Technology on the Frontier: Mining in Old Ontario

A.A. den Otter is a history professor at Memorial University of
Newfoundland and co-author of Lethbridge: A Centennial History.

Philip Smith has worked on newspapers and magazines in many parts of the world. He is the author of several books relating factual accounts of Canadian achievements in engineering, medicine, and business. This book recounts the development of the mining industry in Ontario, and in passing traces the development of settlement in the province, for they are closely linked together.

The book brings together in one place an overview of a large part of the history of Ontario. Chapters are arranged more or less chronologically, from early recordings of Jesuit priests in the 17th century to recent discoveries in the Hemlo gold field. The story criss-crosses the province, moving from the shores of Lake Superior near Sault Ste. Marie, to Gananoque, off again to Thunder Bay, to Sudbury, Cobalt, Timmins, Red Lake, Atikokan, Elliott Lake, and on to the Hemlo. The author also records the early days of the Bureau of Mines, and some snippets of mining legislation.

All this makes an absorbing account of the mining industry, and includes enough social commentary and vignettes of extraordinary characters and episodes to whet the appetite for further reading. The book contains a good selection of photographs to illustrate the action along the way, and a bibliography to help readers “pursue their interests in a fascinating aspect of Ontario’s history.”

This is an easily read, informative book that takes a rambling journey through time and places which will intrigue younger readers and add a new dimension to the peregrinations of seasoned travellers.