mill which closed in 1898.
The original Booth and Shannon mill was destroyed by fire 1913-06-13. It was subsequently rebuilt, at which time Robert Booth left the partnership, with Patrick's son, the firm was reorganized as P. & G. Shannon. In 1923 the mill was sold to Midland
Midland, Ontario
Midland is a town located on Georgian Bay in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada.Situated at the southern end of Georgian Bay's 30,000 Islands, Midland is the economic centre of the region, with a 125-bed hospital and a local airport. It is the main town of the southern Georgian Bay area...
lumbermen Pratt and Shanacy. The mill closed in 1927 for lack of timber. The mill was dismantled and removed by 1938.
Many of the old buildings in Biscotasing that survive today are from the sawmill era. A small steam locomotive, once used to switch cars of lumber from the mill to the lumber piling grounds, sat for many years, derelict on the mill property, across the tracks, opposite the Pratt and Shanacy company store. In 1958, David L. Pratt, of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
donated his father's steam engine for display at the Algonquin Provincial Park
Algonquin Provincial Park
Algonquin Provincial Park is a provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River in Central Ontario, Canada, mostly within the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District. Established in 1893, it is the oldest provincial park in Canada. Additions since its creation have increased...
Logging Museum.
From railway construction camp, to fur trade depot and lumbering center, in 1922 Biscotasing became the first place in Northern Ontario to use aircraft (Curtiss NC
Curtiss NC
-References:NotesBibliography* Holmes, Tony. Jane's Vintage Aircraft Recognition Guide. London: Harper Collins, 2005. ISBN 0-0071-9292-4.* Steirman, Hy and Glenn D. Kittler. The First Transatlantic Flight, 1919, . New York: Richardson & Sterman, 1986. ISBN 0-931933-19-0.* Wagner, Ray. American...
) for forest fire surveillance.