History Behind the Chapple Township

100 Years Ago in Chapple

The year is 1911 and W.J. Anderon is still Reeve of Chapple.

Mr. Fred Cousins who had come as a student pastor to Barwick in 1906 was instrumental in the building of the St. Paul's Anglican Church in the Village of Barwick. He finished his four years at St. John's College in Winnipeg and was ordained on August 13, 1911 when he returned to Barwick in October to Pastor the church. Four years later he would build a home in Barwick and move to the Village where he stayed until 1918. His home was in more recent years owned by Curt and Iris Halvorsen and now lived in by their granddaughter Sarah.

St. John's Anglican Church before restoration

The church as built on property donated by George Cawston. Photo was taken in 1977 before it's restoration in 1992 as St. Paul's Heritage Place.

In 1911/12 Bob McGauley Sr. had the first car in the Village. (Bob McGauley family)

Shenston #5 school was built on the site of the present Sturgeon Creek School in 1902-03. This school photo from 1911 includes children from some of the earliest settler families.

Back Row: Leila Clink, Anna Hadley, Lea Kilpatrick, Miss Margaret Matheson (teacher), Mae Leach, Maggie Jackson.

Second Row from Back: Gladys Kilpatrick, Harry Jackson, Hazel Hadley. Kneeling: Wes Leach, Floyd Clink, Lucy Jackson, Barney Barnhart.

Front Row: Gracie Wilson, Ben Hadley, Bill Both, Herb Both.

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.