The Widdess Land Grants
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Picnic at Bella Beach, c. 1928. George F. Hutcheson family at centre – Laura, George, Joy, and Marion (Marcia Julian)
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The Widdess family of Durham County was one of the families to settle in this area when surveyed lots became available in 1877. Francis and Martha Widdess settled in the late 1880s northeast of Heck’s Lake on Lots 26 and 27, Concession B. In 1889, their 21-year-old son Albert had settled on 200 acres of what is now known as Second Sandy beach on Lots 3 and 4, Concession 9. During the few years that Albert owned this land, he established a homestead that included a small cabin, a barn, and gardens. Rock walls and building foundations remained vaguely evident near the bottom of the steep hill leading up to Antioch for many years. Albert would eventually, for a brief time, also own all of his aunt Ellen McAlister’s lots, including First Sandy and around the point to the east. He sold all four properties in January 1907 to lumberman John Whiteside of Huntsville’s Riverside Lumber Company for $1,000. Albert eventually followed his relatives and moved to Manitoba. Sixty years after he sold his holdings, Albert’s Lots 3 and 4 became the first acquisition of the Mabel Hart Brook and Marion Hill Memorial Foundation.
Marion Hill and Sandy Thompson
Albert Widdess’s former lots on “Second Sandy” were owned by Gordon Hill of Limberlost in the 1930s, and the shoreline was part of his cottage lot subdivision. By the 1960s, the lakeshore lots to the east had been sold to about 12 families, many of whom were friends and guests of Limberlost, Billie Bear, or each other. Gordon had passed away in 1947, and Marion Hill still owned all of what remained of Lots 1, 2, 3, and 4, excluding those subdivided lakeshore properties that had been taken up by the early cottagers on First Sandy. Through the years, even though she was under great pressure to sell, Marion kept ownership of her remaining properties, so that she might realize her dream of deeding them to the Ontario Field Naturalists. Since 1941, The Federation of Ontario Naturalists (FON) had held nature camps at Limberlost and then Billie Bear and had explored these properties for many years. Marion herself had hosted many field naturalist trips in the area.
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Limberlost Resorts Plan of Subdivision, Lots 37-50 (Barbara Paterson Collection) | |
By 1967, Marion needed money for upgrades at Limberlost. During a conversation with Sanford (Sandy) Thompson at her kitchen table, a plan to conserve the land was born that would be the “nearest thing to making her dreams come true.” Sandy, a cottager on Bella's north shore, had seen many changes to the area since the 1930s. Visitors and cottagers alike had enjoyed the freedom to camp, picnic, hike, or fish in the many untouched natural places around Bella and Rebecca lakes, as well as from Limberlost to the Big East River. He saw the changes of cottage development fast encroaching upon the last few places, and his vision was that here was an opportunity to conserve the natural area between Bella and Heck’s Lakes for all to enjoy.
Marion Hill would agree to sell Lots 2, 3, and 4 in Concession 9 (228 acres that included the small subdivided lots on Second Sandy) to Sandy based on specific conditions agreeable to both of them. The land was to be a conservation area and developed as such: open to all nature lovers and field naturalists and accessible to the public. A Foundation would be set up as a charitable organization based on donations to raise funds so that it might purchase the land (from Sandy) and manage the conservation area as guided by Marion’s and Sandy’s terms of vision and purpose. Sandy purchased the lots for $60,000 and paid Marion a deposit. Within a few weeks he had discussed the idea with his neighbours and, with the help of Dean Maxwell and several others, set up a meeting. On October 7, 1967, cottagers and residents on both lakes and the surrounding area gathered at Billie Bear to hear the proposal.
The Foundation
A prospectus presenting Marion’s and Sandy’s vision was enthusiastically received at the meeting, during which $30,000 was received in cash and pledges. On Thanksgiving Sunday, a dedication service marking the inception of the Mabel Hart Brook and Marion Hill Memorial Foundation was held on Second Sandy beach. A pine tree was planted with Marion Hill and Edgar Brook officiating and 100 people in attendance.
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Edgar Brook, Dean Maxwell, Marion Hill, and Sandy Thompson at dedication ceremony for the Foundation, October 1967 (Barbara Paterson Collection) |
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The Foundation was granted its charter as a non-profit, charitable corporation on December 13, 1967, by the Province of Ontario. Its Charter sets out objects of the foundation:
... to carry out the sound development in the public interest of appropriate undeveloped lakeland and wilderness regions through the setting up of conservation areas and preserves suitable as a home for the preservation of wildlife; encouraging public participation in the awareness of the naturalist techniques; studying specific problems in conservation areas and resolve course of actions; study and determine the best use of natural resources; educate the public in the use, enjoyment and preservation of the area; and to raise money to finance the above objects.
The 11 founding directors of the new corporation were all members of the north shore cottage community at that time: Sandy and Vivian Thompson, Frank Hull, Dean Maxwell, William Wagner, Graham Atkin, John and Jack Perry, Douglas Tideman, Emil Jenson, and Fred Pugh. The board was made larger in 1968, and in the 50-year history of the Foundation, many members of these families, sharing the dedication of the founders, continue serving as directors.
In August 1986, an additional 220 acres of what was originally Edmond Garnet’s homestead lands, including “Antioch,” was purchased from Weldwood of Canada and extended the Foundation’s holdings. Today, the Foundation continues its purpose of maintaining our shared and precious legacy made possible through the foresight and vision of Sandy and Marion.
Sources:
Huntsville Forester, “Foundation Honors Two Personalities,” October 5, 1967, p. 1.
Mansell, W. Dan, and Carolyn Paterson, eds., Pioneer Glimpses from Sinclair Township, Muskoka (Peterborough: asiOtus Natural Heritage Consultants, Barbara Paterson Papers, 2015).
Ontario, The Mabel Hart Brook Marion Hill Memorial Foundation Charter, December 1967.