An ancient aboriginal trail, the Nine-Mile Portage had been used for many years by English and French traders as a route to the Upper Great Lakes; Huron, Michigan, and Superior. The portage started at the west end of Kempenfelt Bay, where Barrie is today, and ended at Willow Creek, a tributary of the Nottawasaga River.

During the Revolutionary War, the government of Upper Canada wanted a route for supplying its bases on the Upper Great Lakes that was safe from American interference. This route would eventually be from the end of Yonge Street at Holland Landing by boat to Lake Simcoe, across Lake Simcoe to Kempenfelt Bay, along the Nine-Mile Portage to Willow Creek, and then by boat again down Willow Creek and the Nottawasaga River to Georgian Bay and Lake Huron.

After the war, the government built two storage warehouses for military use, one at each end of the portage. The warehouse at Kempenfelt Bay was located near what is now Memorial Square in Barrie. The warehouse at the Willow Creek end was located at what is now the Fort Willow Conservation Area.

There are two stories involving the Nine-Mile Portage: the relief of Fort Michilimackinac and the sinking of the Nancy.

• The Relief of Fort Michilimackinac

  During the War of 1812, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert McDouall of the Glengarry Light Infantry was given orders to reinforce the British military unit that had just captured Fort Michilimackinac (pronounced MI-hilli-MAC-in-aw) on Mackinaw Island just south of present-day Sault Ste Marie. McDouall ordered an advance group of shipbuilders and naval personnel under Lieutenant Miller Worsley to make its way up the Nine-Mile Portage to the banks of Willow Creek. Once there, they were to build 29 batteaux or large canoes. McDouall then followed with his troops, who were loaded on the batteaux, which sailed down the Nottawasaga River and across the Great Lakes. They arrived in Fort Michilimackinac on May 18, 1814. When the Americans under Captain Sinclair and Lt.Col. George Croghan attacked Fort Michilimackinac on July 28, they were defeated by the reinforced British.

• The Sinking of the Nancy

  A short time after the battle at Fort Michilimackinac, the same Lt. Worsley was in command of the Nancy, a small vessel used to carry supplies to the fort. Captain Sinclair saw an opportunity to strike back against the British by capturing the supplies. The Nancy was lying two miles up the Nottawasaga River when it was attacked by two American ships, the Tigress and the Scorpion. Lt. Worsley had known of the impending attack and had prepared for it by building a blockhouse but the blockhouse and the Nancy were blown up by cannon fire from the American ships. Worsley and his men retreated along the Nine-Mile Portage and escaped.

  But that wasn't the end of the story. Having picked up additional supplies and two batteaux they had left at Willow Creek, Worsley and his men worked their way back to Fort Michilimackinac. There they reported to Lt.Col. McDouall, requesting permission to go after the Tigress and Scorpion, now in upper Lake Huron. With reinforcements from the fort, Worsley set off. They found the Tigress only six miles away. In a night attack, Worsley and his men overpowered the Americans and captured the ship easily. Then, with the American flags still flying and with his men dressed in captured uniforms, Worsley set out to hunt for the Scorpion. They didn't have to go far for the Scorpion came to them and anchored just a couple of miles away. The Tigress then approached the unsuspecting Scorpion and, before anybody on board the Scorpion could react, the British had snared the American ship with grappling irons and had boarded her. With those short actions, Worsley and his men ensured that the upper Great Lakes stayed in British hands for the rest of the war.

  Back at the mouth of the Nottawasaga River, the remains of the Nancy were gradually covered over with silt to form an island. A few years ago an expedition was mounted to find those remains and the site has become a tourist attraction in Wasaga Beach.