Chaffeys Lock Cemetery and Clear Lake Cemetery

This 80+-year-old resort is for sale
Chaffey's residence in the early days,
then a boarding house in the 1890s,
men's fishing club in 1900s.
A family bought it in 1921 to run as a resort.

Rideau Lakes is a lovely part of the world. I am more familiar with Muskoka Lakes, especially Long Lake (2km long, 200' deep!) with deep, deep lakes, and the beautiful colour of the Precambrian Shield rocks. These lakes are much shallower, with many more bogs and wetlands. We live in the middle of a wetland ourselves!

The Rideau Canal system is a testament to the hard work of long-dead labourers. People who helped build what was then to be a major transportation system for military defense and weapons.
I cannot imagine the sweat, toil, and bug bites, as well as the malaria that plagued the workers. They lie, along with Mary Anne Chaffey and other lovely stones, in graves marked only by rocks.

Using expropriated mills along the way, such as Chaffeys Mill, this picturesque spot is a bit stop for many boaters to picnic. The canal opened in 1832, but we never did go to war with the Americans, and this route now connects Kingston to Ottawa.

The large resort is for sale, in this quiet little cottage town. With the Rideau Canal system now used by tourists, such resorts can be facing hard times. The Marina and General store are very busy as cottagers stock up and boat back to their places. We visited last month.

This is on the main street - leads to the cemetery.
Now we know!

Upon suggestion, I sought out the The Chaffeys Lock Cemetery and Memory Wall, but they were a bit of a mystery to me. The map shows it, but even I, a woman who taught Map & Globe Skills, was finding it difficult.  My mistake was the footpath, which is a bit vague. We asked at three places in town and finally, while the first two young ladies did not know, the third woman at the General Store, closer to our age, filled us in.



I thought, since were were passing by on the Rideau Lakes Arts Tour, I wanted to stop at the Clear Lake Cemetery. Bug-magnet hubby stayed in the car! The stones date from the time of settlement in the hard times of the 1800s. Much of the farm land has been sold for those seeking to build big!

Clear Lake Cemetery