 Our most visible landmark is St. Olaf's Church, completed in 1876, it is one of the oldest churches in the Almaguin Highlands. |
Bear Lake Ontario, formerly called Jarlsberg, in the old township of Monteith, is a quiet community originally colonized by Norwegian settlers in the late
1860's.
Some of the original buildings, the church, schoolhouse and first barn built in the area, are not only still standing and easily seen by the passing traveler, but if you stop and
ask, you may view them during the summer months.
The Seguin (Park to Park) Trail follows the old J.R Booth Exploratory Rail line. It runs just north of the village and skirts the bottom of the Bear Lake Peatlands
Conservation Reserve, a large area designated as a protected zone by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Just to the south of the lake is the newly designated Monteith Forest Conservation Reserve, a large forest of eastern hemlock growing on gently rolling hills of deep glacially
deposited sand. The area boasts five pioneer cemeteries and the one located just east of the community, provides a unique record of mostly Swedish and German settlers.
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