Settler of township lots: Lot 8, Conc. 10, Stanhope

Location: Map point is the approximate location within this 100 acre lot on Shangri La Road west of Hwy 35 north of Halls Lake

Land acquisition:

• 1876 Lands Liable to Taxation: Township of Stanhope Patent Register - 100 acres to John Sullivan (not in AH Family Tree).
• 1921 100 acres Patent from The Crown. Ontario Land Parcel Register - Stanhope (Image 82).

Other land:

• Lot 10, Conc. 7, Stanhope: 1920 from James Cooper (his father) for $200. Ontario Land Parcel Register - Stanhope (Image 52).

Dates of residency:

• 1903 Business Directory, Stanhope: Wm Cooper, Boskung, Lot 9, Conc. 8 which at that date was owned by his father-in-law, James Welch. Ontario Land Parcel Register - Stanhope (Image 34)
• 1911 Stanhope Post Office List: W. J. Cooper, Halls Lake at Lot 8, Conc. 10
• 1918 Stanhope Post Office List: W. J. Cooper, Halls Lake at Lot 8, Conc. 10
• 1928 Stanhope Voters List: JW J & Amy Cooper at Lots 8, 13, 10, 9, 11, Conc. 10, 11, 9, 8

Interesting facts:

James Cooper secured the west shore of Halls Lake and built a magnificent stone home overlooking the entire lake. The store home still stands, occupied, over 100 years later. Source: Halls Lake, It’s History, Geography, Mythology and Genealogy by Dave Bulford, 2001 pg 9

In his 1966 Collection of Sketches, "The Tourist Industry", Clayton Rogers tells the story of the start of the tourist industry in Stanhope Township: "A great many folk summered at Hillcrest Lodge situated in a lovely setting on a hill overlooking Halls Lake and operated successfully for a good many years by Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Cooper."

"Most of the cottagers were once tourists”… except for Garth Mole’s family. Source: Halls & Hawk Lake POA website -           https://www.hallshawklakes.ca/2016/12/3072/
Garth Mole is so much a “local” of the Hawk and Hall’s Lake area that he goes back three generations. The family were some of the first property owners in the area. His great grandfather purchased, sight-unseen, 1500 acres of land for $1500.00. This property included a mile of shoreline on Hall’s Lake. His great-grandmother Sarah Welch was born in the area in 1870. This is where she raised her five children; Fred, Art, Amy, Ethel and Minnie in the late 1800’s. Times were certainly much tougher then. Sarah died in the area in 1947.

Garth’s family recognizes that his great grandmother was full of vim and vigour, just like his grandmother Amy (1889-1965) who followed. It’s clear one needed to be strong and tenacious to help the family survive in order to stay in the area. In fact Garth’s Uncle Art ran the Esso station in Hall’s Lake until about 1958. Some of you may remember it was located next to Club 35 on Highway 35.

Garth’s grandmother Amy Welch Gartshore Cooper and her husband were the original owners of Hillcrest Resort in Hall’s Lake, which included the stone lodge on the east side of Highway 35 as well as the building across the road that is now “Sage”. Hillcrest Resort was built in the early 1930’s at the time when Highway 35 was being constructed. All the highway workers stayed at Hillcrest while they worked on the new Highway 35.

Preceding landowner: The Crown

Succeeding landowner: 1967 William Gartshore, her son

Link to Settlers of Algonquin Highlands family tree

• William James Cooper, b. 6 Jan 1885, Stanhope, d. 1972  (Age 86 years)
  Parents:
  • James Cooper, b. 11 Sep 1849,England d. 24 Jan 1928, Minden, (Age 78 years)
  • Emma Wyatt, b. Abt 1853, England d. 17 May 1891, Haliburton, (Age ~ 38 years)
• Amy Welch, b. 24 Feb 1889, Anson, d. 06 Jun 1965  (Age 76 years)
  Parents:
  • James Welch, b. 17 Jun 1853, England d. 20 May 1935, Stanhope, (Age 81 years)
  • Sarah Jane Grace Jones, b. 20 Feb 1862, Ontario, d. 8 Aug 1946, Stanhope, (Age 84 years)
  - First Husband: William Milton Gartshore, b. Aug 1886, Ontario, d. 30 Apr 1919, Stanhope, (Age ~ 32 years)
  - Children with William Milton Gartshore:
  1. Laura Minnie Gartshore, b. 31 Oct 1909, Haliburton, d. 1984  (Age 74 years)
  2. William Arthur Gartshore, b. 30 Jun 1911, Stanhope, d. 29 Apr 1989  (Age 77 years)