James, Ontario

Last updated

James
Township (single-tier)
Township of James
Elk Lake ON.JPG
Canada Ontario location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
James
Coordinates: 47°42′38″N80°20′22″W / 47.71056°N 80.33944°W / 47.71056; -80.33944 [1]
Country Canada
Province Ontario
District Timiskaming
Established1906
Incorporated1909
Government
 • ReeveRodger Donaldson
 • Fed. riding Nipissing—Timiskaming
 • Prov. riding Timiskaming—Cochrane
Area
[2]
 • Land85.40 km2 (32.97 sq mi)
Population
 (2021) [2]
 • Total
348
 • Density4.1/km2 (11/sq mi)
Time zone UTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal code
P0J 1G0
Area codes 705, 249
Website www.elklake.ca OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

James is an incorporated township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Timiskaming District. [1] [3] The primary community within the township is Elk Lake, which is located at the junction of Highway 65 and Highway 560. [4]

Contents

The township had a population of 348 in the 2021 Canadian census, [2] compared to 420 in 2016. [5]

Elk Lake Airport and Elk Lake Water Aerodrome are located here.

History

Elk Lake, c. 1910 Elk Lake, Ontario (c. 1910).jpg
Elk Lake, c. 1910
Liquor raid in Elk Lake, 1925 Raid at elk lake.jpg
Liquor raid in Elk Lake, 1925

Elk Lake began as a mining boom town when native silver was discovered in James Township in 1906. Mining activity peaked between 1907 and 1913, when there were about thirty active mining properties in the area. The population at one point reached almost 10,000 people. By 1908 the town included six large hotels, many stores, warehouses, banks, lawyer's offices, a post office, a hospital and a Mining Recorder's Office. The town of Elk Lake was incorporated in 1909 as the Corporation of the Township of James. The Township's first Reeve was the famous athlete and prospector Jack Munroe.

Access to Elk Lake was initially only by motorboat via the Montreal River. By 1909 the road from Elk Lake to Charlton could be traversed by coach, although commercial steamers on the Montreal River continued to provide summer access from Latchford for most heavy equipment and freight. The steamboat era on the Montreal River lasted only a few years, ending when a branch of the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway (now Ontario Northland Railway) was built into Elk Lake in 1913.

Commercial logging in the Temiskaming area dates back to the 1840s. In 1905, the Montreal River Pulp Concession, an area of 17,000 square miles (44,000 km2), was sold to J. R. Booth. From 1907 to 1923, Booth maintained a large pulpwood depot in Elk Lake. In the spring of 1930, Booth completed the last log drive on the Montreal River shortly after he sold his local interest to the E.B. Eddy Company.

The Indian Chute Generating Station was constructed on the Montreal River in 1923, 16 km (9.9 mi) north-west of Elk Lake. [6]

Today, Elk Lake's economy continues to be driven by a sustainable forest industry. The town also boasts a significant number of tourist camps and lodges offering excellent packages for the outdoor sports and nature enthusiasts. [7]

The 1,420-hectare (3,500-acre) Makobe-Grays River Provincial Park has protected the Makobe River since 1985. [8] [9] This popular whitewater canoeing route flows into the Montreal River at Elk Lake.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, James had a population of 348 living in 181 of its 224 total private dwellings, a change of

Historical census populations – James, Ontario
YearPop.±%
1911 626—    
1921 474−24.3%
1931 682+43.9%
1941 542−20.5%
1951 560+3.3%
1956 645+15.2%
1961 701+8.7%
YearPop.±%
1966 620−11.6%
1971 666+7.4%
1976 619−7.1%
1981 586−5.3%
1986 583−0.5%
1991 524−10.1%
1996 483−7.8%
YearPop.±%
2001 467−3.3%
2006 414−11.3%
2011 424+2.4%
2016 420−0.9%
2021 348−17.1%
Source: Statistics Canada [2] [10] [11] [12]

Mother tongue (2021): [2]

Canadian songwriter Hayden Desser recorded an album entitled Elk-Lake Serenade .

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "James". Geographical Names Data Base . Natural Resources Canada . Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "James, Ontario (Code 3554042) Census Profile". 2021 census . Government of Canada - Statistics Canada . Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  3. ↑ "James" (PDF). Geology Ontario - Historic Claim Maps. Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-01-04. Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  4. ↑ "Elk Lake". Geographical Names Data Base . Natural Resources Canada . Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  5. ↑ "Census Profile, 2016 Census: James, Township". Statistics Canada. 8 February 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Indian Chute Generating Station". Ontario Power Generation.
  7. ↑ "History of Elk Lake". Archived from the original on 2021-05-11. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
  8. ↑ "Makobe-Grays River Provincial Park". Geographical Names Data Base . Natural Resources Canada . Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  9. ↑ "Makobe-Grays River". Ontario Parks . Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  10. ↑ 1996, 2001, 2006 census
  11. ↑ "James, TP, Ontario (Census subdivision) 2011 Census Profile". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Government of Canada - Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  12. ↑ "1971 Census of Canada - Population Census Subdivisions (Historical)". Catalogue 92-702 Vol I, part 1 (Bulletin 1.1-2). Statistics Canada. July 1973.

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