Chapman's Landing is steeped in history and natural beauty. The farm is situated on the South River in rural Nipissing Township. The South River flows into Lake Nipissing approximately 5 kilometers north. We have good fishing, canoeing, and kayaking, boating, swimming and clean water. There is a rich diversity of fish and mammal species and an abundance of bird life found on the river including the much loved Great Blue Heron.

Chapman's Chutes

This is the last waterfall on the South River between Nipissing village and Lake Nipissing. All houses and camps on the river north of Chapman's Chutes have water access to the lake. The Ministry of Natural Resources has been carrying out a fish study at the falls with sturgeon, some of them reported to be well over 100 years old and also quite giant with at least one measuring 14 feet!

The founder of our property, James Chapman arrived in Nipissing by canoe from Pembroke in 1862. He and a friend were looking for land suitable for settlement. North Bay had not yet come into existence. Around 1869 James Chapman and his wife, Phoebe Edwards built their first house and barn at the top of the chutes. The family farmed and he carried the mail by canoe, dog team and later horse on a route stretching 200 miles between the villages of Magnetewan and Mattawa! The Chapman Valley and Chapman Township near Magnetewan are named after the family. He and Phoebe are among the pioneers buried in the Nipissing village cemetery and you can find out more about the pioneer families in the Nipissing museum.

This Chapman House and Barn

The first part of the brick farmhouse operating as Chapman's Landing Cooking Studio was built during the summer of 1913 by Herb Chapman, son of Phoebe and James. At the time most area residents were living in log cabins and still had log barns. An additional wing (today's kitchen and dining room) was added in 1926. The house was considered elegant for its time and was featured in a social column in the North Bay Nugget. The barn was built in 1918 by Herb and the famous area barn builders Casper and Charlie Hummel. Herb became known as the "Potato King" and won numerous awards for his giant potatoes at the Royal Agricultural Fair held in Toronto each fall. An award in the local museum documents how one year he grew 694 bushels of potatoes on one acre of land.

Chapman's Landing

Originally supplies were brought into area from Pembroke by canoe over the Champlain Trail and up the South River. Nipissing village pre-dates highways 17 and 11 and most supplies for Sturgeon Falls and locations on the north side of the lake were shipped in from Chapman's Landing. Around 1875 a colonization road was completed which connected tiny Nipissing village to Rosseau (near Huntsville) in the south and this created road travel and another route for shipment of supplies. Furthermore, in 1886 a railway connected Gravenhurst to Callander, cutting out Nipissing village from its main route and the life of the village as a key port began to fade. Today the landing is the municipal boat launch, public dock and favourite swimming hole for village children.

Steamships on the South River

The "SS Inter-ocean" was a 103 foot freight and passenger steamship built in Nipissing village from oak timbers cut on the Bear Creek in 1881. It was the first of a long line of passenger ships and tugs that plied Lake Nipissing and helped make Nipissing village the busiest spot on the lake. There are no known pictures in existence of her. As home port Nipissing serviced the shores and harbours of the big lake, especially Sturgeon Falls and Callander. The SS Inter-ocean, the Northern Belle, the tug known as the Sparrow and other steamships turned around in the basin at Chapman's Chutes and picked up passengers and freight next at Chapman's Landing on their way back to Lake Nipissing.

Other Historical Resources:

Visit www.PastForward.ca  where you will find links to web versions of columns published by the North Bay Nugget, written by Doug Mackey, who has carried out a variety of heritage projects.