Tomstown, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Tomstown is an unincorporated community in the Canadian
province of Ontario
, located in the unincorporated township of Ingram within the Unorganized, West Part
division of Timiskaming District
.
The community is located on Secondary Highway 569, a few kilometres east of Heaslip, Ontario.
waterway, Lake Kippawa, North Temiskaming, Blanche and Wabi Rivers.
From 1897-1901 80,000 acres of land had been sold in the Temiskaming area. The government put restrictions on the sale of each piece of property to prevent speculators from buying up all of the land. Property owners were required to clear at least 15 acres (61,000 m2) of land, build a 16x20ft house, and spend a certain amount of time on the property. Veterans of the Fenian Raids
and the Boer War
were given free land.
Initial settlers to the Township of Ingram, Ontario and 'Uncle Tom's Town' were from the Counties of Simcoe, Oxford and North Glengary who decided to settle north of Thornloe because much of the good land close to the town had already been taken up. They were followed by settlers from Renfrew and the Southern Counties of Leeds, Cumberland, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington, many of whom where descendants of United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalist
Paddle wheel boats operated by Oliver Latour in the early 1880's, from the most southern tip of Lake Temiskaming, at Mattawa
traveling as far north as 'Uncle Tom's Town' on the Blanche River delivering settlers, livestock and supplies. One of the early roads in the area was built in 1904 connecting Charlton and Dack, Ontario
to Tomstown to improve the flow of goods and people. With the coming of rail to Englehart
in 1908, the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway ended the steamer service, and Tomstown’s commercial and logistical importance declined.
downriver to the mills at New Liskeard. This cheap means to transport timber was continued until the late 1960’s when halted for environmental concerns.
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...
province of 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....
, located in the unincorporated township of Ingram within the Unorganized, West Part
Timiskaming, Unorganized, West Part, Ontario
Timiskaming, Unorganized, West Part is an unorganized area in the Canadian province of Ontario, comprising almost all portions of the Timiskaming District which are not organized into incorporated municipalities...
division of Timiskaming District
Timiskaming District, Ontario
Timiskaming is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The district was created in 1912 from parts of Algoma, Nipissing, and Sudbury districts. In 1921, Cochrane District was created from parts of this district and parts of Thunder Bay...
.
The community is located on Secondary Highway 569, a few kilometres east of Heaslip, Ontario.
Naming
The town was named after Ulysses Henry Thomas when the town's post office opened in 1903. Previously, the place had been known colloquially as Uncle Tom's Town.Early History
The first people to live in the Lake Temiskaming area were Algonquins who used the area for trapping, hunting and fishing. They inhabited the lands along the Lake Temiskaming-Ottawa RiverOttawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
waterway, Lake Kippawa, North Temiskaming, Blanche and Wabi Rivers.
European settlement
During the late-19th century, the provincial government had become interested in the economic potential of “new” or northern Ontario. The government organized surveying parties to travel through northern Ontario identifying natural resources and mapping the region. In 1874, the Ontario-Quebec boundary was surveyed and the land above Lake Temiskaming, including the northern townships, was mapped by Dr. Robert Bell and his assistant Arthur Barlow in 1887. In 1899, Barlow wrote a report on the geology and natural resources of the area, which suggested that the rich belt of clay that lay north of the big lake was ideal for agricultural settlement.From 1897-1901 80,000 acres of land had been sold in the Temiskaming area. The government put restrictions on the sale of each piece of property to prevent speculators from buying up all of the land. Property owners were required to clear at least 15 acres (61,000 m2) of land, build a 16x20ft house, and spend a certain amount of time on the property. Veterans of the Fenian Raids
Fenian raids
Between 1866 and 1871, the Fenian raids of the Fenian Brotherhood who were based in the United States; on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada, were fought to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland. They divided many Catholic Irish-Canadians, many of whom were...
and the Boer War
Boer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
were given free land.
Initial settlers to the Township of Ingram, Ontario and 'Uncle Tom's Town' were from the Counties of Simcoe, Oxford and North Glengary who decided to settle north of Thornloe because much of the good land close to the town had already been taken up. They were followed by settlers from Renfrew and the Southern Counties of Leeds, Cumberland, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington, many of whom where descendants of United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalist
Paddle wheel boats operated by Oliver Latour in the early 1880's, from the most southern tip of Lake Temiskaming, at Mattawa
Mattawa, Ontario
Mattawa is a town in northeastern Ontario, Canada, at the confluence of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers in Nipissing District. Mattawa means "Meeting of the Waters" in Ojibwa...
traveling as far north as 'Uncle Tom's Town' on the Blanche River delivering settlers, livestock and supplies. One of the early roads in the area was built in 1904 connecting Charlton and Dack, Ontario
Charlton and Dack, Ontario
Charlton and Dack is a municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within the Timiskaming District.The municipality was incorporated on January 1, 2003 by amalgamating the former village of Charlton with the former township of Dack....
to Tomstown to improve the flow of goods and people. With the coming of rail to Englehart
Englehart, Ontario
Englehart is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located on the Englehart River in the Timiskaming District.-History:...
in 1908, the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway ended the steamer service, and Tomstown’s commercial and logistical importance declined.
Timber industry
The settlers worked their farms during the spring, summer and fall and during the winter many worked for large lumbering companies such as J.R. Booth. Logs were hewed and transported by teams of horses onto the frozen ice of the Blanche River below the rapids at ‘Uncle Tom’s Town’ during freeze up when the steamers could not operate. With the spring thaw these timber rafts were floatedTimber rafting
Timber rafting is a log transportation method in which logs are tied together into rafts and drifted or pulled across a water body or down a flatter river. It is arguably the second cheapest method of transportation of timber, next after log driving...
downriver to the mills at New Liskeard. This cheap means to transport timber was continued until the late 1960’s when halted for environmental concerns.