Thunder Bay Unseen

Superior History

Vickers Park

Vickers Park was a gift from Catherine Mary Vickers to the City of Fort William in 1902 in memory of her husband John Vickers. It was that city's first city park. It features Victorian Landscaping, reminding one of an English Garden. This landscaping was not upkept for many years but Thunder Bay's Parks division is in the midst of a restoration plan in order to restore this piece of Thunder Bay's history.

This arch was added to the park in 1918

Fort William

In aboriginal times the Kaministikwia river was an important
link between the Great Lakes and the northwest, and from
the late 17th century French posts here at its mouth served as
bases for the penetration of the interior. Between 1804 and
1821 this was the depot from which the North West Company
tapped the rich fur resources of half a continent. In 1875 con-
struction was begun for the lake terminus of the Canadian
Pacific Railway, and in 1883 the first grain from the prairies
reached here for trans-shipment to the east. In 1905 a second
transcontinental line, the Grand Trunk Pacific, was begun
from here.

At each of the four corners of the park lie great stones, painted white, and inscribed with the names of some of Fort William's prominent citizens at the time of the donation. Local legend has it that the terms of the donation stated that these stones must remain at each corner or the property would revert back to the Vickers Family.

John Joseph Vickers was an early settler in Fort William and president of both the Jack Fish Mining Company and the Northwestern Express Company. He was the husband of Catherine Mary Vickers

John McKellar was the first mayor of the City of Fort William.

Catherine Mary Vickers was the daughter of Susannah Strickland Moodie and J. Weddeburn Dunbar Moodie. Susannah Moodie was a childrens author best know for her book Roughing It In The Bush.

John McIntyre was in charge of the Hudson's Bay Company post at Fort William.

In keeping with the Classic English feeling there are no paved pathways in the entire park. There is a main path of crushed stone circuiting the park and a number of minor dirt paths worn into the dirt.

The park is lit with specialty lights on the periphery and along only the main path within the park. This has kept major excavations, which might damage the roots of the park's massive trees, to a minimum.

Thunder Bay's Parks division maintaings a small work facility in the park for storage of the equipment used in the park's upkeep. The building also houses washroom facilities that are open to the public in the summer.

The building is in a style reminiscent of Roosevelt-era National Park constructions from the United States. It evokes a feeling of being in a wild place - or at least one not quite tamed by man.

In the summer the city's Parks department uses Vickers Park for a whole slate of planned events including the ever-popular Teddy Bear's Picnic.

The forestry industry has had a large hand in growing both of the cities at the Lakehead. They have also contributed a lot to many charities in the city and donated many items to enhance local parks.
A common donation as of late is that of a tree commemorating the company's reforestation efforts.
At Vickers Park the donated tree comes from Abitibi-Price who, at one time, operated three separate mills in the two cities.

Tree Planted
by
The Honourable Lynn McLeod
and
Jack Adderley
in 1990 to Commemorate
The 100 Millionth Tree Planted
by
Abitibi-Prince Inc. In Ontario

The commemorative tree is a Black Spruce, native to the region, and used extensively by Abitibi-Price in its reforestation efforts.

Brunswick Street lies on the western edge of the park and is named for the Royal House of Brunswick, now known as Hanover, in Germany.

On the eastern edge of the park lies Selkirk Street which is named for the Earl of Selkirk, specifically the 5th - Thomas Douglas. He was the founder of the Red River Colony and led the capture of Fort William on August 12th, 1816. The street was known as Arlington Street prior to 1911, when it was changed by a Fort William By-Law.

On the Brunswick Street side of the park can be found another welcome sign in a style used by the city of Thunder Bay. These signs can be found at some of the city's older parks as their use seems to have been discontinued.

Unlike the Brunwick Street side of Vickers Park, the Selkirk side is nicely landscaped with plenty of parking, curbing and a broad sidewalk. Selkirk street also sports a median separating the north and south-bound traffic. The park's eastern white corner stones can be found along this median.

One of the most consistantly popular parts of Vickers Park is its extensive playground equipment. Apart from the requisite swings and ubiquitous modern playground the signature piece of this park is this fibre-glass turtle. It has stood in its same place in the park since I was a child and probably much longer.

Update: As of the Spring of 2008 the turtle is no longer a part of the Vickers Park Play Equipment

A typical view into the park - The immense number of trees help to conceal the outside world from people inside the park. Vicker's Park truly is an urban forest maintained for the people of Thunder Bay

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Vickers Park