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8- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, February 13, 1996 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" Sketches of Scugog by Paul Arculus Sketches of Scugog is a historical column written by local resident and historian Paul Arculus and published in the Port Perry Star once per month. GEORGE CRANDELL'S EMPIRE GROWS The Steamboat "Woodman" was launched on August 29, 1850. It was the first steamboat on Lake Scugog and it was the first steamboat to be launched on the "Back Lakes" (Balsam, Scugog, Sturgeon, Chemung and Buckhorn Lakes). George Crandell was one of several men who helped to build this ves- sel for Cotton and Rowe at the Port Perry waterfront. After it was seriously dam- aged by fire in 1854, Crandell purchased the remains and promptly rebuilt it and began to establish himself in the shipping business. He carried people and commodi- ties all over Lake Scugog and Sturgeon Lake. In 1857, as a result of the increased water traffic, a petition was presented to the government requesting that the Board of Works dredge and straighten the Scugog River, improve the lock at Lindsay and build a new wharf there. That year the government workers removed the decrepit timber lock which had been com- pleted in 1844. Surprisingly they built a timber slide in its place. This meant that goods and passengers had to change at Lindsay. In spite of this dilemma, Crandell could see that shipping busi- _=7 ness on the Port Perry, pT Lindsay, Fenelon Falls and Bobcaygeon routes held considerable potential. He moved to Lindsay and built a house there so that he could be at the heart of his expanding operations. .Crandell then increased his fleet thus allowing him to maintain vessels on Lake Scugog and Sturgeon Lake. Each vessel he built was bigger than the previous one, always bearing in mind that he had to build vessels which permit- ted maneuverability through the locks. The original lock at Lindsay was one of the longest at 131 ft. He commissioned his second steam ves- sel in 1861, a side paddlewheeler, the Lady Ida. It was built at the waterfront in Port Perry. In May 1864, The Ranger was launched at Lindsay. This was also a side paddlewheeler 80 feet long. George Crandell launched his fourth steamer in 1867. This was the Commodore, a 96 foot long paddlewheel- er, built by Thomas Walters at Lindsay. By this time serious efforts were finally underway to build the railway from Whitby to Port Perry. Beginning in the spring of 1868, Joseph Bigelow of Port Perry began an extensive letter writing campaign to the government's Board of Works trying to convince them of the need to rebuild the lock at Lindsay. Aiding Bigelow in applying pressure was the (eorge Crandell expands his fleet of steamshi M.P.P. for Ontario North, Thomas Paxton. Bigelow was the provisional director for the proposed Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway. They argued that the success of the pro- posed railway was largely dependent upon moving goods, particularly lumber, rapidly from Sturgeon Lake and Lindsay, down to Port Perry where it would be loaded on to the train. Their campaign led them to meet with the Premier of the newly established province of Ontario, Sandfield MacDonald. Their ability to argue successfully was no doubt due in part to the fact that Paxton was also a Railway board member as well as being Bigelow's brother-in-law. In February 1870, master shipbuilder Thomas Walters, who had built Crandell's prize steamship, the Commodore, was awarded the contract to build a new lock and a swing bridge at Lindsay. Walters completed the construction ahead of schedule and in the spring of 1871, the lock was completely operation- al. Sadly, George Crandell's father Reuben passed away in September of that year. The completion of the lock brought to an end the fourteen years of loading and unloading goods at Lindsay for the traffic between Lake Scugog and Sturgeon Lake. In its peak year of 1876, 456 steamers, 867 scows and 521 cribs of timer passed through the lock at Lindsay. Steamboat traffic aud rival companies continued to increase on the Central Lakes. In 1873, in response to the compe- tition, George SI Crandell decid- ed to build the finest vessel on the Central Lakes. He hired Thomas Walters to build the Vanderbilt at Lindsay. It was not only the finest vessel on the Central lakes, it was also the largest at 112 feet and 180 tons. The Vanderbilt was built primarily as a passenger ship. 'It carried passengers and some goods between Port Perry, Port Hoover, Caesarea, Lindsay and Bobcaygeon. Economic difficulties plagued the nin- teenth century just as much as they do in our times. In 1873, the bottom fell out of the lumber market in the U.S. This trig- gered an economic depression as serious as the 1929 crash. By 1860, the lumber industry had become the major employer in the industrial economy of Upper Canada. It provided the major source of revenue for the province. Shipping and railway businesses were almost entirely dependent upon lumber for their exist- ence. The majority of this lumber was shipped to the northern United States. In 1871, there were 44 sawmills in operation employing 409 workers in the northern riding of Ontario County. This included the townships of Reach and those to the north. There were several sawmills in operation in and around the Port Perry waterfront. Daniel Way purchased lots 126 and 127 ps on Scugog of course, boating regattas. Prospects improved further when the closet rival hotel, the Couchiching Hotel near Orillia burned down. As with all of Crandell's previous ven- tures the Sturgeon Point Hotel was a phenomenal success. Boating regattas of various types were held regularly. On one on New Year's day, 1846. This was the ~ property directly to the north of the pres- ent library. Here he built the first sawmill in the settlement. He sold the mill and the property to Thomas Paxton 11 months later. Samuel Hill bought the property across the road on Water Street in June 1848 and erected another mill. This was later purchased by W. Sexton. Stephen Doty's mill, which had been purchased by Joseph Bigelow was located just south of the present baseball diamond on Water Street. Across from that was a stave factory established by J.C. Bowerman and later also purchased by Bigelow. Other area sawmills include Daniel Hoover's at Port Hoover, Beare's mill which was located east of Utica and Deans on the first con- cession of Cartwright. At Cadmus there were the Fallis and Brown mills. There were three sawmills at Greenbank and one at Seagrave. All were drastically affected by the 1873 depression. Even in 1875, cash sales for any form of lumber were non-existent. The economy did not revive until 1878 and many went bankrupt. Crandell had to tie up the Ranger and the Samson for two years. The Ranger never sailed again. George Crandell, however was never without ambition and ideas. In 1875, he decided to drum up business by building a summer hotel at Sturgeon Point. He launched a stock company to finance the venture. Crandell's previous economic record was beyond reproach. In spite of the severe economic conditions, Crandell had little difficulty in raising the neces- sary capital. He purchased a 100 acre property at Sturgeon Point. A hundred yards from the water's edge, in the middle of a stand of trees, he built a stately 40 roomed three storey frame palace with a two stor- ey verandah running around three sides and an elegant mansard roof. It was offi- cially opened on June 15, 1876. Later the hotel complex was expanded to include a dance hall, shuffle board courts and bath houses. Crandell's Sturgeon Point Hotel was extremely popular for picnics, dances and, occasion in 1878, special trains ran from Port Hope and Toronto, bringing 2,000 to Lindsay. They were then taken by boat to the hotel. An Oddfellow's excursion in 1881 drew 3,000 visitors. This occasion was climaxed by the production of Gilbert and Sullivan's new operetta, Pirates of Penzance. Boyed by the success of the Sturgeon Point Hotel, he built another hotel at Fenelon Falls, but it burned to the ground in 1884. Crandell sold the Sturgeon Point Hotel after seven seasons to J. "Ebe" Dunham of Cobourg, but, ever the canny business- ma,. Crandell kept much of the water- front acreage which he sold off as lots to the wealthy. The status of Crandell's boats was as follows: the Ranger had rotted away while out of commission as a result of the depression of 1873; in 1879, the Champion was stripped of her machinery and allowed to rot in the Scugog. Shortly afterwards same with the Commodore. Crandell kept the Samson and built the Stranger to replace the other two. The Stranger was the first screw steamer owned by Crandell. It was a smaller ves- sel at a length of only 60 feet. It weighed 19 tons and had a 35 h.p. engine. The Stranger was later sold to the Carnegies in Port Perry. September 23, 1881 Vanderbilt caught fire at her dock at Lindsay. The Canadian Post of Lindsay (later to become the Lindsay Post) reported: "...Fire broke out between four and five o'clock and burnt to the water's edge in an incredibly short time...What caused the'fire is a mystery... the loss to Captain Crandell was heavy as he only had $25,000 insurance on her." The remains of the Vanderbilt lay at the bottom of the Scugog River for nine years. Next Month: Like the phoenix of mythology, the Vanderbilt was later to rise again. In her rebirth she was even more glorious. Top Photo - George Crandell's hotel at Sturgeon Point on Lake Scugog opened in June 1876. Left - The Stranger: George Crandell had this 60 foot long vessel built in 1879. It was the first screw steamer built for Crandell. All his earlier vessels were side paddlewheelers. The Stranger was later sold to the Carnegie Milling Company of Port Perry. It was destroyed by fire at Caesarea in July 1908 ~ Si Al, Na ali kms (ben