Captivating Galetta: perfect for a COVID getaway

The CN Tower. The Mississippi River. For a village the size of Galetta, those are some big-name attractions that we enjoyed every day during our COVID-inspired 14-day retreat after returning home to Canada from Argentina.

We stayed in a friend’s empty home in the quiet village near Arnprior, overlooking the churning waterfall and rapids next on the Mississippi River. It’s not the mighty American waterway of Mark Twain renown but the Canadian version that starts in Mackavoy Lake, north of Bon Echo Provincial Park, and flows eastward through Carleton Place and Pakenham to empty into the Ottawa River just north of Galetta.

As our world shrank due to COVID, we had the perfect chance for a micro-adventure. Galetta’s history, discovered via Google, captivated me, especially as I read between the lines. There must have been some pretty heated rivalries and conflicts back in the day!

The roar of churning water can be heard from afar, but an unobstructed close-up view of the waterfall and rapids (with the hydro dam on the right) is hard to find without trespassing on private property. Early spring lets you peek through the sumacs.

The Mississippi River, with its 20-foot waterfall and rapids, is Galetta’s most eye-catching feature for visitors. Those same watery features inspired the early settlers too, although they envisioned power, mills and money rather than lovely views, photographs or paintings. It’s doubtful the village would have evolved without that rocky stretch of white water.

In 1823, the first settlers arrived in the area. James Hubbell leased the land around the waterfall and rapids, resulting in the village’s first name: Hubbell’s Falls. But 20 years later, he’d done nothing to harness the water power, so he sold the water rights to James Steen, according to the Galetta Community Association.

I found this photo of the Galetta Woolen Mill and Power Plant on the Galetta Community Association website, which used it from Beyond Our Memory by the Fitzroy Township Historical Society. You can see the waterfall on the left. All the rocks in the foreground are under water in the spring, but can be seen later in the summer.

“James Steen built a mill at the falls and the area was renamed Steen’s Falls,” the association said. “Hubbell later re-acquired the rights but subsequently re-sold those rights to James Galetti Whyte who began woolen manufacturing. The village name was changed to Galetta (after Whyte’s mother’s name).”

Can you imagine the heated discussions, name-calling and recriminations that likely accompanied all those name changes and flip-flops of water rights? How did Hubbell re-acquire those rights? Small villages are usually known for their friendliness and help-thy-neighbour ethos, but they can also cover up hotbeds of jealousies and rivalries, when everyone knows everyone else’s business.

The association said that, in the 1870s, “both Galetta and Mohrs Corner were competing for recognition as the centre of the local area.” Mohr’s Corner, just south of Galetta, had the town hall and post office. But Galetta had a store, grist mill, woolen mill, carding and spinning mill, shingle mill, cooperage, and potash works. Galetta upped the ante considerably in 1893 when the Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway went through it. But Galetta finally won the competition when the post office moved to Galetta and the town hall moved to Kinburn. That town hall was no doubt the scene of many shouting matches, not to mention confusion over all those men named James.

The Galetta Side Road, running east (bottom left) to west (top right), is the main road through Galetta, offering an impressive view of the falls and rapids from the bridge. Mohr’s Road runs north to south, along the river and across the island. Photo from the Galetta Community Association website.

During our COVID retreat, we walked and cycled south several times from the village along Mohr’s Road. (Walks were allowed when we first started; the isolation rules changed later. We encountered practically no one; the closest we came was 50 feet). The road leads you under a railway bridge, then over what the locals call the Old Stone Bridge (since rebuilt) onto the low-lying, flood-prone island where the potash works presumably was. Crossing a bridge off the island, the road winds up a hill, where we discovered Mohr’s Corner. We stood for a while, taking in the wide view back over the village and river.

Known variously as Mohr’s Corner, Mohr Corners or Mohr’s Corners, the crossroads once boasted 100 people, who used the school, township hall, church, two stores, cooperage, the post office and many homes. In the 1850s, Charles Mohr ran the Fitzroy Hotel – a stopover for stagecoach passengers. A popular fall fair ran for years, first in James Riddell’s biggest field, and later at permanent fairgrounds. (Yes, another James.)  

Today, a red brick house, which used to be the school, and a couple of homes and barns are all that’s left of Galetta’s former competitor.

Partway between Galetta and Mohr’s Corner, we climbed up a big rock to look north back over the swollen Mississippi River.

The few times that we did pass anyone on our walks, on opposite sides of the road, they waved and called “Hello.” The whole area is a friendly place – no competitive feelings now, that we saw – like so many small towns and villages are in most countries we’ve visited.

Galetta’s official population is listed as 545, but that takes in the nearby settlements of Vydon Acres, Marshall Bay and Mohr’s Corner, so I would guess the village itself is maybe 150 souls.

When you drive through Galetta, you might well do a double-take when you see what the Wallace family features on its front lawn. A model of the CN tower has stood there for decades, although Toronto City Hall has since been removed.

And in the Wallaces’ side garden are a dozen models of village buildings, with a railway track winding along past the model railway station. We often stopped to study the models and figure out where the actual buildings are in the village.

The Wallaces’ side garden features a model (see main photo at the start) of the former Anglican church, now a private home.

Galetta’s glory days as a commercial centre have passed. All those mills have long closed, although two millstones are displayed with a historical plaque in Russell Park. Retirees and commuter families now make use of the park facilities: playground, huge grassy area, skating rink, lawn bowling greens and the Galetta Community Centre. We recalled attending a strawberry social and a post-funeral reception there with our friends many decades ago. It’s still the focus for many activities – at least once COVID recedes.

Galetta Livestock Sales, established in 1943, is housed in a huge barn at the west end of Galetta, and seems to have been in operation until just recently. A friend remembers attending livestock sales with her father when she was small. There’s not much auction action now. Rusting trucks decorate the parking lot.

The hydro station at the falls, now owned by TransAlta, still supplies electricity, as it has done since 1907. That’s when the Galetta Electric Light Company started sending electricity to Arnprior, but not to Galetta until 1914 when the Kingdon Lead Mine, a few kilometres away, needed power. (I imagine the villagers were frustrated at that delay!)

I was keen to walk around the old ghost town of Kingdon Mine, but it’s now fenced off. Darn. Since I tend to follow rules, we didn’t trespass but instead found an online video tour by Capital Gems (a group that explores Ottawa-area abandoned mines, buildings and caves). The mine lands, located in the Vydon Acres area east of Galetta, now feature crumbling cement foundations, rusted machinery and the vast, white tailings that can still be seen on Google Earth.

The big white area near the top is the Kingdon Lead Mine tailings. A Galetta friend said many villagers covered their driveways with the tailings, until they realized there was too much lead left in them. (The white area near the bottom is a sand and gravel pit.)

Several mining attempts were made and abandoned before the lead mine was re-activated during the First World War. From 1914 until it closed in 1931, some 60 million pounds of lead were extracted. “Kingdon Mine became the largest lead mine and smelter in Canada,” said Capital Gems. “At its peak, the mine employed 600 people and 250 families lived in the Village of Kingdon Mines.”

Once our 14-day isolation came to an end, we cycled from Galetta into Vydon Acres, past the hydro corridor that leads to the tailings and on down the curving road towards Morris Island Conservation Area. It was closed due to COVID, but we had already hiked and snowshoed through that beautiful forest countless times with our friends and their dogs. The many nature trails loop through mixed woodlands and past wetlands. Every so often, the trees open up on a point of land so you can see the great Ottawa River rushing by. It’s definitely a place to revisit once it re-opens.

My grandfather would have called Galetta a “poke and plumb town” – by the time you poke your head out the car window, you’re plumb out of town. But dig below the size and peaceful demeanor, especially when your world shrinks, and you’ll uncover delightful details. I know we did.  

The powerful Mississippi River, as it comes over the falls past the hydro station (on the right) and through the rapids towards the bridge, is quite swollen in early spring. 
From the bridge, you can see the pine-lined Mississippi River heading north past smaller rapids to join the Ottawa River.
World size is relative. We went from exploring South America to examining the beautiful mosses, lichens and grasses on a rock in a field. Both are beautiful in their own ways and have lessons to teach.

12 Comments on “Captivating Galetta: perfect for a COVID getaway”

  1. What a treat to be reading you again, Kathryn! I’ve just caught up on everything since the pandemic began, and am so enjoying “hearing your voice” again. Bravo for finding a way to continue your adventure in spite of everything. Wishing you and your loved ones continued good health!

    1. Merci, Michèle!! So great to hear from you. I think of all of you every day, imagining how overwhelmed you must be at work. I hope you’re keeping your head above water and staying healthy.

  2. Kathryn,
    You found out more about Galetta in 2 weeks than I have in over 35 years living in the area. I guess once a reporter, always a reporter.
    Stay safe,
    Arthur

  3. Loved your historical review of Galetta. I really enjoyed the short video of the river. Thanks!

    Can you please post a blog about some detail of your Portuguese Camino that you were too busy to go into great detail earlier? I am looking for some travel adventure/escape from our isolation and forced travel ban(s). David is also planning to walk the Camino once the travel bans are lifted.

    Thanks,

    Veronica

    1. Thanks, Veronica. Yes, I’m planning to revisit our Portugal travels and would be happy to fill in some of the gaps about the Camino. Thanks for the idea. Walking the Camino will be wonderful…once the blisters have healed!

  4. So fun to read this, Kathryn. As you know, I’ve been thinking of you! I went to Galetta many times with my father on his trip to the livestock sales there. I never took the time to appreciate the view of the river when I was there though. I think I’ll have to make a trip.

  5. Nice read with my morning coffee!
    Glad you are still writing and exploring.
    To see the world in a grain of sand or in a patch of Galetta moss.
    Stay healthy
    Val

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