I know that for most of us, just saying the words “Aylen Lake” can be an anodyne to a hectic or stressful day.  It conjures up memories of beautiful summer days, colourful sunsets, family and friends.  But, our little bit of paradise has not always been referred to by its current name.

The First Nations who inhabited this area, the Algonquin, called this lake Obeongo-sis or “little opeongo”.  In fact early maps and records refer to this body of water as Little Opeongo.

If you are a fan of old maps, have a look at the site algonquinmap.com.  There you can find a map from 1901 that distinctly shows the name “Little Opeongo Lake”.  If you want to have a look at that map, follow this link but note that it is a large compressed file (ZIP).