Silver Islet in Thunder Bay District, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)
Silver Islet 1868
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 14, 2024
1. Silver Islet 1868 Marker
Off this shore lies Silver Islet, once a barren rock, measuring about eighty feet in diameter, where silver was discovered in 1868 by Thomas Macfarlane. The claim was purchased in 1870 by a company headed by A.H. Sibley, and one of the partners, W.B. Frue, was appointed mine captain. Frue waged a constant battle against the lake, which undermined extensive crib work used to bolster the restricted working space. Despite this problem and the difficulty of housing miners and transporting supplies in the isolated region, this famous mine produced $3,250,000 worth of silver ore before it was closed in 1884.
Erected by Ontario Archaeological and Historic Sites Board.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Natural Resources • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Canada, Ontario Heritage Trust series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1868.
Location. 48° 19.852′ N, 88° 49.19′ W. Marker is in Silver Islet, Ontario, in Thunder Bay District. It is on Provincial Highway 587 37.5 kilometers south of Trans-Canada Highway (Provincial Highway 11/17). The marker is located near the southwest corner of the Silver Islet
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in Northern Ontario and specifically in Northwest Ontario. It is also in Central Canada. Globally, it is in North America, in the Great North Woods, on Lake Superiors North Shore, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony, the Viceroyalty of New France, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, and Ruperts Land.
More about this marker. Both sides of this marker have the same English inscription.
Also see . . .
1. Silver Islet (Wikipedia).
Excerpt: A rich vein of pure silver was discovered on this small island in 1868 by the Montreal Mining Company. At that time, the island was approximately 540 square feet in size and only 8 foot above the waters of Lake Superior. In 1870, the site was developed by Alexander H. Sibley's Silver Islet Mining Company which built wooden breakwaters around the island to hold back the lake's waves and increased the island's area substantially with crushed rock. The islet was expanded to over 10 times its original size and a small mining town was built up on the shore nearby.(Submitted on November 29, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
After most of the purest ore from the original site had been removed, a second vein was discovered in 1878. By 1883, most of the highest quality silver had been extracted and the price of silver had declined. The final straw came when a shipment of coal did not arrive before the end of the shipping season. The pumps holding back the waters of the lake stopped and in early 1884 the islet's mineshafts, which had reached a depth of 384 metres, were flooded. They would never be de-watered, and the mine's underground operations would never be reopened.Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 14, 20242. Silver Islet 1868 MarkerLooking south toward Lake Superior. The marker is located near the southwest corner of the Silver Islet General Store.
2. Silver Islet (Lakehead University Library).
Excerpt: A small island at the tip of the Sibley Peninsula, the mine was built deep below the waterline and relied on breakwaters and pumps. Silver Islet was mined until 1884, when pumps failed, and the mine was flooded. The small community built on shore to support the mine is still inhabited. These photographs date from the time of the mine's operations, or a few decades afterwards.(Submitted on November 29, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
3. Silver Islet 150: Former mining village near Thunder Bay, Ont., celebrates milestone year (2018).
(by Matt Prokopchuk, CBC News) Excerpt: A mining expedition found silver on a small rock outcropping in Lake Superior near the Sleeping Giant in 1868 and mining started soon after. The Silver Islet community that housed hundreds of miners was built on the nearby shore and included family homes, a general store, hotel, jail and other amenities. Despite some changes over the decades, like the(Submitted on November 29, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)construction of an all-season road to the community, more and newer cottages and homes being built and the introduction of some telephone communication, the settlement still has a "small community feeling." Silver Islet is still not on the provincial power grid and doesn't have cellular reception. It is, however, one of several water accesses to the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area, although the large, government-owned dock is still closed.Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 14, 20243. Silver Islet General StoreThe marker is located near the southwest corner of the building (near bottom center of this photo).
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 14, 2024
4. Silver Islet Sign
The marker and general store are about one kilometer south of this sign on Ontario Highway 587.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 14, 2024
5. Silver Islet Marina & Harbour
Looking north through the marina and harbour. The Silver Islet Mine remains are out of sight located on the other side of Burnt Island, which is partially visible in the right background.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 30, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 29, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 210 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on November 29, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
