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Located at the corner of Hwy. 21 and County Rd. 84 just west of Zurich is a park dedicated to one of the most romantic stories of Huron County.
The park is dedicated to the county’s most ambitious dreamer, Narcisse Cantin, whose vision for a city on this very spot was doomed by circumstances beyond his control.
A beautiful white statute which sits at the centre of the park was erected in 1972. Brother André of the Oratory of St. Joseph in Montreal had become a friend of Narcisse Cantin and visited the Lake Huron community between 1917 and 1922. Though his original request had been that a statue of St. Joseph be placed at the present location of the park, it was built in the church yard in 1955.
A stroll along the pathway in the small park offers visitors a glimpse into the lives of settlers around the turn of the 19th century.
Tablets tell the story of the first settlers who came to the area in the 1830s, their struggle to survive as farmers and fishers, the industry and transport developed through their efforts and a brief summary of Narcisse Cantin’s legacy.
Today, St. Joseph is still a small collection of homes along Hwy. 21, but Cantin’s vision was much grander.
The tale of Narcisse Cantin is told through newspaper clippings from the era held in the St. Joseph’s archives, housed at the Hessenland Inn farther north on Hwy 21. What began as an extraordinary dream to create a thriving port community ended in failure due to a single external decision.
When Cantin first viewed St. Joseph area along the shores of Lake Huron, south of Bayfield, he saw far more than water, beaches, trees and expanses of fertile land. He saw a prosperous future.
As Huron County was settled during the 1800s, most areas became the home of Germans, English, Irish or Scottish immigrants. However, St. Joseph was the destination of choice by French Canadian farmers from Quebec. St. Joseph became the centre of French Canadian Catholic culture in the region.
The Cantin legacy at St. Joseph began in those early days when Antoine settled first in Goderich in 1846 before moving south to the French district. There he purchased three farms, one for each son.
It was Antoine's grandson, Narcisse, whose entrepreneurial spirit surfaced by the time he was 17. He had begun buying cattle from local farmers and shipping them by rail from the Hensall station to Buffalo.
Narcisse Cantin moved to Buffalo after his marriage in 1889 and was soon intrigued by the possibilities which could be realized by a deep-water canal system linking the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.
The prosperity which had resulted for Buffalo because of the Erie Canal spurred Cantin to his dream for Lake Huron and St. Joseph.
Returning home in 1896, Cantin began to promote his idea of St. Joseph as the main port for his inland waterway. The canal would run from the Lake Huron community to Lake Erie, between Port Stanley and Port Talbot, the first phase in a system which would extend to the Atlantic.
Two years later, Cantin applied to the federal government for a charter to build his canal, under the name Huron and Erie Canal Company.
As well as cutting travel time between the lakes, Cantin envisioned hydro electric plants to supply power for communities and an electric train system.
His plan for St. Joseph was equally as grand with a port with docks and warehouses and a summer resort area. The focal point would be Park Avenue which would lead from the current location on Hwy 21 to the lakefront.
The shoreline would offer visitors a 12-acre park with beaches and playing areas for cricket and baseball.
When his proposal for the canal met with political opposition, Cantin bought all the land required for his community to ensure development, and began erecting his vision in 1897.
The infrastructure came first with the building of a sawmill which put out 10,000 board feet per year, a tile and brick yard, a novelty factory, organ factory and winery. By 1903, St. Joseph had become a community consisting of 30-40 houses, though it is thought most were owned by Cantin.
In the following years, Cantin created a spectacular building, the New Balmoral Hotel, a block-long, three-story structure which sat at what is now the corner of Hwy. 21 and Huron County Rd. 84 until it was torn down.
Completed in 1907, the Balmoral is said to have cost $250,000, and was to be Cantin's centrepiece for his resort. The hotel would serve the wealthy, offering yachting, fishing, bathing, golfing, tennis and riding while soothing cultured tastes in the evening with the "best domestic and imported wines and liquor".
However, the splendor of the Balmoral was never experienced.
Cantin had predicted for more than 10 years the opening of a rail line from Hensall north. However, when that did not happen, the major means of travel for his intended clients vanished.
In an effort to resuscitate his dream, Cantin tried to raise capital for an electric train line from Stratford, through Hensall, Zurich, St. Joseph, Grand Bend and Parkhill. The support was never found.
As his hotel stood empty, Cantin continued his fight for St Joseph. After many battles with members of parliament over construction of a government wharf in the community, it was finally built for $15,000.
It was rarely used and eventually destroyed by powerful lake storms.
Though his dreams continued to fail, Cantin pursued his canal system until his death in 1940, in his 70th year.
His bill to establish a charter for his canal building company reached second reading in the House of Commons many times but was always withdrawn before final reading.
The creation of the tiny, but overflowing museum was made possible thanks to the efforts of Napoleon Cantin, Narcisse’s grandson, who saved much of the family’s and community’s history.
PARK HONOURS NARCISSE CANTIN, A DREAMER OF HISTORIC PROPORTIONS
Located at the corner of Hwy. 21 and County Rd. 84 just west of Zurich is a park dedicated to one of the most romantic stories of Huron County.
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