Beautiful Middle Falls near Fort William and Port Arthur(Thunder Bay) Ontario!

Another Provincial Blunder has taken place over the last number of years. It was the closing of Middle Falls Provincial Park, campground and picnic area. It is open as only hiking trails today but has grown over and fallen into disrepair due to the lack of funding by the Provincial Gov't. It used to be on the main highway 61 on route to the USA about 35 minutes from Thunder Bay, but when the new border crossing was constructed, the powers to be claimed that re-routing highway 61 hurt business. This park is only about 1/2 mile from the newer highway, and the fact that the government let it go into disrepair was the reason for it's demise.

This first photo from an Ontario travel brochure, taken in about 1960 shows the park in its heyday with a family enjoying a picnic there. There used to be a number of campsites, a gift shop, a swimming area and pool and many picnic tables, washroom and shower facilities. I have many fond memories of my own family spending many a Sunday afternoon there and also camping weekends when I was a child and when I was first married. The second photo shows the ever-flowing and beautiful Middle Falls taken a few weeks ago now almost forgotten by most of the population of Thunder Bay.

In the left photo you can see picnic tables and an outdoor fireplace to cook, and the right photo shows the walkway to the falls and a predominant highway 61 sign with a historical marker. These photos were taken in the late 1940's. Behind the family standing there, a pool and swimming area was also constructed(you can just see the edge of the kids pool) and off to the right was a gift shop and small restaurant. It is almost unrecognizable that any of this existed if you visit the park today.

Here are a couple of great before and after shots showing how it was in about 1950 and how it is so grown over and abandoned today. These photos were taking from approximately the same spot, coming down the hill before the park on the way home from the old Pigeon River border crossing.

Here you can see the remnants of the swimming pool that kids once enjoyed including myself. The photo to the right shows the plaque, the only thing the Ontario Government left on the property.

Here on the plaque is a little historical note and the areas I circled on the map show where Middle Falls is in relation to the newer Canada/US border crossing. On the American side they are building a very beautiful and completely new modern camping facility, typically showing up the Canadians. Shame on our Provincial Government and MPP's for letting this beautiful spot go to ruin. Lets tell our government officials to restore this park to its original beauty as it truly deserves so we can continue to enjoy it for years to come.
Click on most photos to enlarge!

Duluth or bust.....

The Pigeon River US/Canadian border crossing about 35 miles south-west of Fort William(now Thunder Bay) was an important part of growing up, because the closest large city to us was and still is Duluth, Minnesota(about 185 miles). My family took hundreds of motoring trips to Grand Marais, Duluth and Minneapolis/St. Paul, through the years, and even though one always told the truth about what you purchased across the line, you always felt intimidated by the border officers on either side.

The border crossing as we know it today is in a totally different spot, still on the Pigeon River but much closer to Lake Superior. The b&w photo on the left shows some great 1930's cars taken in front of the Pigeon River Hotel, and the one on the right shows some wonderful 1950's cars. In the colour picture on the right, the old Pigeon River hotel is shown on the far left of the photo, and the new Pigeon River hotel is just to the right of it. The original bridge is shown to the far right, and the actual building where you talked to the officers as you left or returned is in the center. There were stores, souvenir shops and many other buildings on both sides of the river and it was a very popular spot to go for a drive and taste some American beer like Fitgers, Colt 45, Hamms or some American candy such as Black Jack chewing gum, Beemans Pepsin gum, or giant suckers. Do you remember??