Article from the Haliburton Echo

Written by Chad Ingram.

June 22, 2010

Haliburton County is home to hundreds of lakes.  Formed in various shapes and sizes, some are little more than large ponds, while others cover hundreds of acres.
They are a defining part of the area’s landscape and one of the main reasons people have been flocking here for generations.  Each of these lakes, of course, has its own unique name, but where do these names come from?

This summer, the Cottage Times will be examining the history of some of the lake names in the county.  In this edition are the histories of some lakes, mostly in the area of what is now Dysart et al Township, base on a 1998 paper by Trent University student entitled Discovering the History of Haliburton Through Its Lake Names.  If you know, or think you know, the history of a county lake name and want to share it with the Cottage Times, please send it to cingram@mindentimes.ca.

DRAG LAKE

Drag Lake takes its name from the county’s 29th century logging days, when large timber booms were dragged across the lake by steamboats.

FOUR CORNER LAKE

This lake is geographically names, with the four corners of the former Harburn, Bruton, Harcourt and Dudley Townships meeting near it centre.

JIM BEEF LAKE

Jim Beef Lake was named after a man named Jim Hutchings, who liked thick roast beef on his sandwiches.

KENNISIS LAKE

This lake was named for a former resident,  a Chippewa man Joe Kennisis, whose family lived on the lake’s shores for five generations

LAKE KASHAGAWIGAMOG

One of the county’s many lakes that takes its title from the area’s First Nations history, Kashagawigamog is an Ojibwe word that is roughly translated as “lake of shining waters” or “lake of long and winding waters.

MARSDEN LAKE

It is presumed this lake was named for a man names Moses Marsden, who reportedly drove logs through the Gull River system for the Rathburn Lumber Company between 1885 and 1890.

REDSTONE LAKE

There are two schools of thought on where this lake draws it names.  While there is a rumour that the lake took its name from an aboriginal chief, others believe the lake is named for colour of the rocks that surround it.

 

 

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