20th Century History:  Gold Rush!

In 1925 four men had been camping on Red Lake since the beginning of the summer. They had scoured the shore line without success. They had re-examined the silver claims staked in 1922 and decided the deposits were meager and spotty.  They had searched for gold without success and had become discouraged and decided to move across country to Woman Lake, where the same interesting rock structures existed, when Lorne Howey and his party arrived from Eastern Ontario.

Lorne had been informed of possible rich mineral deposits on Red Lake and had come with two friends and his brother, Ray, to investigate.  They set up camp at the bottom of Burnt Bay (now Howey Bay), and, after several weeks of exploring, had come to the same disappointing conclusion. They would have left the district, but were held up by weather, when Lorne Howey made a breath-taking discovery.  Not far from their camp, a vein of gold-bearing rock existed.  Chipping off a piece of quartz, he found free gold. The excitement in camp was unbelievable. The find appeared to be fairly extensive and his party busily staked claims to cover the area.

By Christmas, news of the gold discovery on Red Lake had leaked out into the national press, exciting men from far and near to seek fortune in a gold mine. The last Gold Rush in Canada had begun.

From the beginning of January, 1926, men from across the continent were converging on Red Lake.  Some came equipped in fur-lined parkas, with sleighs and tents and even dog teams; others clad in cotton suits and city shoes carried a meager suitcase. Men were piled together in every available train.  A brave camaraderie sprang up among the travelers, encouraged by the liquor jugs of doubtful vintage; for this was the age of prohibition. They celebrated together their dream of a pot of gold.

As they unloaded in Hudson onto the snow covered platform, stark reality would have hit them. The little town was frozen in the darkness of a winter night.  Ahead lay a journey of over 150 miles into ice, snow and sub-zero temperatures.

The last ‘Great Gold Rush’ had started.