Discovery of Gold

William Henry Wright was born in England in 1876. He enlisted as a cavalryman with the British Army in 1897, fighting during the Boer War in South Africa. He received a Veteran’s Lot of land, which brought him to Northern Ontario in 1907. He and his brother-in-law Ed Hargreaves ventured to the Swastika area in 1911 – this journey would change the course of history in Northern Ontario.

As the story goes, in July of 1911 Bill Wright & Ed Hargreaves were out prospecting in a wooded area near the east bay of “Kirkland Lake”. While in search of food they inadvertently discovered gold instead. While out hunting for food, Ed Hargreaves became disoriented and lost in the thick bush and was unable to find his way back to camp. The pair of prospectors had an established signal that meant one of them was either lost or in trouble; so when a rifle shot rang out, Wright set out in search of his brother-in-law. As he made his way Wright stumbled upon a quartz outcrop with visible gold. This claim, L-1830, was the first discovery in the Kirkland Lake camp, and would later be known as the Main Break. They put up a quick discovery post and returned to camp. It took several years for the property to develop not seeing any real growth until around 1916.

Bill Wright re-enlisted, nearing 40 years old, and returned overseas to serve in France during the First World War. When he returned from the war, Bill became the Vice-President and Director of both the Lake Shore & Wright Hargreaves Mines. He was also widely known for his merging of “The Globe” & “The Mail and the Empire” newspapers in 1936 to form “The Globe & Mail”. Though he never married, and spent much of his time in his Barrie home, Bill Wright was continuously generous to the community who helped him establish his wealth - donating to the local hospital, Royal Canadian Legion, and townspeople.

He was inducted into the Mining Hall of Fame in 1996.