'Historic Northern Ontario' Facebook Group focuses "strictly" on Northern Ontario stories, photos and memories including Chapleau

When you visit the Facebook group Historic Northern Ontario each and every day, expect new stories, photos and memories, of towns and cities of Northern Ontario, and nothing else, an introduction to the group says.

In fact it is number one in a list of know the rules, 'Strictly History of Northern Ontario and nothing else.'

Founded in 2017 I discovered it, after my cousin Michael McMullen with whom I co-authored "The Chapleau Boys Go To War" brought it to my attention.

Michael advised that Harry Mulligan a relative of ours had been featured.  Our respective grandmothers May (Mulligan) McMullen and Lil (Mulligan) Morris were related to him.

Michael explained: "Henry Patrick “Harry” Mulligan operated a high end woollen store on Main Street in North Bay. The son of Bernard Mulligan, an early North Bay pioneer, entrepreneur and clothing merchant, he ran the clothing business after his father’s death in 1921 and named his store Harry Mulligan. Harry died in 1950 and the family carried on the business for many years. For years the store was located in the Mulligan Block building, which burned down in 2002.

"There is a Chapleau connection. Bernard Martin Mulligan had four brothers that worked in Chapleau in the 1886 -1915 period: Patrick Andrew operated Murrays and Mulligan, General Merchants and was the village postmaster, Thomas Michael was an accountant and clerk at this store, John George was the Dominion Express agent and operated a restaurant, and Hugh Charles worked for the CPR as a railroad bridge engineer. Another brother,  James Edward, a bailiff in North Bay, who died suddenly in 1895, was the great grandfather of MJM and MKM."

Thanks Michael K!

Bill Pellow delivery circa 1910

I visited the closed group, applied to join, and upon approval started my journey ino historic Northern Ontario. It includes content from almost every community in Northern Ontario, and having visited, or at least passed through most of them, recognized some sites.

Hockey trips mostly took me from Chapleau as far as Hearst in one direction, and to Sault Ste Marie and Sudbury in another, and communities in between them.

I also lived in Timmins, and of course Chapleau, and attended Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.

Richard Lamoureux, one of the group administrators gave me permission to write a column about the group.

Its main goal is to "keep Northern Ontario history alive for future generations", adding that "Northern Ontario has an abundance of history," It sure has.

Historic Northern Ontario presents another opportunity for Chapleau's story to be told, joining Chapleau History and Genealogy and Chapleau High School Friends founded by Louise Tremblay and Janice Whitely respectively.

The Chapleau Public Library site first established by Hugh Kutner and continued by Doug Greig is also a great source.

I extend my congratulations to the founders of Historic Northern Ontario and hope Chapleau folks will contribute to it. I have included here some photos I contributed.

My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Chapleau Queen's Hotel plate found at Quebec antique market

Finding a plate from Chapleau at an antique market in Quebec puts a new twist on the old adage of taking boy or girl out of Chapleau, and so on.

Joan (Warren) Jones, who was born and raised in Chapleau, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Morley Warren, found a plate with "Queen's Hotel Chapleau" engraved on it.

Her brother Donald advised  "not certain how the plate ended up in Quebec but was found in St Lazare antiques market."

Thus a new adage has been created, "You can take the plate out of Chapleau but you can't take Chapleau out of the plate."

The original Queen's Hotel was built in Chapleau in 1887, two years after the community was established, with the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway, according to 'Pioneering in Northern Ontario' by Vince Crichton.

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE

Over the years it had a number of owners, but in 1958 Nicholas Gionet who had bought it in 1945, sold it to Matt Castonguay.

It underwent extensive renovations and emerged as the Sportsman Hotel by 1960. The bar opened on November 29.

It was destroyed by a fire in 2003.

Thanks Donald and Joan. If anyone has further information on the Queen's Hotel, enjoy hearing from you. My email is mj.morris@live.ca