This area was first developed for fur trading. In the late 19th century, both gold and iron ore were found and mined, leading to the region's rise as the steel industry developed in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. From 1900 to 1918 the Helen Mine had the highest production of iron ore of any mine in Canada.
History
Fur trade days
Fort Michipicoten was constructed at the mouth of the Michipicoten River. It was at the junction of the main fur trade route from Montreal westward and the route to James Bay via the Missinaibi River.[5]
French explorers reached the area by the mid 17th century, and a post was built early in the next century.[6] The site was on the south bank of the river, opposite the mouth of the Magpie River. By 1729, it was an outpost of Fort Kaministiquia under command of Vérendrye'sPostes du Nord. When the British conquered Canada in 1763, this post was abandoned.[5][7]
With the union of the two companies in 1821, the Lake Superior trade was diverted from Montreal to Hudson Bay via Michipicoten. From 1827, the fort was the headquarters of the Superior Division, and several annual meetings were held here. It was a centre for fishing, boatbuilding and small-scale manufacture and repair. It also served as a base for missionaries and surveyors. This lasted until 1863, when the arrival of steamboats and railways made it unnecessary. It was closed in 1904 and gradually taken apart.[5][7] In 1982, the site became the Michipicoten Provincial Park.[8]
Modern
Mining attempts began as early as the late 1660s.
William Teddy discovered gold on Wawa Lake in 1897. The population of Wawa village quickly grew with 1,700 claims staked in 1898. However, most gold production stopped by 1906. Beginning in 1914 with the completion of the Algoma Central Railway, gold production commenced again from 22 prospects.[9]
In 1898, the town site at what is now called "the Mission" was registered as "Michipicoten City." In 1899, Wawa was surveyed and plotted as a town and registered as Wawa City. In the latter half of the 1950s, the town's name was temporarily changed to Jamestown in honour of Sir James Hamet Dunn, but it was later returned to Wawa at the request of the community's residents.
Gold production had slowed by 1906, but as mining technology improved, additional amounts began to be extracted from the area. Gold mining in the Wawa area prospered and receded several times in the 20th century, and it continues today. Notable producers include the Grace Mine (1902–1944), which produced 15,191 ounces, the Minto Mine (1929–1942), which produced 37,678 ounces, the Parkhill Mine (1902–1944), which produced 54,301 ounces, and the Renabie Mine (1920–1991), which produced 1.1 million ounces.[9]
Iron ore extraction has also been an important industry in the area. The search for gold during the Michipicoten boom led to the unexpected discovery in 1897 of iron ore. Francis Hector Clergue, an American entrepreneur, immediately recognized the iron ore for its potential; he established a steel company at Sault Ste. Marie. Wawa was served by the Algoma Central Railway to ship ore for processing.
The first supply of ore extracted from the Helen Mine was shipped to Midland, Ontario, in July 1900; this was the "first boat shipment of Canadian iron ore to a Canadian port." The mine produced high-grade iron ore until 1903, when operations shut down due to financial difficulties encountered by Clergue and his company. By 1904, the mine had returned to full production capabilities and was mining one thousand tons of hematite ore a day. From 1900 to 1918, the Helen Mine had the largest production of any iron mine in Canada.
In 1909, a second hematite ore deposit was uncovered near the Magpie River, twelve miles north of the Helen Mine. The Algoma Steel Corporation, organized between 1904 and 1909 in Sault Ste. Marie, bought up the claims and operated both the Magpie and Helen mines for the next decade. The Helen Mine continued ore production until 1918, when the company felt the reserve of hematite ore was finally depleted. The same fate followed the Magpie Mine in 1921. The Census of Canada records that the population of the Michipicoten region in 1921 experienced a drop from 1,001 in 1911 to 101 just ten years later.
It was not until 1937, with the threat of war in Europe and the emergence of a profitable market for Canadian iron ore, that the Helen Mine was reopened. A sintering plant was constructed on the northern bank of the Magpie River, two miles west of the mine. It was used to treat the siderite ore before it was shipped to the blast furnaces at Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie. The plant became the centre for a small community called Sinterville, composed of workers and their families.
The Helen Mine remained an open pit operation until 1950, from which point on all production came from underground mining. In 1960, the new George W. MacLeod Mine went into production adjacent to the Helen Mine. The ore was transported on an aerial tramline that consisted of over 280 steel three-ton buckets traveling underground and then emerging three-quarters of a mile west of the 2,066-foot vertical MacLeod Shaft. The tramline continued the remaining two miles to the sinter plant on overhead cables. This system was replaced in 1979 by the latest in underground mining technology, the highest-lift single-drive conveyor in the world.
During the summer of 1971, Wawa hosted an archaeological field camp known as the Wawa Drop-In Project or the Big Dig,[10] for young hitchhikers traveling along Highway 17. The project was directed by Professor K.C.A. Dawson[11] and supported by the federal government as part of its youth employment program. The results of this fieldwork at several important sites were never published. The records are currently held by the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa.[12]
Throughout the 1990s, Wawa and the Algoma Ore Division continued to be challenged by international market problems that plagued both the gold and iron mining industries. In December 1997, Algoma Steel announced that it could no longer support the high cost of extracting low-grade iron at Algoma Ore Division. Although Wawa's mountain of iron ore had more to give, operations were shut down in June 1998, one hundred years after iron was first discovered in this remote corner of northern Algoma.
Wawa suffered a population decline after the closures of Helen Mine and the sinter plant. Its main industries have been forestry and tourism. In recent years, diamond prospecting and proposals to create a trap rock mine on the shore of Lake Superior have been developed; however, no mining activities of any kind have yet been established.
In October 2007 Weyerhauser, which operated an oriented strandboard mill 30 kilometres east of the town, announced an indefinite shutdown of its mill. The final production shift ran at the end of December 2007. Given low demand for wood products, the likelihood of the mill reopening was marginal at best. Since the shutdown, Wawa's economy has suffered a near complete collapse, as the closure resulted in over 135 lost jobs, and more residents left the area. This has had a spinoff effect on other businesses and on the town's population. It peaked at close to 5,600 in the 1990s but has since dropped to under 3,000, according to the 2011 Canadian census.
The collapse of the forestry industry in the first decade of the 2000s also adversely affected the neighbouring communities of Dubreuilville and White River. Wawa, the area's largest settlement, has faced difficulties in attracting new industry to the community and region.
Geography
Community of Michipicoten River
The township includes the main population centre of Wawa, as well as the smaller communities of Michipicoten and Michipicoten River, which are small coastal settlements on the shore of Lake Superior. These names are derived from the Ojibwe term for the river.
Climate
Wawa has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classificationDfb) that is significantly moderated by Lake Superior. Winters are cold and snowy with a January high of −7.7°C (18.1°F) and a low of −20.2°C (−4.4°F) and temperatures below −20°C (−4.0°F) occur 45 days per year.[2] Snowfall totals are heavy, averaging over 319 centimetres (126in) due to lake effect snow from Lake Superior as cold air from the northwest passes over the warmer lake.[13] Summers are cool and mild due to cool, dry air masses from the northwest and the cooling of warm air from the south as it passes Lake Superior.[13][14] As a result, temperatures above 30°C (86.0°F) are rare.[2] August is the warmest month with a high of 20.8°C (69.4°F) and a low of 9.8°C (49.6°F), showing a slight seasonal lag. The average annual precipitation is 970 millimetres (38in), which is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year though the months of July to October see a peak in precipitation.[2]
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Wawa had a population of 2,705 living in 1,213 of its 1,377 total private dwellings, a change of -6.9% from its 2016 population of 2,905. With a land area of 411.89km2 (159.03sqmi), it had a population density of 6.6/km2 (17.0/sqmi) in 2021.[15]
The community is known for its 8.5-metre (28-foot) metal statue of a Canada goose, which was built in 1960, and dedicated to the community in 1961. Wawa takes its name from the Ojibwe word for "wild goose", wewe. Wawa was defined as wild goose in The Song of Hiawatha. On July 5, 2010, Canada Post made a commemorative stamp of the Wawa Goose as part of its Roadside Attractions collection.[22] On July 1, 2017, a new Wawa Goose was unveiled to replace the second aging goose.[23]
The town is also known for snowmobiling and sport fishing. The Voyageur Hiking Trail passes through the town. One notable shopping location is Young's General Store, home of the locally famous Pickle Barrel.
Politics
The municipal council is composed of one mayor and four councillors. The current mayor is Melanie Pilon. Councillors Cathy Cannon, Micheline Hatfield, Joseph Opato and Jim Hoffmann were elected on October 24, 2022, for a four-year term.[citation needed]
In October 2012, the town was forced to declare a state of emergency after severe flooding washed out several roads within the municipality, including sections of both Highway 17 and Highway 101.[24]
Wawa is located 24 kilometres (15mi) west of Canadian National Railway's Hawk Junction station on the rail line from Sault Ste. Marie to Hearst. The line, formerly known as the Algoma Central Railway, provides tourist operations, as well as passenger and freight service to communities in northern Ontario.
A dial-in/demand response transit system has been available since February 2006. The service is provided by a single bus that can accommodate 12 passengers plus up to two wheelchairs.[25]
Wawa is home to English and French language schools. The Algoma District School Board is responsible for offering English language instruction and operates Sir James Dunn Public School, offering kindergarten to Grade 8 classes, while Michipicoten High School offers Grades 9 to 12. The Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board provides French immersion language instruction for junior kindergarten to Grade 7 at St. Joseph French Immersion School. In the 2014–2015 school year St. Joseph School will expand its French immersion program to include Grade 8.
Exclusive French-language instruction is offered by two school boards. According to the 2011 Census, 19% of Wawa's population claimed French as their mother tongue. The Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord offers public school instruction at École publique l'Escalade for students in kindergarten to Grade 8. The Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario offers Catholic instruction at École élémentaire et secondaire catholique St-Joseph.
Elliot Lake is a city in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is north of Lake Huron, midway between the cities of Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie in the Northern Ontario region. Once dubbed the "uranium capital of the world," Elliot Lake has since diversified to a hub for advanced manufacturing, forest harvesting, mine reclamation expertise, retirement living, all-season tourism and remote work.
Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Province of the Canadian Shield, a vast rocky plateau located mainly north of Lake Huron, the French River, Lake Nipissing, and the Mattawa River. The statistical region extends south of the Mattawa River to include all of the District of Nipissing. The southern section of this district lies on part of the Grenville Geological Province of the Shield which occupies the transitional area between Northern and Southern Ontario. The extended federal and provincial quasi-administrative regions of Northern Ontario have their own boundaries even further south in the transitional area that vary according to their respective government policies and requirements. Ontario government departments and agencies such as the Growth Plan for Northern Ontario and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation define Northern Ontario as all areas north of, and including, the districts of Parry Sound and Nipissing for political purposes, and the federal but not the provincial government also includes the district of Muskoka.
Algoma District is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario.
The Michipicoten River is a river in Algoma District of northern Ontario, Canada, which flows from Dog Lake and joins with the Magpie River to empty into Michipicoten Bay on Lake Superior near the town of Wawa. This river is 113 km (70 mi) in length and drains an area of about 5,200 km2 (2,000 sq mi).
Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. The area was represented by the riding of Algoma from 1867 to 1904 and from 1968 to 1996 and then by Algoma—Manitoulin from 1996 to 2004.
Blind River is a town situated on the North Channel of Lake Huron in the Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. The town, named after the nearby Blind River, celebrated its centennial in 2006.
Francis Hector Clergue was an American businessman who became the leading industrialist of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, at the turn of the 20th century.
The Algoma Central Railway is a railway in Northern Ontario, Canada, that operates between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst. It used to have a branch line to Wawa. The area served by the railway is sparsely populated, with few roads.
Marathon is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Thunder Bay District, on the north shore of Lake Superior north of Pukaskwa National Park.
Prince is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within the Algoma District northwest of Sault Ste. Marie. Although the township is not part of the city of Sault Ste. Marie, some municipal services are contracted to the city.
The Magpie River is a river in Algoma District, northeastern Ontario, Canada, The river empties into Michipicoten Bay on Lake Superior near the town of Wawa. The river drains an area of about 1,900 square kilometres (734 sq mi).
Sault Ste. Marie is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968.
Nipigon is a township in Thunder Bay District, Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located along the west side of the Nipigon River and south of the small Helen Lake running between Lake Nipigon and Lake Superior. Lake Nipigon is located approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of Nipigon. Located at latitude 49.0125° N, Nipigon is the northernmost community on the Great Lakes.
Unorganized North Algoma District is an unorganized area in northeastern Ontario, Canada, comprising all areas in Algoma District, north of the Sault Ste. Marie to Elliot Lake corridor, which are not part of an incorporated municipality or a First Nation. It covers 44,077.03 km2 (17,018.24 sq mi) of land, and had a population of 6050 in 2021. Many of these communities were/are stations on the Algoma Central Railway or were logging/mining towns.
The Huron Central Railway is a railway operating in northern Ontario, Canada. It is operated by Genesee & Wyoming Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming.
Michipicoten Island is an island in Ontario, Canada, in the northeastern part of Lake Superior, about 175 kilometres (109 mi) northwest of Sault Ste. Marie and 65 kilometres (40 mi) southwest of Wawa, Ontario. At its closest point to mainland Ontario, the island is located about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from the mainland. It falls within the boundaries of Thunder Bay District. The third largest island in Lake Superior, after Isle Royale and St. Ignace Island, Michipicoten Island is 27 kilometres (17 mi) long and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) wide at its widest point.
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in Ontario, Canada. The third-largest city in Northern Ontario after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, it is located on the St. Mary's River on the Canada–US border. To the southwest, across the river, is the United States and the Michigan city of the same name. The two cities are joined by the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, which connects Interstate 75 on the Michigan side to Huron Street on the Ontario side. Shipping traffic in the Great Lakes system bypasses the Saint Mary's Rapids via the American Soo Locks, the world's busiest canal in terms of tonnage that passes through it, while smaller recreational and tour boats use the Canadian Sault Ste. Marie Canal.
Michipicoten is a self-discharging lake freighter owned and operated by Canadian shipping firm Lower Lakes Towing. Michipicoten primarily hauls taconite from Marquette, Michigan, to the Algoma Steel Mill in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. She has a capacity of 22,300 tons, a speed of 12 knots (14 mph), and a length of 689 feet 6 inches (210.2 m).
The 1903 Consolidated Lake Superior riot occurred on 28–30 September 1903 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, as a result of layoffs and unpaid wages. Two police officers and four protesters were injured, the headquarters was looted, and the army was called in to quell the riot.
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