The Lake Simcoe–Lake Huron Purchase, registered as Crown Treaty Number Sixteen, was signed November 18, 1815 between the Ojibwa and the government of

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...

. It purchased a large portion of the lands between

Lake Simcoe Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called ''Ouentironk' ...

and Lake Huron, including all of the territory upon which the

Penetanguishene Road Penetanguishene , sometimes shortened to Penetang, is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeasterly tip of Georgian Bay. Incorporated on February 22, 1882, this bilingual (French and English) community has a populati ...

had recently been cut. The Penetanguishene Road was cut from

Kempenfelt Bay Kempenfelt Bay is a long bay that leads into the Canadian city of Barrie, Ontario. It is as deep as in places, and is connected to the larger Lake Simcoe. It is known for its ice fishing and legends of Kempenfelt Kelly, a Loch Ness monster ...

on Lake Simcoe to Penetanguishene Bay on Lake Huron at the end of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

for purposes of providing a military communication route. The land that it occupied was purchased in this treaty for the sum of £4,000 sterling. The territory included a quantity of land that later became parts of the townships of Oro, Vespra, Medonte, Flos, Tay and Tiny in

Simcoe County Simcoe County is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. The county is just north of the Greater Toronto Area, stretching from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. Simcoe County forms part of the ...

. The total area purchased was approximately . The signees of the treaty on the side of the British included Provincial Commissioners Elisha Beman and Henry Proctor, Captain W. M. Cochrane (commander of light infantry),

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Alexander Ferguson Alexander Ferguson (February 23, 1860 – March 3, 1925) was a farmer and politician in Ontario, Canada. He represented Cardwell from 1906 to 1908 and Simcoe South from 1908 to 1919 in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Conservative ...

of the

Indian Department The Indian Department was established in 1755 to oversee relations between the British Empire and the First Nations of North America. The imperial government ceded control of the Indian Department to the Province of Canada in 1860, thus setting ...

, interpreter William Gruet and James Givins on behalf of the Crown. The signees of the treaty on the side of the Chippeway Chiefs included Kinaybicoinini, Aisance and Misquuckkey. (Chief Misquuckkey in the treaty may be the same chief whom Muskoka was named after.) The text of the treaty is found in the holdings at the Simcoe County Archives in Barrie, Ontario, Canada.

References

* Hunter, Andrew F. A History of Simcoe County. Mackinaw Productions (Oshawa: 1998). {{DEFAULTSORT:Lake Simcoe-Lake Huron Purchase Treaties of Indigenous peoples in Canada First Nations history in Ontario 1815 treaties Treaties of Upper Canada 1815 in Upper Canada Lake Huron