In 1882 four men - three brothers and their cousin - were guided by Joe Bammageeshig down an Indian trail to Wells township. The three brothers, Jenkins, Edwin, and Fred Ansley, accompanied by their cousin, Nelson Ansley, staked claims to land, to clear and farm in the area of Wells township that is now called Wharncliffe.

Picture: courtesy of Robert and Barbara Palmer.

These four were followed by few others, for the task of clearing land was harder than expected. The trees were fairly large, the roots hard to get rid of, and many people had to use dynamite to rid their land completely of them. The people could make money by clearing their land, as Thessalon had become a big sawmill town and the timber cleared by the pioneers could be sold to the sawmills.

After clearing the land and building homes, many of the pioneers found the land to be poor for farming. No longer having a source of income from the sawmill, many left, to Alberta and Saskatchewan. Others went to the United States or back to southern Ontario.

Those who stayed were eventually able to produce sufficient produce to sell to lumber companies. However, very few farmers continued to farm. As logging companies continued to move into the area many found it more beneficial to log instead, for it took less time and produced more money. There are many old ruins in the area of abandoned barns, which over time collapsed under the pressure of heavy snowfalls.

By 1902 most of the pioneers had cleared their land and were doing quite well. They established a church as well as a school, a Post Office, and a small store. Life was good, or at least better than it had been. More people began coming into the area, some heading further North, others settling in Wharncliffe, buying land abandoned by others. Their reasons for coming were the large amounts of land, and the extremely good fishing and hunting conditions. They stayed because of their love of country life, but most importantly because of the warm personalities of the people, who made Wharncliffe a home which could be replaced by no other.