Nipissing Pioneers

Before the railroad construction crews reached Nipissing, the Pacific railway promise made to British Columbia underwent the vicissitudes of political machinations directed mostly towards the financial viability of the vast enterprise. The ensuing drama threatened to uncouple the engine of progress from the boxcar deliverables that conveyed the aspirations of a unified country. The general reader is familiar enough with the main events in this narrative and only the key elements require mention. The desirability of connecting a major section of the world’s northern land mass began with Confederation. The Macdonald government sealed British Columbia’s entry in 1871 with a pledge of a Pacific railway within 10 years. Unscrupulous financial transactions produced the Pacific Scandal that overthrew the Macdonald government and installed the Mackenzie administration in 1874. The Mackenzie regime deliberated slowly on the railroad file and lacked the appetite for moving the project forward with anywhere near the alacrity displayed by Sir John A Macdonald. After 4 years in opposition, Macdonald returned to office and immediately turned his attention to reopening the railway file.
The groundwork for a Pacific railway had been prepared by government surveyors whose reports mapped the route from the Ottawa valley and west to Lake Superior. The plans to proceed with this mammoth enterprise were available. The missing ingredients were the driving force to engage a private consortium and the will to commence construction. The impediments are well documented.
Mackenzie shied away from making the bold moves necessary to propel the massive railway construction project. Instead, his administration offered “piecemeal policies” that belied the scale of the incipient transportation revolution that failed to grasp the strategic value of a continental rail network. One option was to connect British Columbia and the west by means of a combined rail and water system – “…a trans-continental wagon road, or a series of short, light railways linking stretches of navigable water”. It was a scheme with one foot in the past and a reluctant step into the future. This plan foresaw a rail line proceeding from Ottawa to Pembroke, along the Ottawa River to Mattawa veering towards Lake Nipissing and following a southerly route along the French River to Lake Huron. On reaching Georgian Bay, the train cargo would transfer to lake steamers for the water voyage to Sault Ste Marie and then northwest across Lake Superior to debark at Prince Arthur’s Landing. This route was encouraging news for pioneer settlers who formed part of a growing community on the banks of the South River leading to Lake Nipissing. The Georgian Bay branch south of the French River was part of a transportation plan that relied on a land and water route to reach Northwest Territories. It lost its allure when the government contracted to proceed with an overland rail line to British Columbia. There was good reason for abandoning the earlier scheme. A rail line through the southern part of Lake Nipissing would have to cross the French River at some point and the price tag to span this waterway rendered this route unfeasible. Mr Cockburn, member for Muskoka and promoter of the southern line, questioned the government on its decision (Commons Debates 1880, p167). His posture assuaged constituent opposition yet underlied an effort to protect personal property investments and steamboat operations on Lake Nipissing. The village of Nipissing was the northern terminal for the Nipissing- Rosseau colonization road that connected with Muskoka and southern destinations. Nipissing village served as a navigational link for settlers and traders interested in accessing the mouth of the Sturgeon River and western portions of the lake. A railroad penetrating this part of northern Parry Sound District meant economic benefits - an outlet for the growing lumber trade and agriculture farm products.