Canoe Lake, Algonquin Park: Tom Thomson and Other Mysteries

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian studies at
Concordia University, and the author of Kurlek, Margaret Laurence: The
Long Journey Home, and As Though Life Mattered: Leo Kennedy’s Story.

A single large lake in Algonquin Park, Canoe Lake is one of the most
historic and beautiful among Canada’s natural treasures and has been
the setting for many human dramas, including an epic log drive in the
1890s. Local historian S. Bernard Shaw has written a general history of
the area while focusing on “three compelling mysteries: the Gilmour
log drive, Mowat village and the Tom Thomson saga.”

At Shaw’s invitation, a second local historian, Gary Long, covers the
log drive in a single chapter, “The Drive to Bankruptcy.” George
Garland, chair of The Friends of Algonquin Park, calls Shaw and Long the
first, among many writers on aspects of the area’s history, to present
a unified story. Shaw’s goal here is to fill some of the gaps through
presenting new archival and field research.

One fascinating chapter is devoted to the mystery of Tom Thomson’s
death in the lake in 1917, at the age of 40. Because Thomson’s
brilliance as a painter was at that time known to only a small circle of
friends and collectors, the death was not investigated, nor was the body
carefully examined despite an injury to the forehead. Shaw’s story of
the events surrounding the death is dramatic, although readers may be
disappointed by his conclusion: accidental death by drowning.

Canoe Lake is an excellent local history that features many archival
photos and careful documentation.