Joseph Keeler

Submitted by: Shelley Irving Hike Reference: 10 km Wicklow Beach

The area was originally known as Cat Hollow, a name coined by sailors. It was renamed Lakeport when a post office was established in Colborne. 

In 1793, Joseph Keeler, a United Empire Loyalist, settled in the area. The Keeler family went on to found the Village of Colborne.  A Presbyterian church was built on property set aside by Joseph Keeler and was opened in 1884 (it is still in use as a private dwelling.)

Archibald Campbell, a settler from Scotland, built a home and a wharf in Lakeport. Lumber and grain was shipped to the U.S. – coal was returned. 

J.A. Coyle was a notable figure in Lakeport. Records indicate a J.A. Coyle served as a sergeant in the Canadian Army during World War II. In 1982, he donated "The Approach to Keeler's Wharf" to Lakeport, commemorating the area's rich history of maritime activity. 

The plaque accompanying the installation reads: “Many brave souls went down to the sea in ships from here. A bard sang: Take me back/To old Cat Hollow/If I thought/That I could find/All the faces/ And the places/As I see them in my mind” — May God Bless”.

(Note: A bard is a storyteller, poet, or musician, whose song is meant to entertain, inform and preserve stories through music and poetry.)

This stone was donated to Lakeport by J.A. Coyle in 1982.

More reading: Two Old Guys Walking