Place names often give clues to the past. For Horseshoe and Crotch Lakes, See Drive holds those clues.
The lakes were once part of a settlement called Mount Vale, complete with a cheese factory that was located behind the mailboxes on Horseshoe Lane. Children went to a school on Pit Road.
John Dean and his wife Ethel (See) were granted the property around the lakes from the Crown in 1925…approx 230 acres plus approx 170 acres of lake. In the mid-forties, their nephews J.W. See and C.M. See purchased the property. Their father (Ethel See’s brother) had the farm across the bay from the boat launch which was established in the 1800’s. He sold the right of way for Winding Trail in the mid sixties to them to access their property on that side of the bay.
They were considering selling the lakes in the mid sixties. When the province changed the legislation to charge property taxes based on shoreline frontage (approx seven miles on the two lakes) they decided to sell. The province rescinded the legislation but the property was sold to Lakecrest Summer Properties. At that time, there were 13 cottages (See’s Camp) and one privately owned cottage already on the lake. These are near the bridge, along the south shore and in the bay where the boat launch is
Lakecrest hired a real estate firm (Shoreline) to market the lots which had been surveyed in 1969. The 13 cottages were sold separately. Cottages sprung up on the more accessible lots in the following years
The See family connection continues to today, with J.W’s children Bill, Pat and Linda and C.M’s son John all owning property on the lakes.