Bobcaygeon

Bobcaygeon
Community
Bobcaygeon and the Trent-Severn Waterway
Bobcaygeon Location of Bobcaygeon in Ontario
Coordinates: 44°32′30″N 78°32′30″W / 44.5417°N 78.5417°W / 44.5417; -78.5417Coordinates: 44°32′30″N 78°32′30″W / 44.5417°N 78.5417°W / 44.5417; -78.5417
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Municipality	Kawartha Lakes
Incorporated	1876
Amalgamated	2000
Area
• Total	5.48 km2 (2.12 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	3,533
• Density	645.3/km2 (1,671/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)

Locks at Bobcaygeon

Bobcaygeon is a community on the Trent-Severn Waterway in the City of Kawartha Lakes, east-central Ontario, Canada.

Bobcaygeon was incorporated as village in 1876, and became known as the "Hub of the Kawarthas". Its recorded name bob-ca-je-wan-unk comes either from the Mississauga Ojibway word baabaagwaajiwanaang "at the very shallow currents", giishkaabikojiwanaang "at the cliffed cascades" or obaabikojiwanaang "at currented rocky narrows", or from the French beau bocage "beautiful hedged farmland". The first lock in the Trent-Severn Waterway was built in Bobcaygeon in 1833.

The town is situated on three islands, along with the main land.

Bobcaygeon's chief industry is tourism, particularly related to recreational fishing. Bobcaygeon is a hub for the region, providing many of the services unavailable in the smaller neighbouring communities.

The Boyd Arch was transferred stone by stone to its new home in front of the Boyd Museum.

History

Samuel de Champlain passed through Bobcaygeon with a band of Hurons during his 1615 military expedition. By the early 1830s, the government of Upper Canada had completed its survey of the Township of Verulam and the area began to attract settlers. Thomas Need, who arrived in 1832 is recognized as one of the earliest settlers of the Township of Verulam and is the founder of Bobcaygeon. With his purchase of 3000 acres (12 km²) of land, Need built a sawmill, gristmill, and the first store.

In 1833, the provincial government began construction of a lock and canal at the narrows between Sturgeon and Pigeon Lakes. This was the first lock constructed on the Trent-Severn Waterway. Soon a community began to develop around the lock and the Thomas Need's sawmill and gristmill. In the 1850s, the economic development of Bobcaygeon was stimulated by Mossom Boyd's lumbering business.^[1]

The provincial government had reserved and surveyed a town site on the north bank of Bobcaygeon River between Sturgeon and Pigeon Lakes, which was named Rokeby by visiting Lieutenant Governor Sir John Colborne. Need laid out streets and plotted lots on the island, which was named Bobcaygeon. Today, Bobcaygeon designates both sides of the Bobcaygeon River, after the post office was established on the island by the first postmaster, Thomas Need.

In 1844, Thomas Need sold his profitable business interests to Mossom Boyd, and returned to England. Boyd and his sons built up a logging enterprise that was recognized as the third largest logging operation in Upper Canada. In addition to timbering, the Boyds also operated a system of steamboats under the name Trent Valley Navigation Company as well as an experimental beefalo herd on Boyd Island. Descendants of this herd remain in Alberta.

By 1869, Bobcaygeon was a village with a population of 800 in the Township of Verulam County, Victoria County. There was a good trade in lumber, limestone, hides, grain and the GalKay lead mine. There were stages to Lindsay, Peterborough and Minden. In summer, boats travelled to Lindsay and Peterborough. The average price of land was $20 per acre.^[2]

Bobcaygeon, with a population of about 1,000, was incorporated as a village by a Victoria County by-law of 1876

A group of local businessmen worked for many years to bring a railway into Bobcaygeon. Sir Sam Hughes sat on the board of the Lindsay, Pontypool & Bobcaygeon Railway. The line was leased to the Canadian Pacific Railway on completion. In July 1904 the first passenger train steamed into town. The service lasted until 1957, the railway lands becoming the Beach Park.

The village government joined with the Township of Verulam in 1999. In 2000, it was amalgamated with the other municipalities of Victoria County by the provincial government following the recommendations of the Kitchen Commission. Now Bobcaygeon exists as a community within the City of Kawartha Lakes.

Education

• Bobcaygeon Public School

Media

^[3]

• The Bobcaygeon Independent was the local newspaper, established in 1869. Its last issue was printed in December 2004.
• The Central Ontario Visitor (another local publication) was printed and released weekly with the Bobcaygeon Independent between the months of May through October from 1985 to 1999.
• The Promoter (another local publication) and one of the few remaining independent newspapers, published its first issue on March 15, 1991. The Promoter
• In 1998, the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip immortalized Bobcaygeon in their Juno Award-winning hit single that takes its name from the small village. The band played this song for the first time in the village on June 25, 2011 as part of Big Music Fest.
• In 2001,^[4] Bobcaygeon played host to an episode of the OLN reality television series Drifters: The Water Wars as they passed through the Trent-Severn Waterway.^[5]

Events

• The village's Canada Day festivities are held at Tommy Anderson Park, and its fireworks display is held at Beach Park.
• During the last weekend in May or first weekend in June, Bobcaygeon hosts an "Unlock The Summer" Event, as a kick off for summer, and the first opening of the locks of the season.
• Bobcaygeon hosts the annual Ontario Open Fiddle & Stepdance Competition during the last weekend of July. The first was held in October 1970, as part of the annual Fall Fair. It became the Ontario Open Fiddle Contest in 1971, and became a separate event with a July event date in 1973. In 1974, with the addition of stepdancing to the contest, it became the "Ontario Open Fiddle & Stepdance Competition".^[6]
• The annual Bobcaygeon Fall Fair takes place during the last weekend of September. The first was held in 1858.^[7]
• Bobcaygeon hosts an annual cruisefest for classic and custom cars in the second week of September. The first was held in 1996.
• The Kawartha Settlers' Village in Bobcaygeon holds the town's annual Festival of Trees in the second week of November. The first was held in 1997.
• Sponsored by local churches & merchants, the annual Bobcaygeon House Tour takes place in mid-June, where six Bobcaygeon homes are toured, along with an art show at the Trinity United Church. The first was held in 1992.

Notable residents

• Allan Stanley, late Toronto Maple Leafs player^[8][9]
• Bob Goldham and Johnny Bower^[10] reside in the area.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bobcaygeon.

• Bobcaygeon & Area Chamber of Commerce

City of Kawartha Lakes
City seat: Lindsay
Towns	Lindsay
Villages and unincorporated communities	Ancona Point Argyle Avery Point Baddow Baker Trail Ballyduff Barclay Bellevue Bethany Bethel Bobcaygeon1 Bolsover Burnt River Burton Cambray Cameron Coboconk Dalrymple Dartmoor Daytonia Beach Dongola Downeyville Dunsford Emily Eldon Station Feir Mill Fenelon Falls Fowlers Corners Fleetwood Glenarm Greenhurst-Thurstonia Hartley Head Lake Janetville Kinmount1 Kirkfield Little Britain Long Beach Long Point Lorneville Manilla1 Manvers Mariposa Station Mariposa Norland Oakwood Omemee Pontypool Ragged Rapids Rokeby Rosedale Sadowa St. Mary's Sebright Sturgeon Point Uphill Valentia Verulam Park Victoria Road View Lake Woodville
Former townships	Bexley Carden Dalton Laxton, Digby and Longford Eldon Emily Fenelon Manvers Mariposa Ops Somerville Verulam
Major lakes	Trent River Shadow Lake Silver Lake Four Mile Lake Balsam Lake Cameron Lake Sturgeon Lake Lake Scugog Pigeon Lake Talbot River Canal Lake Mitchell Lake Talbot Lake Severn River Lake Dalrymple Cranberry Lake Head Lake Fishog Lake
Topics	List of roads Victoria County
1) This area lies on the border of an adjacent region, but is part of the Kawartha Lakes census.