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THE TOWNS BEGINNINGS Although the old Indian or "Hudson‘s Bay" trail from Temiskaming to Moose Factory ran through what is now Drury Park, it was the T.N.O. Railway Commission that decided Cochrane was to be where it is. There is a story to the effect that a party of Indians following the trail north from Haileybury reported at Moose Factory that they had found a party of white men camped at the "Little Lakes Camping Grounds". The Anglican missionary , Rev R.J.Renison (now Bishop Renison of St Paul‘s Church, Toronto) had his curiosity aroused and he made the ten day journey south by dog team to find the men were locating engineers of the National Transcontinental Railway. The year 1908 really saw the beginning of Cochrane. The forst trains came through towards the end of that year. The first election poll was held then, being stationed at the west end of town, which was known as mileage 104. The first permanent settler, Andy Segouin, arrived in that year. He, his wife and son came by rail as far as Matheson, by raft to the Abitibi Crossing and _ then brought their furniture on the monoâ€"rail by which the railway construction supplies were brought in, until the T.& N.O. line was in operation. The town was incorporated in 1910, being the first municipality organized in the district. It was named for the Hon.Frank Cochrane, Minister of Lands, Forests and Mines for the Province. DATES: 1911 â€" Town destroyed by fire. Telephone, light and water systems installed. 1915 â€" First through passenger train on the National Transcontinental Railway. 1916 â€" Entire business section destroyed by fire, July 29". 1921 â€" Construction of T.& N. O. Railway north commenced. { 1922 â€" Town made seat of newly created District of Cochrane ' 1927 â€" Ferguson Highway completed 1929 â€" Steel reaches tidewater at Moosonee on James Bay 1930 â€" Work on the Abitibi Canyon power development project begun 1941 â€" Construction on final link in Transâ€"Canada Highway, (Hearst to Geraldton) PICTURES OPPOSITE: * Two "true pictures of the early days of Cochrane" provided by Ed Caswell show log cabins with tarpaper over the pitched roofs standing in fields of stumps with evergreen forests in the near background. °* The home of C.Watt being constructed on 10" Avenue in 1912. It is one storey high of sawn lumber with a pitch roof. It is on log sleepers mounted on posts about 18" off the ground. Next door and in back are 1.5 storey houses more nearly completed.