Heaslip

In 1899 the first settlers began to arrive in Evanturel Township. Their journey was no different than any other pioneer migration. It was long, arduous and involved various means of transportation.

The small hamlet of Heaslip was the nearest railhead to the new gold fields. A trail from Heaslip joined the Wilson Trail, which left Tomstown and led straight to the southern end of Larder Lake located 50 kilometres north. For a year and a half prospectors and promoters departed from the siding and station at Heaslip station. Freighters, on the other hand, tried in vain to send equipment and machinery to the new mines via the long, often unpassable tote road. In 1907, the government financed the 22-kilometre long Dane Road, a route that was pushed from Dane Station to Larder Lake, effectively reducing Heaslip's mining traffic.