Resort - History
The Early Days of Brennan Harbour
Brennan Harbour wasn't always the resort you see today. In the early 1900s there were four sawmills in the area and Brennan Harbour was one of them.
In the logging hayday, camps from as far north as Timmins floated logs down the Spanish River. The logs were boomed at the mouth of the Spanish and, as needed, floated into our bay to the mill where they were processed for transportation.
During that time the town of Spanish wasn't so quiet. With 3,000 people, a movie theatre, and four grocery stores, it rivalled many of the surrounding towns.
It wasn't until around 1940 that Brennan Harbour became a fishing camp. Since then many changes have made it into the beautiful resort that it s today.
Logging Legacy
Although Brennan Harbour has grown considerably since the early days, we haven't totally let go of our logging roots. Each year as the water turns over in the spring, submerged logs from long ago float up into our bay. We've used these logs for many thing, including:
- to build the extension on cabin 8
- for the stairs in the lodge that connect the dining room and kitchen
- to extend and repair the dock
- to frame the renovation to cabin 4
Fishing enthusiasts will be pleased to know that the remains of the boom, boom camp, have made a great habitat for Walleye (pickerel).
The Past Meets the Present
In 1938 the last commercial three masted schooner, JT Wing, sailed into our bay. It was loaded up with pulp wood to take back to the paper mill in Green Bay, Michigan. The schooner had a few passengers and one, Henry Barkhausen, couldn't pass up the opportunity sail aboard. With thanks to the modern convenience of the internet, we had the wonderful pleasure of meeting the 93 year old Henry and his lovely wife Alice in July 2008 and seeing them again in 2009.
In August 2008 we also had the pleasure of meeting the Shupe family. Terry first visited the Harbour with his father and brothers in the 1940s when the camp first opened. Terry's wife found the Harbour on the internet and as a birthday gift, gave Terry a week's stay with his family.
