Marc Audet Music

"Half Way There" is a folk song that tells the story of a stopping place and depot farm located in North Renfrew that operated in the late 1800 servicing the booming lumber industry of the time. Established and run by Xavier Pilon, his farm was know as Halfway House. It was located half way between Deux Rivieres and Brent (Cedar Lake) along a tote road (wagon road) that horse-drawn wagons and sleighs would travel to haul men and supplies into the areas where logging operations were happening. The farm was abandoned in around 1930 or 1940, and only ruins remain today in what seems to be a random place in the wilderness. From the hundreds of horseshoes left on the property, it must have been a significant place at one time. Halfway House is one of my favorite places to visit.