The Portage Store Concession History

For those unaware, on a typical weekend during the heat of the summer, hundreds of visitors pass through and admire Canoe Lake from the vantage point of Portage Bay. For the really adventurous, it's to collect their rented canoe and equipment from the outfitting shop in order to head off north or south into Algonquin Park's interior for a well-deserved respite from the chaos of their daily lives. For local residents it’s the place to get ice, check-in with the world by picking up a daily newspaper, grab a well-deserved ice cream cone after a hard day of cottage chores or just generally people watch. For tourists passing through the Park along Highway 60 it's to stop for a meal at the Portage Grill restaurant with a quick visit to the second-floor Trailside Market gift shop or to admire the Tom Thomson plaque down by the lake. For another type of adventurer, it’s an opportunity in relative safety to indulge in one of Canada’s most endearing past-times, that of renting a canoe and going for a paddle in the ‘wilderness’. On any given day there can be dozens of canoes with novice canoeists zig zagging all over the lake.

The Portage Store - The Beginnings

The roots of the Portage Store began with the announcement in 1930 that the Ontario Government was going to construct a road (Highway 60) that would run through Algonquin Park from Huntsville to Renfrew, Ontario. Though the immediate reaction from many was that ‘an army of motorists would destroy the beauty and tranquility of the park and have a detrimental impact on fish and game stocks’, for Molly Colson and her husband Ed the announcement brought an idea for a new business opportunity.

Since 1917, Molly and Ed had owned the Algonquin Hotel and the Colson Outfitting Store up on Joe Creek. With its easy access to 3 railway stations on Canoe, Joe Lake, and Brulé Lakes, the Algonquin Hotel was an ideal jump-off point for recreationists of all kinds. Ed’s sister Annie ran the Colson Outfitting Store, who. according to long time local fishing guide Ralph Bice, could, ‘set up a list of supplies as well as most guides’, which was quite the compliment in those days.  

Having been a resident of Algonquin Park since 1900, it didn’t take Molly long to realize that the days of the railway as the main access point for recreationists into the Park were numbered and that there would likely be demand for services close to this new highway. In 1936 she applied for a ‘license of occupation’ to operate a canoe livery and store on a five-acre parcel of land at the south end of Canoe Lake in what was then called Portage Bay because it anchored the portage to Smoke Lake. Though business that first year was likely conducted from a tent, in late 1937 or early 1938 a small log cabin on stilts was built and the Portage Store came into being.

 The store had a long set of stairs that ran up the front to a little verandah. There was a small addition at the back that contained an ice-filled meat locker.  In the beginning it was operated more as a supply depot for Smoke and Cache Lakes as most of the fishing trip outfitting still took place at the Colson Outfitting Store up on Joe Creek. The walls were lined with shelves full of the basic supplies such as sugar, flour, and tea. Molly would take orders for fresh food and the next week it would be delivered by Goldstein Truckers. The Colson’s hired Joe Cousineau to manage the day-to-day operations and the daughters of various Canoe Lake residents would help out during the summer months.

A pot-bellied stove in the centre of the store was a major social draw, especially in the chilly days of the early summer or late fall or in inclement weather. Cottagers  from Canoe, Smoke and Tea Lakes would stand around and tell jokes, tall stories and in general recount their adventures. Their laughter, and jovial dispositions set a happy tone for the season and helped everyone either get ready or get over many a weary task-filled day. Another contingent that also frequented the Portage Store social scene were campers and staff from the nearby children’s’ camps. Taylor Statten ‘s Camp Wapomeo and Camp Ahmek  on Canoe Lake, Camp Tamakwa on Tea Lake would visit in their war canoes and pointer boats and of course many others who used Canoe Lake as a starting or stopping off spot for their canoe trips.

But managing it plus the Algonquin Hotel must have become too much as in the spring of 1939 the Portage Store ‘license, of occupation’ was transferred to a man named Basil Hughes and his brother, who were apparently quite the characters. The two of them used to go off for days and leave a sign, ‘Gone Fishing’ on the front door. In 1941 Hughes went overseas to help with the war effort, so Ed Colson agreed to manage the store on a sublease basis, which he did until 1950. Over the years fewer and fewer people were taking the train and more and more visitors were parking at Portage Bay and launching their canoe trips to the interior from there. As a result, the Portage Store got more involved in outfitting and in catering to visiting day tourists.

The Portage Store - The 1950’s Women Warriors

In 1951 Basil Hughes sold what was now a lease to Hilda Capp, a music teacher, and her accountant brother-in-law Cardwell Walker. Capp was pretty innovative and soon after requested permission from park officials to enlarge the facilities so that she could serve sandwiches and coffee, add a gift shop, install a gas pump, a pay phone, and possibly erect cabins for overnight accommodation to serve the needs of a growing numbers of visitors. The Department wasn’t very supportive of any of these ideas though the request for a pay phone was eventually approved. Unable to make a go of it, Capp and Walker sold the lease to a group of four women in the fall of 1954. (Janey Roberts, Isobel Cowie, Marg McColl, and Fran Smith) These four became known by the locals as ‘The Ladies Who Run the Portage Store.’

Though introduced to Algonquin Park by a local Canoe Lake leaseholder, Frank Braucht in the early 40’s, why they wanted to run the Portage Store is anyone’s guess, but for three summers (1955-1957) they gave it their best shot. They rented out canoes, sold groceries and continued the tradition of selling ice and massive amounts of ice cream to local cottagers, canoe trippers and visiting tourists. The huge ice blocks would be cut from the lake in the winter and then packed in sawdust and stored in an icehouse that existed down by the shore (where the Tom Thomson plaque resides today). They diversified the gift shop offerings by bringing in everything from beautiful hand-made silver bracelets from a local artisan, lamps, and other antiques from Ridpath’s Toronto store (Elsie Ridpath was a Canoe Lake resident), and mukluks - oiled moccasins that were probably made by the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation.

The groceries though were the lifeblood of the community. As noted by Isobel Cowie in her memoir of their experience:

“We sold bread and milk in high volume for only one cent over their cost. The milk, which came from Huntsville, was particularly hard to deal with. It was often sour by the time it reached us, as there were no refrigerated trucks in those days. Bread too was difficult. Sometimes we didn’t have enough, at other times, we were overstocked. Once when we had a surplus, we put the stale bread out behind the store for the deer. That night the deer had a 'stag' party that we never forgot. Twenty or more bucks gathered for dinner, the moonlight glistening on their antlers.”

Horace, a greengrocer from Toronto, would appear once a week with a truck loaded down with fresh fruits and vegetables. The wives of the leaseholders usually would corner him first and would leave little for the store. Fresh meat was at a premium, but an obliging butcher in Huntsville who would take their meat orders and bring them a truckload every once in a while. Borden’s Dairy supplied them with their ice cream with the Borden’s salesman showing them exactly how to dip a cone – one scoop, carefully rounded. Marg’s nephew Paul was the only one to perfect the technique.

The biggest crises during those years was Hurricane Audrey which hit Ontario on that year’s Canada Day weekend. According to The Fires of Friendship, a history of the Taylor Statten Camps:

 “So much water fell that it overwhelmed many of the area beaver dams. The ones holding back March Hare Lake east of the Camp Ahmek waterfront at the north end of the lake broke.  A huge wall of water went pouring down the rocky gorge, which led to Hickey Creek (now called Wigwam Bay). That flood of water plus overflow at Joe Lake Dam made the water level in Canoe Lake rise over 3 feet. “

In 1969, it allegedly carried close to 24,000 people, which from a 2010 perspective is hard to believe. Though a great generator of tourist dollars, the 'Miss Algonquin’ had a significant environmental impact on Canoe Lake as it ran on diesel fuel and generated a very large wake. Over the years, the wake did a fair bit of damage to leaseholder docks, retaining walls, and sections of shoreline all along its route. Eventually, as the water quality on Canoe Lake and especially in Portage Bay got poorer and poorer, complaints got louder and louder. Finally, new regulations intending to return the Park to a more natural state contributed to its 1973 demise. 

In the mid-1960’s Simpson decided that there were enough full-time summer residents on the tri-lake area (Canoe, Smoke and Tea Lakes) that he converted part of lower floor into a full-service grocery store. With this level of service he reasoned, wives without cars wouldn’t need to wait to get their groceries until husbands came up on the weekends and those with cars wouldn’t need to go into Huntsville.

For a while, his grocery store was successful and in the early 1970s he converted the restaurant to serve only Chinese food. However, life in the Park in-general and on Canoe Lake in specific was no longer as tranquil and serene as it had been previously. Overuse of park facilities, lack of concern about the environment and growing water quality problems led to the realization that a new philosophy for managing Algonquin Park was needed.

At the Portage Store the building was creaking at its foundations and some were terribly worried that it would collapse. Everything in the cellar was afloat including the worms, cabbages, lettuce, and carrots. Nevertheless, “The Ladies” put on a brave front and rowed out to the end of the submerged dock to hoist the Canadian flag on July 1st. The American visitors cheered their patriotism.

Though in 1956 permission was finally granted for the building of an outhouse and the installation of gas pumps, by 1958, after three summers of backbreaking work, the group of friends were tired out. It was also becoming apparent that the new government policy (put in place in 1954) meant that the Department now would be exerting more control over commercial activities in the Park than they had previously done. Unbeknownst to the four, the Department had in fact decided that the Portage Store property needed to be acquired and replaced with a more modern building to be managed on a concession not a lease basis. Soon after, in 1958, the lease and its buildings was re-acquired by the Department, the old cabin was torn down. A new structure complete with a restaurant, gift shop, canoe and outfitting rental shack opened for business in 1960, with Ken Simpson from Toronto set up as the concessionaire.

The Portage Store - The Simpson Tourism Push

Ken Simpson, who was knowledgeable of the tourist industry, was very interested in not just increasing the number of people who came to Algonquin Park, but also in enabling experiences that were suited individual needs and abilities. Not everyone, he voiced ,was able to or interested in going on wilderness canoe trips, car camping on one of the Highway 60 campgrounds or paddling around Canoe Lake.

His first foray into attracting this new kind of visitor and creating a unique Algonquin experience was the 'Tom Thomson Memorial Boat Tour', which went on to become a major tourist attraction for years.

Originally a wooden cruiser, the boat would take a dozen or so tourists on an hour-long, 16-mile trip tour. It would cruise north up Canoe Lake past the Tom Thomson Totem Pole and Cairn, then down the west side and through the Bonita Narrows to South Tea Lake and back. This same route would take place 5-6 times a day at a cost of $1.00 a person.  It became so successful that a few years later, the 'Miss Algonquin Park', a glass-topped, 100-passenger, all-weather steel vessel was imported from service at the Toronto Islands in Lake Ontario.

In 1974 the Algonquin Park Master Plan was introduced that amongst other things banned water and jet skiing and all motorboats with engines >20 hsp. The size of interior canoe tripping parties was limited, campsites on Canoe, Tea and Smoke Lakes were closed and eventually a total ban on the use of tins and bottles was instituted. In addition, the Park was divided into different zones with only certain areas being open to recreationists. Not long after the new plan was instituted Simpson decided not to rebid his contract and a new Portage Store era began.

The Portage Store
The Back to Nature Movement

For over 45 years, from 1976 to 2022, dedicated operators and their extended team were the backbone of the Portage Store. It all began in the fall of 1975 when the two brothers won the tendered contract to operate the Portage Store. Though their Algonquin experiences had been somewhat limited, being young, enthusiastic, and interested in a career change the two put together a business plan, raised the needed working capital funds and, jumped into their new adventure. In the meantime, the Ministry had decided to take out the existing grocery store and wanted an outfitting shop with a small retail area in its place.

In the beginning the Outfitting Department would rent the odd individual tent or canoe pack along with the canoes, but that was it. In later years outfitting operations returned to the Annie Colson model of offering completely outfitted packages similar to that had been taking place at Algonquin Outfitters on Oxtongue Lake since 1961. This included canoes, all camping equipment, food, and camping supplies, right down to matches, soap, and toilet paper.

Visitors could book a trip for two or as many as fifty people (most are for parties of two to six people) starting on any day of the week at different price points. The arrival of the web in the late 1990s made custom menu selections really easy. Originally all of the canoes were aluminum, 15 and 17-foot in length, weighing 70 to 75 pounds. Within a few years lighter weight aluminum canoes and then lightweight Kevlar canoes became the norm. Today’s ultra-light weight 16-foot Kevlar canoes weigh only 42 pounds. Also offered in the later years were one and half-day guided lunch trips to local points of interest. Initially offered only once a week, by the mid-2000’s trips were going out once and sometimes twice a day.

Over the years, the brothers were also successful in winning the tendered concession contracts for both the Opeongo Store for 13 years (from 1977 until 1989) and the Lake of Two Rivers store on two different occasions (from 1980-1989 and from 2003-2013). In 2022, the tendered Portage Store concession was awarded to Algonquin Outfitters by Ontario Parks and renamed The Canoe Lake Store. The former operators moved their operations just outside the Park on Highway 60, now named the Portage Outpost.

The Portage Store - Algonquin Outfitters
Canoe Lake Store: A New Era Begins

Algonquin Outfitters, another family operation, has been in and around Algonquin Park since the late 1930s when patriarch Bill Swift (Swifty) attended Camp Pathfinder on Source Lake. His passion for tripping in Algonquin Park led to the establishment in 1961, with Dave Wainman, a former Algonquin Park ranger of a canoe-rental and outfitting business on Oxtongue Lake just off Highway 60.  Their initial innovation was in offering complete ‘soup-to-nuts’ canoe trip outfitting packages. As their experience grew, they realized that tripping in Algonquin Park had specific and unique demands. This awareness led to being the first to offer lightweight Kevlar canoes in the late 1970’s from Mad River Canoes. Later they designed and built at the Oxtongue Lake site a canoe specifically suited for Algonquin Park ‘s varying tripping conditions including the ability to travel well with multiple days of gear on board. Called the ‘Kipawa’ it is still in production and remains a popular rental model.

As demand for lighter equipment and gear increased, Algonquin Outfitters led the way with the AO Ballistic Nylon Canoe pack which began production in the Early 80’s. It is still made in Ontario to this day and used in AO outfittings and sold as well. AO was also first to use Eureka external pole tents in Algonquin which was the predecessor to the Timberline Series still used today. Though retailing was initially limited to T-shirts, fishing tackle, some camping supplies, and a few canoe paddles, as the outdoor recreation industry evolved (think Patagonia, North Face etc.) so did Algonquin Outfitters’ offerings. Led by Bill’s son Rich and his wife Sue, the company proactively sought out in the 70s and 80s the best and most modern camping equipment and clothing. As interest in outdoor recreation grew, so did Algonquin Outfitters and today the firm manages 12 retail stores in the Muskoka-Haliburton-Algonquin Park area.

Committed to helping keep the Park as a wilderness and tripping environment Bill Swift Sr. was involved in the Master Plan creation and an active member of the Algonquin Park community. In 1980, he took the firm in another new direction when Gerry McGaughey, the long-time proprietor of a small retail outfit at Brent passed away. Anxious to ensure preservation of an Algonquin landmark (The Brent Store) Bill offered to buy and upgrade it, appointing Jake Pigeon from Cache Lake as manager. Based on this success, in 1989, Algonquin Outfitters decided to submit a bid and won the opportunity to manage the Lake Opeongo store concession. This operation continues to be operated by Algonquin Outfitters. In 2013 AO won the opportunity to manage the Lake of Two Rivers Grocery and Camp Store, Café, and Grill.

When the opportunity to submit a bid for operation of The Portage Store beginning with the 2023 season, Algonquin Outfitters saw that there was a unique role that they could play' to further improve the visitor experience in Algonquin. With a focus on the history of the people and responsible use of the area in mind, a new vision became very clear. Today you see much on-site paying homage to the generations that have called Canoe Lake home as residents, cottagers, operators, and visitors. With an eye on respect for the natural environment as well, a new series of Safety and Awareness messages have been created and in 2024 Algonquin Outfitters launched the Pack It Out Program, which puts a focus on the promotion of responsible usage of the backcountry. This program encourages visitors to pack out more trash than they themselves produce during their trip. At popular launch points like access point #5 where The Portage Store operated for so many years and The Canoe Lake Store currently operates reinforcing this message is important.

The Portage Store - Evolving Visitor Base Composition

By the mid 2000’s it was estimated that in any one season anywhere from 75,000 to 100,000 visitors would visit the Tri-Lake area (Canoe, Smoke and Tea Lakes). About 40% were day paddlers and the rest (60%) would venture into the interior for multi-day trips. Since then, the visitor base has slowly evolved to where it now reflects far more of the cultural and ethnical diversity that makes up southern Ontario and the number of visitors really depends on the value of the dollar and airline prices as well as the weather. The Memorial Day weekend in May has gone from a busy time in the 70’s and 80’s to just another quiet spring weekend. 30 years ago, the Fall was just as quiet as the Spring. Today the Fall, especially in late September and early October is very busy. Thirty years ago, school trips were more common and were a large part of the rental business in the Spring. Today they are few and far between. Americans still come but in smaller numbers and no longer for the weekend or three-day trips that they had done in the past. Europeans have always loved Algonquin, especially the Germans, which continues to be is a growth market. They come, not to see the cities, but rather to experience Canada’s ‘great outdoors’. Renting a canoe for a few hours paddle is still as popular an activity for visitors as it has always been. Most of the time the sheltered Portage Bay and the south-end of Canoe Lake provides a great venue to get introduced to paddling. In the ‘wilderness’. There are of course some risks, so overturning and ending up in the lake is not uncommon.

The Portage Store - Concluding Recollections

For me, no matter its name, the ‘Former’ Portage Store, The Historic Portage Store, or the Algonquin Outfitters - Canoe Lake Store the physical location of the P-Store on Portage Bay at the foot of Canoe Lake is a very special place,. Though I have no memory of the original store, my parents used to speak lovingly of it as if it was a long lost friend. There are family photographs of me as a one-year-old sitting in a bushel basket-like hamper on the porch at the top of the stairs. There are others of various friends and family waiting patiently at the dock for us to arrive in our little boat to take them to our cottage. I got my first and only starring acting role, as a 12-year-old, in an Ontario Safety League Water Safety movie about canoe safety filmed on Portage Bay beach, where the permit office is today.

I came of age during the 1960's when the ice cream counter and the outfitting shack was a major place to hang out as a teenager as was the water trough where all the soda pop was kept packed in ice water. Though the water trough is long gone, the idea of 'hanging out' at the P-Store and grabbing a cone lives on. Even today, for most residents, regular visits to the P-Store admire items in the Trailside Market, buy the latest Algonquin Park sweatshirt style, inspect the latest and greatest in outfitting store merchandise, grab an ice cream cone on a hot afternoon or after dinner, or sample the latest Portage Grill restaurant fare and are a must during every summer season. Summer canoe rescues, providing on the fly canoeing lessons and directions to local Canoe Lake historic sites are now an embedded part of the fabric of living on Canoe Lake. The P-Store in its physical manifestations is still the emotional centre for Canoe Lake and offers profound Algonquin experiences as it has been and done since its beginnings in 1937.

For over 20 years Clemson has been researching, writing, and more recently podcasting about the human history of Algonquin Park.  Her website www.algonquinparkheritage.com  also includes heritage photographs, links to her YouTube videos and book titles as well as her Algonquin Defining Moments podcast which can be found at https://algonquinparkheritage.podbean.com/ and most major streaming sites.