Secrets of the Lakes: Stories from the History of Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Snuggled comfortably in the centre of Southern Ontario, a bit north of
Toronto, is chubby Lake Simcoe. Sticking out of that lake’s head, like
a feather in a Victorian bonnet, is a long, skinny patch of water known
as Couchiching. No one knows what “couchiching” means, but visual
thinkers speculate that it might be Ojibwa for “lake with the water
squeezed out.”

Given their location, it is natural that Simcoe and Couchiching had
lead roles in the settlement of Ontario. The author walks us through all
that, from the inevitable chapter on the glaciers’ retreat, through
the Indian era, the arrival of European explorers, the lumber industry,
the pioneer period, the growth of towns and industry, to today’s
cottage-and-vacation phase. Since water meant transportation, and
transportation meant everything in the pioneer period, settlements
gravitated to the shore. Soon the two connecting lakes were ringed by
villages and towns.

Over the past 50 years, the history of many of these settlements has
been researched and captured in local publications. Frim’s work pulls
back a bit for a wide-angle view. She skips from village to town as she
circles the two lakes, creating an overview of the region by culling the
best from the many local histories. Numerous archival sketches and
photos provide some welcome relief from the monotonous prose of the
review.