Neighbourhoods in Timmins

Last updated
Schumacher Schumacher ON.JPG
Schumacher

The city of Timmins, Ontario, Canada contains many named neighbourhoods. Some former municipalities that were merged into Timmins continue to be treated as distinct postal and telephone exchanges from the city core.

Contents

According to Barnes, "With the staking of the three great properties, The Porcupine came alive as hundreds of canoes bearing prospectors...Golden City and Pottsville sprang up, with South Porcupine soon to follow." [1] :99

Barbers Bay

Barbers Bay is located on the southern shore of Frederick House Lake along the municipal boundary with Iroquois Falls. It also includes an area of bays dotted with cottages to the south, and just north of Kettle Lakes Provincial Park. Recently Barber's Bay has seen a growth in its year-long residents, most notably around the densely developed Finn Bay.

Connaught

A small village just west of Barbers Bay, where the Frederick House River flows into Frederick House Lake. Sometimes all of the extreme eastern portion within Timmins' city limits (Barbers Bay, Hoyle and Connaught) is referred to as Connaught because the village contains the only post office in the area. It borders both Iroquois Falls and Black River-Matheson. Connaught was also the location of the Frederick House outpost of the Hudson`s Bay Company.

Hill District

Located in the northeast portion of Timmins, it is North of Algonquin Boulevard and generally East of the streets with names of trees. It does not really have any precise boundaries, but much of it is located on a hill, thus its name. Both Gillies Lake and the Timmins and District Hospital are located here. The neighbourhood has some of the oldest houses in Timmins and used to be where the wealthiest people lived including mine managers.

Hoyle

Hoyle is a tiny hamlet and a series of farms located just north of Highway 101 near the Porcupine river, approximately 15 kilometres east of South Porcupine.

Kamiskotia

Located Northeast of Highway 101, Kamiskotia is home to Mount Jamieson Resort, as well as many residential homes, and some cottages/camps located on Kamiskotia Lake and other smaller lakes. Due to the long winters in Timmins, Mount Jamieson Resort is a very popular winter attraction among residents and tourists.


Mattagami Heights

One of the early neighbourhoods in Timmins, it was first developed along the east bank of the Mattagami River in the 1910s by prospector Charles M Auer. It is distinctive because all of it is on a hill overlooking the river, and the streets are somewhat hilly, unlike much of Timmins. It is north of Algonquin Boulevard West and mainly west of Thériault Boulevard up to Vimy Avenue. The McChesney Lumber Mill (now owned by EACOM) is located in this neighbourhood on the river.

Melrose

It is the northernmost subdivision in the urban core of Timmins, bounded by Jubilee Avenue, MacLean Drive and Airport Road. Originally, the older upper section located east of College Street was known as "Melrose Heights" or "Westmount" and the newer lower area west of it "Melrose Gardens."

Moneta

The area of Timmins south of downtown. It has a high concentration of people of Italian descent. Flora Macdonald Public School was originally called Moneta Public School. There is a Moneta Avenue and the Moneta Hotel, a bar/restaurant located on Pine Street South both within Moneta.

Mountjoy

Mountjoy, which comprises all of the city's populated area lying west of the Mattagami River, includes the Timmins Square shopping mall, Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Mark's, Best Buy, Staples and a Walmart Supercentre. Franco-Ontarians make up the vast majority of Mountjoy's population. It was originally known as "Mountjoy Township" and was separate from Timmins until amalgamation in 1973. Also found in the Mountjoy, Le Domaine Beaurivage or more commonly known as Bonaventure Drive, is one of the city's most prominent neighbourhoods and is located on the riverbank of the Mattagami River.

Porcupine

Porcupine Lake Water Aerodrome, destroyed by fire in 2015 Float Plane Terminal in South Porcupine, Timmins, Ontario.jpg
Porcupine Lake Water Aerodrome, destroyed by fire in 2015

Situated at the eastern end of Porcupine Lake, just northeast of the community of South Porcupine. Porcupine represents the easternmost part of the city's urban core. It was originally known as "Golden City" in its early days. A fire devastated the area in 1911. [2] The great fire engulfed communities from the Porcupine to Cochrane. People fled to the lake to survive. It was founded at the beginning of the Porcupine Gold Rush. [3] Porcupine, Pottsville and South Porcupine were the three towns making up the 12 mile portion of gold-bearing land known as the Porcupine Camp. [1]

Pottsville

Located on the northwest portion of Porcupine Lake west of the bridge over the Porcupine River. Located between Porcupine and South Porcupine, it constituted one of three towns making up the Porcupine camp during the Porcupine Gold Rush. [1] :123

It was not originally considered to be part of Porcupine but is today. Some people consider newer neighbourhoods (Melview and Woodlands subdivisions) located to the west within Whitney Township behind the Porcupine Mall to be part of Pottsville but many disagree. The Ontario Government Complex which services the Timmins area is located here.[ citation needed ]

Schumacher

Dwyer Block in Schumacher Dwyer Block in Schumacher, Timmins, Ontario.jpg
Dwyer Block in Schumacher

Schumacher, once known as Aura Lake, is named after early settler and mining prospector Frederick W. Schumacher, who sank the first mine shaft in the community during the Porcupine Gold Rush. It was once home to one of Canada's largest Croatian communities. Although it still has many people of Croatian and other European descent, more recently, many people of Aboriginal heritage (mainly Cree) have taken up residence. Schumacher was part of Tisdale Township until the township was amalgamated into the City of Timmins in 1973.

Main Street, Schumacher, Ont., early 1900s YUL816770-MainstreetSchumacher.jpg
Main Street, Schumacher, Ont., early 1900s

Porcupine Gold Mines is currently engaged in a surface diamond drilling program on the previous Hollinger and McIntyre properties. This activity aims to better determine the location and extent of underground mine workings in the area, which have caused sinkholes to appear. In addition, it is done to evaluate the potential to mine remnant gold mineralization as part of a possible future open-pit mining operation. The ongoing evaluation of the properties is part of the closure planning process that Porcupine Gold Mines is completing for the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines. Preliminary indications show the possibility of more than 4 million ounces of gold in the area.

The area is also home to the McIntyre mine and the McIntyre Community Building, the primary sporting facility in Timmins, both of which were named for another early prospector, Sandy McIntyre. The McIntyre arena is also where Schumacher's most famous resident first donned his skates; Frank Mahovlich, a Liberal Party of Canada Senator, National Hockey League Hall of Fame member, and recipient of the Order of Canada, was born in Schumacher. Mahovlich's NHL contemporary, Dean Prentice, was also born in Schumacher. This arena was also where Canada's own Barbara-Ann Scott taught figure skating in the 1950s.

Gold Centre

Gold Centre is a small planned town site situated just a half km southeast of Schumacher. The town site though small is still an active community of less than 100 residents today. Although still identified by its name, many consider it to be a part of Schumacher.

South Porcupine

Old Tisdale Township Municipal Building in South Porcupine Old Tisdale Township Municipal Building in South Porcupine, Timmins, Ontario.jpg
Old Tisdale Township Municipal Building in South Porcupine

South Porcupine was founded on the southwestern shore of Porcupine Lake, due to its proximity to the mines. Locally, South Porcupine is traditionally known as "South End" and also more recently called "SoPo". [1] :86,123

The arrival of the Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway (T&NO) rail system in 1911 accelerated the growth of the area; until then, the trek to the South Porcupine was done by canoe and by foot from Haileybury. That same year, (two days after the first train arrived in the South Porcupine), the entire area was destroyed in the fire of 1911. [1] :86,107 Because of the importance of the gold discoveries, very few people abandoned the area and it was rebuilt in two months.

T& N.O railway station in South Porcupine YUL816762-TNORailwayTimmins.jpg
T& N.O railway station in South Porcupine

The Township of Tisdale, which later included the townsite of Schumacher (established in 1911) and the town of South Porcupine, was incorporated in 1909. The Township was later amalgamated and became part of Timmins.

Notable people

Connaught Hill

A neighbourhood found within South Porcupine at its southernmost portion. It is located near the southwestern part of Porcupine Lake. It is not to be confused with the village of Connaught located within city limits on Frederick House Lake. It was built on a small hill as its name suggests. A railroad station once existed at the bottom of the hill.

Mining property neighbourhoods

Buffalo Ankerite

Buffalo Ankerite is an old mining area and there are some homes. There is also a lake near by. If you continued down the road you would reach the GoldCorp mining area.

Delnite

Former neighbourhoods demolished due to mining activity

Aunor

Dome Property

Dome Extension

Often called "Dome Ex", it was an abandoned residential community which surrounded the Dome Mine. It was "abandoned" due to the company evicting the residents in order to open pit mine the area

Hallnor Mine Town site

The Hallnor Mine Site was a small settlement, which housed workers of the nearby Pamour mine. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the residents of the houses were evicted due to the expansion of the open pit mining operation.

Pamour

Pamour was a small settlement, which housed workers of the nearby Pamour mine. Through the 1980s and 1990s, the houses were abandoned and then razed due to the expansion of the open pit mining operation. The site was eventually entirely engulfed by the pit.

Preston Property

Notable people

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timmins</span> City in Ontario, Canada

Timmins is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 (2021). The city's economy is based on natural resource extraction, and is supported by industries related to lumbering, and to the mining of gold, zinc, copper, nickel and silver. Timmins serves as a regional service and distribution centre. The city has a large Francophone community, with more than 50% bilingual in French and English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirkland Lake</span> Town in Ontario, Canada

Kirkland Lake is a town and municipality in Timiskaming District of Northeastern Ontario. The 2016 population, according to Statistics Canada, was 7,981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black River-Matheson</span> Township in Ontario, Canada

Black River-Matheson is a township in the Cochrane District of the Canadian province of Ontario. The municipality is astride the Black River, for which it is partly named. The Matheson railway station was serviced by the Northlander until 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mattagami River</span> River in Ontario, Canada

The Mattagami River is a river in Northern Ontario, Canada.

King's Highway 101, commonly referred to as Highway 101, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The 473.3-kilometre (294.1 mi) highway connects Highway 17 west of Wawa with Highway 11 in Matheson before continuing east to the Ontario–Quebec border where it becomes Route 388. The highway forms one of the only connections between the two routes of the Trans-Canada Highway between Nipigon and Temagami, and crosses some of the most remote regions of Northern Ontario. Major junctions are located with Highway 129 near Chapleau and Highway 144 southwest of Timmins, though the distance between these junctions is significant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unorganized Thunder Bay District</span> Unorganized area in Ontario, Canada

Unorganized Thunder Bay District is an unorganized area in northwestern Ontario, Canada in Thunder Bay District. It comprises all parts of the district that are not part of an incorporated municipality or a First Nations reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollinger Mines</span>

The Hollinger Gold Mine was discovered on October 9, 1909, by Benny Hollinger, who found the gold-bearing quartz dike that later became known as Hollinger Mines. With his friend, professional prospector Alex Gillies, Hollinger had travelled to the Porcupine region in the wake of the Wilson expedition, which had recently discovered the future Dome Mine site. Hollinger and Gillies staked three claims each, and one for their former partner, Bernard "Barney" P. McEnaney, who had been unable to join them due to severe sciatica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Les Costello</span> Canadian ice hockey player and Catholic priest

Fr. Leslie John Thomas Costello was a Canadian ice hockey player and Catholic priest.

Noah Anthony Timmins was a Canadian mining financier and developer who is now counted among the founding fathers of Canada's mining industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McIntyre Mines</span>

The McIntyre mine is an abandoned underground gold mine in Schumacher, Ontario, Canada, which has earned a place in Canadian mining history as one of the nation's most important mines. Its iconic headframe, located near downtown Timmins, has come to represent the entire Porcupine Gold Rush. The McIntyre also yielded a considerable amount of copper over its life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Yukon</span>

The history of Yukon covers the period from the arrival of Paleo-Indians through the Beringia land bridge approximately 20,000 years ago. In the 18th century, Russian explorers began to trade with the First Nations people along the Alaskan coast, and later established trade networks extending into Yukon. By the 19th century, traders from the Hudson's Bay Company were also active in the region. The region was administered as a part of the North-Western Territory until 1870, when the United Kingdom transferred the territory to Canada and it became the North-West Territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matachewan</span> Township in Ontario, Canada

Matachewan is a township in Timiskaming, Northeastern Ontario, Canada, located at the end of Ontario Highway 66 along the Montreal River. The name is derived from the Cree word for "meeting of the currents".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porcupine Gold Rush</span> 1909 gold rush in Northern Ontario, Canada

The Porcupine Gold Rush was a gold rush that took place in Northern Ontario starting in 1909 and developing fully by 1911. A combination of the hard rock of the Canadian Shield and the rapid capitalization of mining meant that smaller companies and single-man operations could not effectively mine the area, as opposed to earlier rushes where the gold could be extracted through placer mining techniques. Although a number of prospectors made their fortune, operations in the area are marked largely by the development of larger mining companies, and most people involved in the mining operations were their employees.

Reuben Bennett "Sourdough" D'Aigle (1874–1959) was a Canadian prospector who made numerous discoveries in the Klondike, Ontario, Quebec and Labrador. Although successful with several of these ventures, he remains best known for missing the Porcupine Gold Rush by only a few feet, a huge deposit being discovered directly beside one of his abandoned test digs. His last major discovery was a major iron deposit in Labrador, although he was unable to personally develop the site due to the Wall Street Crash of 1929, which dried up development funds. He was so well known that his death was mentioned in Time Magazine, who quoted his easygoing take on his losses in Labrador; "I was just there a darn sight too soon, but I have certainly enjoyed myself."

The Cobalt silver rush was a silver rush in Ontario, Canada that began in 1903 when huge veins of silver were discovered by workers on the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway (T&NO) near the Mile 103 post. By 1905 a full-scale silver rush was underway, and the town of Cobalt, Ontario sprang up to serve as its hub. By 1908 Cobalt produced 9% of the world's silver, and in 1911 produced 31,507,791 ounces of silver. However, the good ore ran out fairly rapidly, and most of the mines were closed by the 1930s. There were several small revivals over the years, notably in World War II and again in the 1950s, but both petered out and today there is no active mining in the area. In total, the Cobalt area mines produced 460 million ounces of silver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abitibi gold belt</span> Region of Canada that extends from Wawa, Ontario to Val-dOr, Quebec

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porcupine River (Ontario)</span> River in Ontario, Canada

The Porcupine River is a river in the James Bay and Moose River drainage basins in the city of Timmins, Cochrane District in northeastern Ontario, Canada. It flows 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Porcupine Lake to its mouth at Night Hawk Lake, the source of the Frederick House River, a tributary of the Abitibi River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan O'Connor (prospector)</span>

Daniel O'Connor was a Canadian politician, businessman and prospector from Pembroke, Canada West. In the late 1880s, O'Connor moved to Sudbury where he became associated with economy, life and industry, becoming the town's second mayor in 1894. Later, O'Connor travelled north where he founded the town of Temagami and opened Lady Evelyn Hotel, the Temagami Inn and Ronnoco Hotel.

Benjamin Hollinger (1885–1919) was a Canadian barber turned prospector from Haileybury, Ontario, now considered one of the Founding Fathers of Timmins, Ontario, Canada. He was born April 10, 1885, in Point Alexander, Ontario, the youngest son of schoolteacher John Hollinger and Sarah Sutherland.

The Timmins Underground Gold Mine Tour was a tourist attraction owned and operated by the City of Timmins from 1990 to 2013.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Barnes, Michael (1986). Fortunes in the Ground. Erin, Ontario: The Boston Mills Press. p. 86,104-107,123,172-174,194. ISBN   091978352X.
  2. "Remember this? What came before Porcupine". Timmins Today. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  3. Pain, S.A. (1960). Three Miles of Gold. Toronto: The Ryerson Press. p. 6.