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“Second Sand Beach and woods towards east, September 1961” (Billie Bear Archive, Gertrude Davis Slide Collection)
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Once Sinclair had been surveyed and free land grant lots were made available, four families, most related to each other, took up several parcels on this shore. Two of those families (Widdess and Garnet) succeeded in clearing land and built rudimentary structures. Garnets’ homestead even served as a religious appointment and post office called Antioch. Both families, however, left within about 10 years of arriving. One family (McAlister) did not clear or inhabit their holdings, and all of these lots were later sold for their timber rights. Only one original homestead (Hart), which became Camp Billie Bear, achieved longevity by changing its purpose from farming to tourism.
During logging phases between 1918 to the 1930s, a lumber camp stood at the west end of First Sandy beach on the site that became nicknamed “Bill’s Clearing.” Several camp buildings and a stable existed here for some years, and a fire ranger named Bill Young used the site for shelter on his route to the fire tower north of Heck’s Lake. The clearing was also utilized as a garden for the Camp Billie Bear kitchen.
By 1932 much of this land and its shoreline, excluding Billie Bear and the lot on which the pioneer site of Antioch briefly existed, was owned by Limberlost Resorts proprietor Gordon Hill, who subdivided the shores of “First Sandy” and “Second Sandy.” First Sandy lots were quickly taken up, mostly by those affiliated with Gordon Hill or with Mabel Hart Brook of Billie Bear. To the great benefit of us all, not all of the lots were developed, and none of the lots on Second Sandy beach were ever sold. The original subdivision was not registered; lots were made legal individually after the fact, and the plan of subdivision is very different today. Instead of Gordon’s original plan of 59 lots along the north shore, approximately only 14 properties were ever developed, and all of Second Sandy was left in its natural state, eventually to become the Antioch Conservation Area.
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| Paterson family at First Sandy, 1930s. Logging camp clearing is visible left of centre. (Barbara Paterson Collection) | Riding party, First Sandy Beach, probably 1920s (Barbara Paterson Collection) |
Early Cottages
Between 1935 and 1950, almost all of the available cottage lots had been taken up from Camp Billie Bear to near Norway Point. Most families purchased at least two lots, diminishing the potential density of development intended by the original plan of subdivision. By 1950 the families on this shore included Paterson, Thompson, Dowsett, Maxwell, Perry, Affleck, McNaught, Pugh, Barnhart, Jenson, and Antcliff. Descendants of many of the original cottage families remain along this shore and maintain special friendships that have existed through the generations.
Into the 1970s…
Hydro came to the north shore in 1955, but only after some resistance by some cottages who enjoyed their “off the grid” lifestyle. In the 1960s, a new winterized cottage was built by the Tideman family and some cottages had changed hands to families including Hull/Dyer and Wagner. By 1970, many of the first cottage families had been on this shore for at least three decades, and in 1976 the first full-time residence was established when Bill and Barbara Paterson renovated their cabin and moved permanently to their property on the beach.
Since the first settlers came to this part of the lake, there has long been a great tradition of family, friends, and community within the cluster of cottages and homes along the shore.
Sources:
Mansell, W. Dan, and Carolyn Paterson, eds. Pioneer Glimpses from Sinclair Township, Muskoka (Peterborough: asiOtus Natural Heritage Consultants, Barbara Paterson Papers, 2015).
Paterson, Barbara, “Bella Beach: Cottage History by Road” (Binder of collected stories, interview transcriptions, photographs of the cottagers from Baker to Pugh, unpublished, no date).
Paterson, Barbara, “Billie Bear Scrapbook” (Binder of collected stories, photographs, pamphlets, unpublished, no date).
Paterson, Barbara, “Why McAlister Lane” (Binder of collected stories, questionnaires, photographsof the Paterson, Maxwell, Thompson, Dowsett, and Perry families, unpublished, no date).