McArthur Bros.

The “McArthur Brothers” are frequently mentioned in local sources, and they usually refer to Alexander and Joseph McArthur. It is often difficult to determine if the brothers formed an actual business partnership, if they were just working together, or if they were simply referred to as such by the press. The only time the brothers appear to have actually worked together was with the operation of a shingle mill on the Fenelon River, just as the river turned and widened out into Sturgeon Lake. The mill is mentioned in Fenelon Township Bylaw 204 (passed 14 March 1873) and appears in D&B in July of that year. Fire destroyed the mill in October 1874 [CP 16 Oct 1874; 3], and although the implication was that there were plans to rebuild, there is no evidence this was ever done.