History Behind the Chapple Township

100 Years Ago in Chapple
The year is 1909 and Chapple has now been incorporated for ten years. George Hughes is in his first term as Reeve of the Township of Chapple. He also served as reeve from 1912-1915; 1917-1933; and 1935-1937. Sometime before 1910 George built his first store on the banks of a creek along the old Tote Road in Tait Township and for a time, backpacked his store supplies and the mail from Boucherville (Stratton). George named this location Whitehawk. Later he built a second store in Blackhawk and finally a third in the village of Barwick about 1920.

Reeve G. Hughes

In 1909 a newspaper called the Fort Frances News, dated Sunday April 3, 1909 tells of a tragic fire that claimed the life of four members of a Chapple family...."Robert Stirrett Sr., a respected farmer living sevel miles from this place, had his residence burned to the ground at five o'clock Thursday morning. His two children Orton and Ruby, ages seven and five respectively died in the fire. Mr Stirrett is seriously burned and other members of the family are slightly burned. His daughter, Mrs. Campbell, who was living in the same house with an infant a week old, was forced to jump from an upper window into a snow bank. The house and contents are a total loss, with no insurance." Within a day of the fire, Robert Stirrett Sr. and another daughter, Hazel age 2 1/2 years old had also died as a result of the fire. Robert and his three children are buried in Chapple Cemetery.

On June 30, 1909, MIss Cleland organized a branch of the Women's Institure in Shenston. The fee to join was 25 cents per member, with meetings to be held on the last Wednesday of the month. Officers elected were: President, Mrs. John Potter; Secretary, Mrs. Leamon Stewart; Directors, Mrs. A. L. McKenzie, Mrs. J. McPherson and Mrs. George Bolen.

Between 1905 and 1910, Art Ion opertated a store in the village of Barwick. The exact location is unknown, but it was on the west side of Main Street, somewhere toward the Barwick Community Church. Mr. Ion would sometimes purchase things from the settlers and deduct that amount from what they owed on their accounts. Examples of this were "128 lbs. hides purchased for $7.68; beef for $10.25; 2 cords of stove wood for $2.70 and 7 1/2 lbs. veal for 60 cents. Information below is taken from the store ledger which is now in the Chapple Museum.

Chapple Heritage Committee still has copies available of the township history book ‘Between the Ripples….stories of Chapple’ at a cost of $35 plus shipping. If you are interested in the early history of our township and some of the original settler families, please contact the township office.
If your family lived in Chapple in our early years, let us know about them. You can contact either the township of Chapple office or Chapple Heritage at P. O. Box 54, Barwick, Ontario P0W 1A0. If you have photos or historic information about our township, please share it with us.

THE LIGHTHOUSE

Built in 2003 at the waterfront the Chapple lighthouse recognizes a time before the railway when most of our settlers and supplies arrived by steamers that came from Rat Portage (Kenora), across Lake of the Woods and up the Rainy River. It was built according to blueprints provided to us by the Canadian Coast Guard and bricks in the base come from the Barwick Hotel and before that from Dobie #4 block school built in 1912, so these blocks have a long history in Chapple as well.
The project was written up in Lighthouse Digest, issue February-March 2004. Researcher Michel Forand says “a number of navigational lights were established on the river. These were post and mast lights that can’t be classified as lighthouses. As far as he’s been able to tell there’s never been a true lighthouse on the Rainy River – until now, that is.
The project, sponsored by the Chapple Heritage Committee, was completed and official lighting ceremony was held in September 2003. The light shines from dusk to dawn.
As the plaques show, donors to the project ‘bought a brick’ in honor of a friend or in memory of a loved one. The names go on small gold plaques on the model at the museum and are also etched in granite markers attached to the lighthouse. This an ongoing project and if you would like to purchase a brick ($100.00), you can contact the Chapple Heritage Committee at P. O. Box 54, Barwick, ON P0W 1A0 or the Chapple Township Office.