HISTORY OF GORDON TOWNSHIP

Gordon Township came into existence in 1875, the same year as the survey was done. At that time it included the town of Gore Bay, as it did not become a separate entity until 1890. The first reeve was James M. Fraser. In 1889 Gore Bay became the capital and judicial seat for the Island, and the next year it incorporated into its own entity. Gordon Twp. then became the entirely rural area that surrounds the town.

When the first rural land clearings and farms were opened up, the first settlers followed the Indian path to the south which went from Gore Bay to the north shore of Lake Wolsey, and from there by boats further afield.

The first permanent rural settler was Willard Hall who settled and cleared his space south of the town, not far from the present site of the cemetery. Land clearing and farms spread rapidly, especially to the west where there's quite a large expanse of flat, fertile land. By the turn of the century, frame buildings dotted the countryside, and much of the suitable land was settled. Using the bountiful forests that were rapidly being cleared, two saw mills were established -one on Lake Wolsey, the other on the west side of our large inland lake - Tobacco Lake. By the late 1890's these mills were gone, destroyed by fire or closed due to lack of easy timber.

Gordon Township had a post office for a time as well, the last one opened up on Manitoulin Island. It was 1911, and it was called "Foxey". It was situated in a home near one of the schools on the 7th Line, but no further community buildings were built in that area.

Following WW2, and the inception of cross-Canada air flights, the Federal Dept. of Transport decided they needed to establish an airport on the Manitoulin to provide radio and weather information and an emergency landing centre. Land was purchased or expropriated in Gordon on the open, lightly treed area on the western side of the township next to Bayfield Sound, and construction took place during 1946 - 47. It became an important asset for the area, and a vital cog in the air transportation industry for the next number of years. It remains today a vital active part of the life of Western Manitoulin.