Barrett Chute is a riverside settlement in what is now Greater Madawaska, established in the early 1940s during Ontario’s hydroelectric development along the Madawaska River. The community takes its name from the Barrett Chute Generating Station, constructed in 1942 by Ontario Hydro as part of a broader initiative to expand energy capacity during the Second World War. The generating station tapped into the flow of the Madawaska just downstream of Bark Lake, which serves as its headpond.

Unlike older rural settlements shaped by farming or logging, Barrett Chute emerged almost entirely as a product of infrastructure. Its location and landform were defined by the dam’s construction, which included raising water levels, recontouring shorelines, and developing hydro-related access roads and easements. The surrounding lands—previously part of Crown-granted lots surveyed in the mid‑19th century—were reshaped by this engineering effort.

The creation of Bark Lake upstream required widespread adjustments to property boundaries along its new, expanded shoreline. These changes included the establishment of flood easements, shoreline realignments, and utility corridors, many of which were registered through expropriation plans and hydro subdivision sketches. Today, much of Barrett Chute’s cadastral record reflects this layered history—where early concession lots intersect with mid‑20th‑century hydroelectric infrastructure.

From a surveyor’s perspective, Barrett Chute offers a precise case study in how engineered landscapes override and modify traditional land division. While the original township grid remains visible in deeds and base mapping, it’s heavily influenced by the contours, easements, and control plans tied to Ontario Hydro’s presence. Fieldwork in the area often involves reconciling modern elevation data with legacy survey plans and shoreline redefinitions, making Barrett Chute a practical example of cadastral evolution in response to infrastructure.