The Canatara Park Binders

Foreward

In the year 2016, two amateur Sarnia historians made a stupendous discovery. It was the happy culmination of a lengthy search.
Retired school teacher Tom St. Amand (co-author with retired crown attorney Randy Evans of the brilliant Sarnia Street Project, detailing the origin of city street names) had been posed a question by the late Dean Hodgson: Was Tom aware of the existence of a voluminous and scholarly written history of Canatara Park that had come to be known as the Canatara Binders?

Two men are standing outdoors on a dirt path near a frozen river, surrounded by winter trees and dry vegetation. One is wearing a dark coat and jeans, while the other is in a white and blue jacket with a beanie and green pants. The setting is calm and overcast.

Ultimately discovered hidden away in a former information centre at the park – a building that had been abandoned for several years – the Canatara Binders have proven to be one of the most impressive works of pure historical research ever compiled in Sarnia.

Researched and written between 1990 and 1992 by Jack Fraser, a geographer and naturalist, and quite possibly the city’s leading expert on Lake Chipican, the Canatara Binders are a historical treasure trove for anyone intrigued by the fascinating history, lore, geology, flora and fauna of this most treasured gem of the Sarnia park system.

The people of Sarnia owe Jack Fraser an indelible debt of gratitude for his unstinting and unpaid gift of labour – an irreplaceable wealth of information about one of our city’s most beloved locales.

An enormous debt of appreciation is also owed to Jack’s colleague, former Polysar employee Jim Russell, who, over a four and a half year period, shouldered the laborious task of typing Jack’s handwritten research and helping to compile the work into the organized chapters presented here.

The Sarnia Historical Society takes great pride in presenting this colossal, valued and important work of historical research to the people of Sarnia.

Phil Egan
Editor-in-Chief, Sarnia Historical Society
December 16, 2022

Addendums

The addendum contains the supplemental notes mentioned in several chapters. They are available at Lambton County Archives in Wyoming.

he image shows a turquoise blue waterway with urban development along the shoreline. There's a prominent bridge structure spanning across the water, connecting two land masses. The landscape includes both developed areas with buildings and some less developed or open spaces.

Addendum

The Canatara Park Binders

Foreward

Volume 1 - Before the Park

Volume 2 - The Years 1921 - 1932

Volume 3 - The Years 1970 - 2000

Addendums