Black Donald (Williams)

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1- 8 1s turn RH to finish in the middle facing down. 1s lead down, cross and cast up round 3s to finish BtoB facing 1st corners, 2s step up bars 3-4
9-16 1s set to corners and partner, pull back RSh to finish BoB facing 2nd corner
17-20 1s and 2nd corners dance ½ reel of 4. 1s pass RSh to face 3rd corners
21-24 1s and 3rd corners dance ½ reel of 4, at the end 1s pass RSh and finish in 2nd place own sides
25-28 3s+1s+2s chase ½ way clockwise
29-32 1s cross RH to own sides, all set. 213

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagram

Black Donald (Williams) - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Information

In the early 20th century, a small but lively settlement known as Black Donald Mines grew in Brougham Township, Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. The community was built around one of Canada's most productive graphite mines, which supplied material for pencils, lubricants, paints, and other industrial uses. Families lived in company houses, children attended a local school, and social life centered on a dance hall and general store.

The mine operated for decades, but the fate of the town was sealed not by the decline of graphite, but by hydroelectric development. In the 1960s, Ontario Hydro constructed the Mountain Chute generating station on the Madawaska River. To create the reservoir needed for power generation, engineers flooded more than 8,000 acres of land. This backwater swallowed the settlement of Black Donald Mines along with nearby White Fish Lake, burying them under roughly 80 feet of water.

By 1967, during Canada's Centennial year, the dam was complete and the rising waters erased the town from the landscape. Homes, the refinery, the school, and even the mine itself disappeared beneath the reservoir. The new body of water was named Black Donald Lake, preserving the name but not the place.

Today, visitors to the region see only the lake and surrounding forests. The original community survives in photographs, oral histories, and a few written accounts. Descendants of families who once lived there recall a vibrant village life that ended abruptly when the waters rose.

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