Province Ontario | ||
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Farran's Point is an underwater ghost town in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of Ontario's Lost Villages, which were permanently flooded by the creation of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1958.
Families and businesses in Farran's Point were moved to the new town of Ingleside before the seaway construction commenced. The small village is submerged under shallow water; portions of sidewalks and foundations can be seen when the water of the St. Lawrence River is low.
It is the birthplace of NHL hall of famer Cy Denneny.
History
The land which would become Farran’s Point was first settled when it was given as a Loyalist land grant to one Jacob Farrand, an officer in the King’s Royal Regiment of New York. Little is known about Farrand or his settlement; at some point before 1811 his sons, who had dropped the "D" in Farrand, established themselves here and were responsible for the village’s prosperity. In the early 1800s, several mills were established by Farrand’s son and members of the Kerr family within the village, including a grist mill, a carding mill, two sawmills and a shingle mill. Additionally, Farran built a general store and a power station near the rapids.
By the mid-1800s, the population of Farran’s Point had grown to around 300 individuals, and a post office had been established. In 1847, a small canal and lock was opened in the village to allow vessels to navigate the rapids in the village easily. Sometime in the 1850s, the Grand Trunk railway was built through the village and shortly after, a railway station and stationmaster’s dwelling were built in the community.
At the end of the nineteenth century, the village contained two hotels; the Baker Stage Coach Inn and a second hotel run by a man named Edward Denney. At this time, the village also boasted a bakery, a millinery shop, and a couple of taverns on top of the preexisting mills. Two general stores were in operation, as well as a blacksmith shop, tinsmith, livery stable and a marble works.
Farran’s Point was originally home to two churches; a Roman Catholic church called St. Francis of Assissi Church, and St. John’s Presbyterian Church. St. John’s church was established around the 1870s; this church was a donation from a C. C. Farran. Formerly, the building which would become the church was a stagecoach stop located west of the village which was moved into Farran’s Point. Originally, St. John’s served multiple denominations as it was the only church in the town.