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Ajax on the Lake

We like to check out other websites just as many of you do! Sometimes we find stories we like to check out that they received from their readers.

On the “Shadowland” website, we found a story called 'Ontario - Ajax - On the Lake' so we thought we would check it out. This is what The Shadowlands had to say...

”The area which is now a huge park and hiking trail used to belong to a farmer and his family a long time ago. He and his wife had children, and 4 of them died. There is a small gravesite at the edge of a river surrounded by dense trees and bushes. There is no groomed path to lead you to it except a small dirt path that has been made by humans walking back and forth to the gravesite. When you go in there when it's a REALLY hot day the grave site turns freezing cold and when you go in there on a REALLY cold winter day the grave site turns really hot. Also on the banks of the river you can also sometimes hear men screaming for help because their boats sunk and they have drowned in the rapids of the river.”

OUR FINDINGS

We found it! It's called the ‘Ajax Rotary Park’. We searched for two hours looking for a river coming off of Lake Ontario into this area and after reading all the plaques available, we discovered there was a creek named ‘Duffrin's Creek’. It happened to be right off of Ajax Rotary Park. We went down almost every little dirt path you could imagine that would lead us out to the water’s edge...only to find nothing.

The Paranormal Seekers want to go back at night and see if anyone from the other side would like to leave a message with the living. We did find a bit of a chill near the plaque where the sign was, but the fenced off area was normal temperature...warm. However, It could simply be cooler as it is under large trees and the shade would decrease the temperature and protect it in the Winter, but we did not find it cold in the Summer.

Then we went to the children's huge play area only to find a footpath marked off by the community that leads over a long walkway by bridge to the other side of the creek. Once on the other side we came to the first bend in the road and found a huge tree and the area up to it had been mowed. We noticed indentations in the ground, so we decided to look further. To our amazement we discovered a rock with a plaque on it saying Simcoe Point Pioneer Cemetery. This is what the stone read....

“Simcoe Point Pioneer Cemetery"

At Rotary Park in Ajax, Pickering Township, Ontario - on the lakefront where Duffin's Creek empties into Lake Ontario.

There were no gravestones in this cemetery. There is a rusty, fenced off area beside the creek with a gate, which is where the early settlers are believed to be buried. The following information is written on a plaque, which is just outside the fence:

The original crown grant for the lakefront property in the Township of Pickering, including this area known as Simcoe Point, was held by Major John Smith. He received the grant in recognition of his military services, but never lived in the township. At that time, Simcoe Point was covered in dense forest, rising in terraces from the lake.

Around 1800, the first white settler in Pickering, William Peak, settled here near the mouth of Duffin's Creek. He was a farmer, Indian trader and interpreter. Peak leased the land and later, in 1807, purchased 170 acres here. He and his wife, Margaret, cleared the land for farming and raised a family on Simcoe Point, as did their descendants. Located on their farm is this family cemetery, the final resting place for many of the Peak-Greenlaw family who had lived on Simcoe Point.

John Henry Greenlaw, orphaned on the voyage from Scotland, married William Peak's granddaughter, Mary Ann. In 1912, John Greenlaw built Simcoe House, a summer resort on Simcoe Point. His death shortly thereafter, however, resulted in the sale of the resort and lands. In the years to follow, Simcoe House prospered, drawing guests from all over the province. By the 1940's the resort had lost its prominence, and in the 1950's, it was destroyed by fire. The following is an incomplete record of those buried here. William and Margaret Peak, as well as two sons, William Jr. and Abraham, are believed to be buried here also.

Jane Peak (William Peak's daughter) - born circa 1798

James Peak (William Peak's son) - circa 1804 - died November 6, 1882

Ann Peak, nee Stoner - born circa 1809

John Peak - born circa 1826

James Peak, II - born circa 1829 - died February 23, 1871

Hannah Peak - born circa 1832

Nelson Peak - born circa 1837 - died April 6, 1875

Maria Peak - born circa 1837 - died March 21, 1848

Charity Peak - born 1839 - died August 15, 1856

Sarah Peak - born circa 1844

Mary Ann Greenlaw, nee Peak - born November 15, 1844 - died November 27, 1899

John Henry Greenlaw - born May 8, 1845 - died October 19, 1912

Annie Maggie Greenlaw - born May 21, 1866 - died June 27, 1875

Ida Louisa Greenlaw - born November 21, 1869 - died February 28, 1873

Emma-Jane Greenlaw - born November 1874 - died March 31, 1875

May Greenlaw, nee Barrett - born 1874 - died May 17, 1911

Miss Sparks, a neighbour

3 sailors - bodies washed up on shore

**If anyone reads this and knows the names of the sailors or any missing information we would love to hear about it**

We also located a link using the information we found on Shadowland’s website – (which you can locate from our Links page)

DIRECTIONS

Want to check it out for yourselves? We'll tell you how to get there…

From the 401, no matter what direction you’re coming from, take the Westney, go north to first main intersect and go east till you come to Harwood Ave., then proceed south.
South on Harwood to the very end.
Right on Lake Driveway West.
West on Lake Driveway West The Ajax Rotary Park is on your right.
Turn in and park your car where ever you want. Go to the building in the middle of the Children's play area.

To the right of the children's area is a path leading over the creek by bridge...take that path. Follow the path to the first bend off of the bridge. Walk towards the big tree on your right and you will find the plaque. YOUR THERE!