Voyageurs National Park may be named for the famed French-Canadian voyageurs who plied the waters of the park’s lakes during the fur trade, but the area’s history runs much deeper. From the Native Americans who had lived in this area long before the voyageurs came through, to explorers, loggers, and early resort owners, the area that is now Voyageurs National Park has a rich and complex history.
Simon Dawson
One period that is often overlooked in the park’s history is the time between the heyday of the fur trade and the logging era. During this time period, the work of men such as Simon Dawson, for better or for worse, paved the way for the migration west and the lumber era, which in turn set the stage for the recreation we enjoy today.
While Dawson’s name might sound familiar to some Voyageurs regulars—Dawson Portage, which connects Sand Point Lake to Lac La Croix, bears his name—he is not a well-known character in the Voyageurs National Park story. Dawson spent much of his adult life in Trois Rivieres, which is located between Montreal and Quebec, Canada. A surveyor by trade, he acquired a nickname of “Smooth Bore Dawson” because of his even temper and quiet disposition.
Dawson’s parents, John and Anne immigrated to Canada from Scotland, most probably in 1842. One of eight children (seven boys and one girl), Simon stayed behind when his parents left in 1836 until his education was completed. Like his older brother William, Simon was a lifelong bachelor who was described as gregarious and high-spirited.
In the fall of 1848, he was sent to Peterborough by Gilmour & Company to make a survey of timberlands. Continuous conflict with Gilmour led to his eventual departure. His brother William was employed by the Woods and Forest Branch of the Crown Lands Department and is credited with helping Simon land a job in 1851 working for the Canadian Department of Public Works.
His career was propelled forward when in 1855 he was tasked with surveying and building a road from Trois Rivieres to Grand Piles in order to connect with steamboat navigation. Urgency dictated the project be completed no later than 1857. Within three months however, he had completed and submitted the survey work to an astonished commissioner, and the project was completed soon after.
Dawson’s experience in surveying and road building led to his tapping for another surveying project in 1857. Prior to the American Civil War, when westward expansion of the young nation was just reaching a frenetic peak, there was a similar movement in Canada to settle their frontier. Pressure from the Canadian people forced the government to open up a communication route or road to the west. In response, the Canadian government sent Henry Youle Hind, W.H.E Napier, and Simon J. Dawson on an expedition to find the best route for the purpose of constructing a road.
One of the more interesting events of the expedition was the diversion of Dawson from Hind, the party’s geologist. They separated frequently and eventually both prescribed separate routes. Hind’s was a more northerly route, following the Seine River drainage. Dawson went southwest, which eventually brought him to Lac La Croix.
An excerpt from Dawson’s 1857 narrative, first printed in 1858, briefly described the portion of the trail, which comes closet to the present-day Voyageurs National Park. The account described his arrival into the east end of Lake Namakan from the Namakan River:
The traverse across Nameaukan (sic) Lake is six and a half miles in length, the lake itself extending more than double that distance, in a due west direction. At the extremity of the traverse is a new portage, where the descent is eight and a half feet. A circuitous narrow river (the Bear River), without perceptible current, passing through a reedy expanse, fringed with low willow or about three miles. The canoe route then takes a winding course, whose general direction is nearly due north, for a distance of two and a half miles, (the Canadian Channel on the east side of Oak Island, opposite Kettle Falls, the American or International Channel) when turning due westward we suddenly arrive at the open and beautiful but indescribably barren region of Rainy Lake.[1]
Sir George Simpson
The work of this expedition helped stimulate Canada’s interest in the West. Upon completion of the Red River Survey in 1860, Dawson became enamored with the fur trade based on his immediate past experience. The cost estimates for the construction of the road were astronomical precluding any further government service in that area. He penned a letter to his brother William with great detail on the cost and resources needed. At Simon’s New Year’s Eve party that winter he even invited Hudson Bay Governor Sir George Simpson as a guest.
The brothers’ plans did not come to fruition and Dawson returned to the lumber business in Trois Rivieres where he stayed until the government decided to construct the Red River Road. Called back in 1867 to the Department of Public Works, Dawson assembled a work gang of forty men and proceeded to Thunder Bay to build the road.
His public service almost came to an abrupt end when Alexander Mackenzie won the election in 1874. With his liberal government in charge, Dawson offered his resignation, which was declined. He always knew the rail line would supersede his road and feared Mackenzie’s government would bypass Fort William and in doing so, bring economic ruin upon it. He became a vocal supporter of the link and turned to politics, becoming the MP for Algoma. Along with the rail line issue in Fort William, he fought for northern Ontario becoming a separate province.
After an adventurous and eventful life, Dawson died in Ottawa on October 30, 1902.[2]
