Long before any European men ever came to the Midland, Ontario area, native Indians called Ouendat (Wen-dat) called this area home. They called this area Ouendake (Wen- da-kay). "Ouendat means people of the islands".
It wasn't until 1610 when Etienne Brule, a young French man, came by way of the French River to this area. The French gave the Ouendat the name Hurons. It was Samuel de Champlain who brought the first Jesuit missionaries to the Midland area to build the mission Sainte-Marie among-the-Huron. Unfortunately by 1650 because of a war with the fellow Iroquois natives (from what is now N.Y. State) and European diseases, the Hurons were driven out of this area. The mission was abandonded by the Europeans.
Not until about 1812 was this area being settled again. First by the military in Penetang, just 4km from Midland, then by those who received tracts of land for their military or governmental services. With the coming of the
railroad in Midland on July 1, 1879, the area boomed with activity and
growth. The town was dubbed the "Chicago of the North" (because one could
make their fortune here as in Chicago) and was then given the name Midland.
After the coming of the railroad, lumber mills, ship building, shops, iron smelting industry and many other businesses began to spring up everywhere. Along with these businesses came thousands of people to work in them. At one point during the turn of the 20th century it was said that there was nothing you couldn't get here, and if it wasn't available today it would be here tomorrow on the train.
The town had its ups and downs but continued to grow until the Great Depression of the 1930's and it wasn't until the late 40's that the town began to recover again with industry moving back in. In the late 1920's the ship building industry closed down leaving many without work. Not until the second world war did the yards open again, providing employment for many however, in 1957 the yards closed again for good. By this time many other electronic types of industries had begun to move into the area.
The population of Midland grew steadily in the first part of the areas history, slowing only when industries closed. As industries came back, the town began to grow again with many changes to the make up of the town. Many building have changed through time . However within downtown Midland many remnants of the buildings of the past still exist, only the names and uses of these building have changed.
Today, Midland is a bustling town of
14,500 people with a summer population many times that number. Today's industries make lenses for motion picture cameras, electronic parts, seat belts, and sinks. Along with the many commercial buildings downtown, Midland has two large malls in the upper west end of town.
There are many attraction that can easily keep a family busy for a couple of weeks of vacations. The Sainte Marie amoung-the-Hurons and a Huron Indian village have been restored. Huronia Museum displays an impressive collection of artifacts of Midland and the surrounding areas, from Indian archaeology to the present. Harbour front is bustling with activities, such as boat tours of the famous 30,000 Islands. Also remnants of the railroad and shipping industries can be seen there. Discovery Harbour in Penetanguishene hosts the Historic Naval and Military Establishment first built around 1812 with historic sailing ships for afternoon and evening cruises. Along with many other attractions to educate and entertain individuals and families.
HOME
All icons and graphics are for viewing purposes only, any downloading of them will be in violation of copyright laws.
Good quality copies of J.W. Bald's photo can be obtained from the Huronia Museum c/o Bill Smith 1-705-526-2844 or through the National Archives of Canada, just refer to the archive number at the bottom of each picture.
This digital collection was produced under contract to Industry Canada
.Check out other
SchoolNet Digital Collection
web pages.