Rouge Park - Our Little Piece of Heaven!

Our family loves to go for nature walks at Rouge Park, we end up there a few times each month.  Summer or winter, rain or shine, it doesn’t stop us.  The Rouge is our little getaway, our escape into complete ruralness just ten minutes from our suburban home.  It’s our little piece of heaven.

Starbucks in hand, we enter just south of Steeles Avenue off Reesor Road, and begin our day's adventure along the white marker hiking trails.  Sometimes our feet take us to the east, pausing in the big field where we take a few moments to inhale its beauty before we continue around the field of bird houses and up the hill that overlooks Rouge River.  At the top of the hill is a lookout where my daughters love to sit, binoculars ready, while we search for the black-capped chickadees chirping their songs and watch the river winding below.  It is a peaceful, soul-soothing place.

(c) Sandra McIntyre

Other times we choose the path by the river, with its lush indigenous flora, canopy of trees and the Rouge River rushing past.  It is this path that takes us by the almost hidden six-step concrete staircase that leads to nowhere, which gave us a little taste of a mystery we had to unravel.

So I did my research.

In the 1800’s, with the building of Milne Dam, the shoreline along this stretch of the Rouge River became home to many families.  A schoolhouse was built close by in 1872 and a Methodist church a few years later.  The Rouge River was home to many, full of families and life. 

On Friday October 15, 1954 that all changed.  

On that date, Hurricane Hazel overtook the East Coast.  Though we were only hit with its aftermath, it caused more heartache and destruction than any hurricane before.  Our little Rouge River rose fourteen feet above its normal height, seeping through foundations of concrete and destroying not only the cottages, but the lives of the families that lived there.

After Hurricane Hazel devastated the Rouge, the government bought up the land and forced the residents to uproot their lives and move in the interest of safety. 

Over time, some of the cottages were removed, some were taken over by nature, but a few pieces here and there still remain of the original settlement.

I have read there are other hidden reminders of pre-Hazel life throughout the vast park.  There is a single smokestack in the middle of the forest, an old car, and other abandoned houses and cottages, all reminders that Rouge Park was once home to more than just the flora and fauna.  My family will try to find these snippits of history as we continue our nature walks.

So now when we take our walks, we remember the people who lost their homes along Rouge River and, in turn, lost their little piece of heaven. 

If you would like more information about Rouge Park, including organized activities, events and walks, please visit the official website:  www.rougepark.com