OFFICIAL
TAY HERITAGE CACHE

We have hidden geocaches all around Tay Township that give inside information on the history of our community. We call them Tay Heritage Caches. Hopefully you can find all of our caches and learn more about our unique heritage. Good luck and have fun!

Waubaushene (the Land of the Rocky Marsh in First Nations) is a charming little town of several hundred full-time and cottage residents on the south eastern shore of Georgian Bay. The town's location at the outlets of the Severn River and Matchedash Bay has been the key factor in its history. These waterways were instrumental for exploration and trade. Later the area became a major collection point for lumber shipments to southern and overseas markets. Our history stretches back many centuries before the onset of european development and industry. Then, some 20,000 - 30,000 First Nation peoples, primarily the Huron Wendat, farmed and trapped the area to the West and South of their villages on local rivers. One example is the site, later named St Ignace II, on the Sturgeon River off nearby Rosemount Road. Trade with neighbouring villages and tribes followed well-established bay and river routes, as well as overland trails.

In 1610 the first European in the area, Étienne Brulé, arrived from Quebec to explore the area and to develop fur trade relations with the Wendat.  He was followed in 1615 by the governor of Quebec, Samuel de Champlain, who came to lead the Wendat in a raid against the Iroquois to the south of Lake Ontario.

The year 1615 also saw the advent of Roman Catholic missionaries living in and visiting the native villages, culminating in the establishment of a headquarters at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons on the Wye River in 1639. War with the Iroquois led to the destruction of the Huron nation and the French mission in 1649.

Ojibwa and other native peoples next moved into the area, followed by European fur traders establishing posts by the water. One, George Cowan, married an Ojibwa woman, and operated a trading post on the east side of Matchedash Bay from 1778 until his death in 1804. In 1798 the Ojibwa sold much of the land in present-day Tay and Tiny Townships to the government.

This area is rich in Heritage and I encourage you to check out the rest of the Township's heritage and geocache sites!