Algonquin Provincial Park history · History of Algonquin Provincial Park
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History of Algonquin Provincial Park
History of Algonquin Provincial Park
Algonquin Park was formed in 1893. Its original primary purpose was as a timber reserve designed to keep forest-clearing settlers out of valuable timber lands. Preservation was only a secondary purpose. In 1896, lumber baron J.R. Booth completed the Ottawa, Arnpriror & Parry Sound railway (OA & PS) through the southern portion of the park. Though designed to haul timber logs out of the park, it allowed the vast expanse of Algonquin to be opened up for tourism. Highway 60 was completed in 1933, further opening the Park to visitors. The OA & PS railway was abandoned in 1947; logging was now becoming a tertiary purpose of the park.
Throughout the 1960s, the number of visitors to the park increased exponentially. Organized campgrounds were created and/or expanded. Today, Algonquin is primarily a nature reserve, although logging, including limited clearcutting, continues.
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Algonquin Provincial Park Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.