Round Lake Resort

 

A little history and geography

Round Lake Resort lies in the Bonnechere Valley. Round Lake is the first major lake in the course of the Bonnechere River which begins at Basin Lake in Algonquin Park to our north, and passes through Golden Lake, Eganville, Douglas and Renfrew before emptying in to the Ottawa River near Castleford. We are separated from the Madawaska Valley by the hills of Wilno. The Madawaska River which runs drains the Madawaska Valley begins at Radiant Lake in Algonquin Park and ends 225 km later in the Ottawa River at Arnprior. The river drops 224 meters in its course, creating many white water rapids.

The first white men paddled up the Madawaska River in the early 1700s seeking a route from the Ottawa River to the Great Lakes. They were soon followed by loggers who used the Madawaska to transport logs to market. The Bonnechere was a minor fur route, nevertheless is was large enough to have a Hudson Bay Post at Golden Lake in 1827.

In the 1850s the Canadian Government started the development of colonization roads. The roads were originally to be military supply routes. It was hoped that farmland could be developed along the roads to support the logging operations and, if necessary, military operations. Settlers were given land along the roads with the agreement that they maintain the road in front of their property. The plan failed miserably. The rugged terrain of the precambrian shield did not provide good soil to support farming. As the great pines were harvested the logging industry declined depriving the settlers of their only market. Many were forced to move out and you will can see many abandoned homesteads and ghost towns of the early settlers throughout the Madawaska Valley.

The colonization roads:
The Opeongo Road: When the first part was built in 1851 at Farrell’s landing on the Ottawa (near Castleford) it was to continue to Georgian Bay. It was declared fit for wagons in 1858 but it only reached as far as Barry’s Bay before the project was abandoned for lack of funds.

The Peterson Colonization Road: This 180 km long road links the Opeongo Road with the Muskoka Road to the west. It is the longest colonization road and highway 62 between Maynooth and Combermere shadows the original route.

The Mississippi Colonization Road: Built by John Snow this road ran east from Bancroft. It can be seen crisscrossing Highway 28

The Addington Road: Highway 14 follows some of the old roadbed built by the Perry Brothers

The Hastings Road: This road begins near Madoc and extends 120 km to Bancroft. It connects the Peterson Colonization Road at Maynooth. Highway 62 follows the road in some places. The old road bed in still accessible and remnants of 19th century villages still exist.

Coming of the Railway
The first railway arrived in the Madawaska Valley in 1890. Originally called the Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway, it changed its name to the Canada Atlantic Railway and was sold in 1905 to the Grand Trunk (later called CN). It ran from Ottawa, through Renfrew, Eganville and Barry’s Bay and ended at Depot harbor on Parry Island in the Georgian Bay. There is a fully restored railway station and unique wooden water tower in Barry’s Bay. The railway was considered an engineering triumph largely attributed to the drive of John Rudolphus Booth. J. R. Booth was one of the greatest lumber barons. At his peak he worked 18,000 square kilometers of forest (in comparison Algonquin Park is 7,600 square kilometers) and owned the world’s largest lumber mill in Ottawa.

Barry’s Bay’s has been a lumber town since 1870’s when the McLachlin Brothers built a lumber mill on Lake Kamaniskeg. The foreman of the mill was called Barry. He gave his name to the bay on the Lake and so the village was named. The town grew as settlers followed the Opeongo wagon trail to find land. Among the settlers were 300 Poles who had immigrated to Canada from Prussia seeking religious freedom. They are now the ancestors of many of the families in the region. A large number of Irish and Germans also emigrated to the region at this time. Sixty years past before Barry’s Bay organized itself as an official town. The first town council meeting was held in 1933.

Pembroke is older than Barry’s Bay. Colonel Peter White built the first homestead in 1828 and encouraged others to settle in the area. By 1831 there was a saw mill and in 1836 a general store opened. Killaloe was established much later in 1911.