Gowganda

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Gowganda
Dispersed Rural Community
Gowganda ON.JPG
Lookout Point Lodge, seen from Gowganda Lake at Gowganda
Canada Ontario location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Gowganda
Location in Ontario
Coordinates: 47°38′57″N80°46′13″W / 47.64917°N 80.77028°W / 47.64917; -80.77028 [1]
Country Canada
Province Ontario
District Timiskaming
Census subdiv. Unorg. West Timiskaming
Elevation
[2]
356 m (1,168 ft)
Population
 (2019) [3]
 • Total
81
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern Time Zone)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (Eastern Time Zone)
Postal Code
P0J 1J0
Area codes 705, 249

Gowganda is a Dispersed Rural Community and unincorporated place in geographic Nicol Township, [4] Timiskaming District, in northeastern Ontario, Canada. [1] It is at the outlet of the Montreal River from Lake Gowganda, and is on Ontario Highway 560.

Contents

The community's name, taken from the lake and formerly also spelled as Gow Ganda, is an indigenous word meaning "porcupines home". [5]

History

Post office in Gowganda, 1910 Post office in Gowganda, Ontario (1910).jpg
Post office in Gowganda, 1910

Gowganda saw its beginning in 1907 and 1908 when silver deposits were discovered at Gowganda Lake and nearby Miller Lake. A silver rush followed and by the spring of 1909, several thousand men had arrived and staked claims. By the summer of that year, a wagon trail from Elk Lake had been created, and the following year, seven mines were operating. A business and residential community formed on the northeast shore of Gowganda Lake, with a population between 5,000 to 10,000 people. Lumbering also took place, and sawmills were built to supply the town and mines. [6]

The boom was short-lived. In 1911, a big part of Gowganda, including much of the business section, burnt down, and some residents did not return. Further population decline came when people were drawn to the gold discoveries at Kirkland Lake. Although the town had few residents remaining, the mines continued to prosper, especially through World War I. But after the war, when the silver price dropped, mining operations had to be reduced, and some mines closed at the beginning of the Great Depression. At the same time, all the sawmills also shut down. [6]

World War II led to a brief resurgence in mining, but afterwards, mines began to fail and gradually closed through the 1950s and 1960s. One sawmill operated near Gowganda from the late 1940s until 1955, and the last silver mine closed in 1972. [6] In total, some 60.2 million ounces of silver and 1.3 million pounds of cobalt were extracted from mines around Gowganda. [7]

After the closure of the mining and lumber industries, Gowganda became dependent on outdoor tourism, such as fishing and hunting. [6] In the 2010s and 2020s, there is renewed mineral exploration in the area. [7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Gowganda". Geographical Names Data Base . Natural Resources Canada . Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  2. ↑ Elevation taken at geographic coordinates from Google Maps. Accessed 2016-12-22.
  3. ↑ White, Erik (25 July 2019). "Feds promising broadband across Canada, but some say it's not even realistic for northern Ontario". www.cbc.com. CBC News. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  4. ↑ "Nicol" (PDF). Geology Ontario - Historic Claim Maps. Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry . Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  5. ↑ Fifteenth Report of the Geographic Board of Canada, Containing All Decisions to March 31 1917. Ottawa: Department of the Interior. 1918. p. 102.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Micheline Boucher; Douglas Clark; Lorrie Farrell; Pauline Fortier; Shane O'Brien (1977). Our Timiskaming. Cobalt, Ontario: Highway Book Shop. ISBN   0-88954-106-X.
  7. 1 2 "Gowganda Historical Background". bmrcorp.com. Battery Mineral Resources Corp. 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
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