As I travel further north, many of the communities we pass through have very little information available about them on the Internet. Many are just hunting camps and are called flag stops. These small communities may only have a marker along the railway where the train drops off and picks up people and freight. The rail line is their connection to the outside world as roads become les and less frequent.
Washago Pop: 9000
Ramara is a township municipality in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada.The former townships of Rama and Mara were first named in 1820. The origins of the names are unclear, as both may be either Spanish words (rama for "branch" and mara for "sea") or Biblical references (rama for Ramah, the biblical town of Benjamin in ancient Israel, and mara for Marah, named in the biblical Book of Exodus as the place where Moses sweetened the bitter waters for the Israelites.) As both styles of place naming were popular in Ontario at the time, it is not clear which one Lieutenant-Governor Sir Peregrine Maitland had in mind.
A portion of Rama Township was allocated to form what became the Mnjikaning First Nation 32 Indian reserve of the Chippewas of Mnjikaning First Nation. Many natives were living on the narrow strip of land that separates lakes Simcoe and Couchiching between Atherley and Orillia. These lands were surrendered by treaty in 1836. After that time, the local Indian Agent began purchasing lands in Rama Township and the natives were relocated there. The main settlement on the reserve is also known as Rama and is the site of Casino Rama.
North of Rama, the community of Longford Mills was established in 1868. In 1867 American lumberman Henry W. Sage had purchased blocks of land in Rama Township after buying timber berths in Oakley Township in Muskoka District. Sage had considered relocating his mill from Bell Ewart to a point between the Black River and Lake Couchiching, or possibly at Wasdell Falls. This area lacked rail transport, so the sawn lumber would have to be barged to the Northern Railway at Bell Ewart. Instead, Sage came up with the idea of a canal to float logs from the Black River to supply the mills of Lake Simcoe. The Rama Timber Transport Company was formed in 1868. Not only did it allow the logs of Muskoka and Victoria reach the mills of Lake Simcoe, but helped establish the community of Longford Mills.
Parry Sound Pop: 5818
Parry Sound is the world's deepest natural freshwater port. The body of water that gives the town its name was surveyed and named by Captain Henry Bayfield in the 19th century, in honor of the Arctic explorer Sir William Edward Parry. In 1857, the modern townsite was established near the Ojibwa village of Wasauksing ("shining shore") at the mouth of the Seguin River. In the late 19th century, rail service was established, making the town an important depot along the rail lines to Western Canada.
In 1916, a cordite factory was established in the nearby town of Nobel for the Imperial Munitions Board. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, an explosives and munitions factory was also built at Nobel, making Parry Sound an important part of both the First World War and the Second World War effort.
Sudbury Jct. Pop: 157,857
Originally named Sainte-Anne-des-Pins ("St. Anne of the Pines"), established as a mission by the Jesuits in 1883. The Sainte-Anne-des-Pins church played a prominent role in the development of Franco-Ontarian culture in the region. Until 1917, Sainte-Anne-des-Pins was the only Roman Catholic congregation in Sudbury, offering masses in both English and French.
The community started as a small lumber camp in McKim township. During construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1883, blasting and excavation revealed high concentrations of nickel-copper ore at Murray Mine on the edge of the Sudbury Basin. Earlier, in 1856, provincial land surveyor Albert Salter had located magnetic anomalies in the area that were strongly suggestive of mineral deposits, although his discovery aroused little attention because the area was remote. However, the railway construction made large-scale mining development in the area economically feasible for the first time.
The community was renamed for Sudbury, Suffolk in England, the hometown of Canadian Pacific Railway commissioner James Worthington's wife. The original settlement at Sudbury was not strongly associated with the mines, but served primarily as a transportation hub and a commercial centre for the separate mining camps and farming communities that surrounded it—miners only began residing in Sudbury itself later on, as improvements to the area's transportation network made it possible for workers to live in one community and work in another.
Thomas Edison visited the Sudbury area as a prospector in 1901, and is credited with the original discovery of the ore body at Falconbridge.
Through the decades that followed, Sudbury's economy went through boom and bust cycles as world demand for nickel rose and fell. Demand was high during the First World War, when Sudbury-mined nickel was used extensively in the manufacture of artillery in Sheffield, England. It bottomed out when the war ended, and then rose again in the mid-1920s as peacetime uses for nickel began to develop.
Demand for nickel in the 1930s was such that after an early slowdown, the city recovered from the Great Depression much more quickly than almost any other city in North America, and was for much of that decade the fastest-growing city in all of Canada and one of the wealthiest—to the point that most of the city's social problems in the Depression era were caused not by unemployment, but by the fact that the city was growing so rapidly that it had difficulty keeping up with all of its new infrastructure demands, such as housing, roads, sewers and public transit.
Another brief economic slowdown hit the city in 1937, although the city's fortunes rose again during the Second World War. The Frood Mine alone accounted for 40 percent of all the nickel used in Allied artillery production during the war. After the end of that war, however, Sudbury was in a good position to supply nickel to the United States government when it decided to stockpile non-Soviet supplies during the Cold War.
In 1940, Sudbury became the first city in Canada to install parking meters.
Sudbury is on the Canadian (Precambrian) Shield. Sudbury has more lakes than any other municipality in Canada with 330 within city limits. Among the most notable are Lake Wanapitei, the largest lake in the world completely contained within the boundaries of a single city, and Lake Ramsey, just a few kilometres south of downtown Sudbury, which held the same record before the municipal amalgamation in 2001 brought Lake Wanapitei fully inside the city limits.
The ore deposits in Sudbury are part of a large geological structure known as the Sudbury Basin, are the remnants of a 1.85-billion year old meteorite impact crater. Sudbury's pentlandite, pyrite and pyrrhotite ores contain profitable amounts of many elements—primarily nickel and copper, but also including smaller amounts of cobalt, platinum, gold, silver, selenium and tellurium. It also contains an unusually high concentration of sulfur. Local smelting of the ore releases this sulfur into the atmosphere where it combines with water vapor to form sulfuric acid, contributing to acid rain.
As a result, Sudbury was widely (although not entirely accurately) known for many years as a wasteland. In parts of the city, vegetation was devastated both by acid rain and by logging to provide fuel for early smelting techniques. To a lesser extent, the area's ecology was also impacted by lumber camps in the area providing wood for the reconstruction of Chicago after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. While other logging areas in Northeastern Ontario were also involved in that effort, the emergence of mining related processes in the following decade made it significantly harder for new trees to grow to full maturity in the Sudbury area than elsewhere.
The resulting erosion exposed bedrock, which was charred in most places to a pitted, dark black appearance. There was not a complete lack of vegetation in the region, however. Paper birch and wild blueberry patches are notable examples of plants which thrived in the acidic soils. Not all parts of the city were equally affected even during the worst years of the city's environmental degradation.
During the Apollo manned lunar exploration program, NASA astronauts trained in Sudbury to become familiar with shatter cones, a rare rock formation connected with meteorite impacts. However, the popular misconception that they were visiting Sudbury because it purportedly resembled the lifeless surface of the moon dogged the city for years. As recently as 2009, a CBC Radio journalist repeated the moonscape myth in a report aired on The Current, although the show subsequently corrected the error by interviewing NASA astronaut Fred Haise, who confirmed that he had been in Sudbury to study rock formations.
The construction of the Inco Superstack in 1972 dispersed the sulfuric acid over a much wider area, reducing the acidity of local precipitation and enabling the city to begin an environmental recovery program. In the late 1970s, private, public, and commercial interests combined to establish an unprecedented "regreening" effort. Lime was spread over the charred soil of the Sudbury region by hand and by aircraft. Seeds of wild grasses and other vegetation were also spread. As of 2010, 9.2 million new trees have been planted in the city. More recently, the city has begun to rehabilitate the slag heaps that surround the Copper Cliff smelter area, with the planting of grass and trees.
The ecology of the Sudbury region has recovered dramatically, due both to the regreening program and improved mining practices. In 1992, Sudbury was one of twelve world cities given the Local Government Honors Award at the United Nations Earth Summit to honor the city's community-based environmental reclamation strategies.
The city's Nickel District Conservation Authority operates a large conservation area, the Lake Laurentian Conservation Area, in the city's south end. Other unique environmental projects in the city include the Fielding Bird Sanctuary, a protected area along Highway 17 near Lively which provides a managed natural habitat for birds, and a hiking and nature trail near Coniston which is named in honor of scientist Jane Goodall.
Capreol Pop: 4020
Capreol formed around the Capreol railway station which was a major divisional point on the Canadian National Railway line, and was named for Frederick Chase Capreol, the original promoter of the Northern Railway of Canada. The first family to move into Capreol was Adolph and Margaret Sawyer, both of whom pioneered in farming.
Although the town was originally an independent community with its own thriving economy, it gradually became a satellite community to the more rapidly growing city of Sudbury, approximately 40 kilometres to the south. In 1916, there were thirty families in town, and by 1919, sixty houses had been built. It was then decided that Capreol would build its own YMCA.
Laforest: Railway station
McKee’s Camp: Hunting camp - flag station
Felix: Ontario Wilderness Lodge - flag station
Ruel: flag station
Westree
Westree is an unincorporated community in the Unorganized, North Part of Sudbury District in northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is located at the end of the spur Ontario Highway 560A and lies on the north shore of Duchabani Lake about 110 kilometres (68 mi) northwest of the centre of Sudbury. The community is on the Canadian National Railway mainline, and is the location of Westree railway station served by Via Rail.
Gogama
Gogama is a small community located in the heart of Northeastern Ontario, situated on Lake Minisinakwa, it is 580 kilometres north of Toronto, 191 km north of Sudbury and 114 km south of Timmins. With a population of 394 people in the Canada 2006 Census, it boasts recreation, hunting and fishing that is unrivaled in this part of Ontario.
Gogama is on Highway 661, a short spur route which connects it to Highway 144. The community is accessible by car, bus (Ontario Northland), rail (VIA), and chartered float plane transport.
Gogama is an Ojibway word meaning "jumping fish", likely in reference to the many fish that abound the waters of Lake Miniskawa. A native trading post was established in the area in the early 18th century. From 1911 to 1914, the Canadian Northern Railway, was under construction through this area, now the CNR. Gogama was first settled in 1917 by Arthur L'Abbé. The post office was opened shortly after in 1919 and since, Gogama has relied heavily on the forestry industry although tourism is starting to benefit the hamlet as well.
During the era of railway construction, Gogama was likely a place of importance for the manufacture of Axe ties. However, following that period, maintaining and upgrading the railway required a constant supply of ties. The handmade axe ties were phased out and replaced with creosote treated ties. For the most part, this development followed World War I throughout Northern Ontario. At that same time, returning soldiers came to this area looking for work.
The first mill at Gogama was established in 1919, when W.H. Poupore contracted with the Harris Tie and Timber to supply the CNR with sawn ties. The mill produced all types of merchantable timber, but specialized in tie blocks. This mill was later taken over by Poupore's brother M.J.(Joe) Poupore. As orders for ties declined contracts were secured to supply mining timber for Falconbridge. Although the original mill burned in 1936, a new mill was erected at the mouth of the Nabakwasi River, in Togo Township, north of Gogama.
Sergeant Wallace Edmond Firlotte, who served with the Lincoln and Welland Regiment during World War II, was born and raised in Gogama. He was bestowed with six war decorations for his heroism during the war; most notably, Sergeant Firlotte was one of fewer than ten Canadians, and the only one from his regiment, who had the Order of the Bronze Lion bestowed by the Crown of the Netherlands. The Prince personally presented this Order to Sgt Firlotte by Royal Decree (No. 2) on December 8, 1945.
Gogama is featured in a short educational film The Forest Commandos, produced by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film is 19 minutes long. It was completed by Warner Bros. in September 1945 and released in January 1946. The film documents the operations of the former Forest Protection Service, of the Department of Lands & Forests, Province of Ontario, which was renamed the Ministry of Natural Resources (Ontario) in 1972. The film is specifically dedicated to the work of the bush pilots flying floatplanes, such as those manufactured by the Stinson Aircraft Company, in support of forest fire suppression crews. A Second World War Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber is also show briefly taxiing on a runway. The Forest Commandos was recently aired on Turner Classic Movies.
Foleyet. Pop: 216
Foleyet is a community in the Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada, midway between Chapleau and Timmins on Highway 101. The town was created during the construction of the Canadian Northern Railway (CNR) through the area in the early years of the 20th century.
In the early 1900s, Canadian Northern decided to build a railroad through the area Foleyet now occupies. The Foley Brothers and Northern Construction were the two contractors who were hired to do the job. Construction began in 1911 and was completed in 1915. The goal of the construction was to unite the western lines from Current Junction, now part of Thunder Bay, to the eastern section, between Toronto and Ruel, which was accomplished in 1912. While this work was going on, a line was also being put in from Ottawa to Capreol. On June 15, 1915, the first work train arrived from Capreol. The engineer was Jim Scott. The train carried men to build bridges over Ivanhoe River, Muskego River, and Groundhog River.
The CNR station at Foleyet was originally called Foley. Local legend has it that the early residents applied for a post office named to honor their former employer the Foley Brothers, but were frustrated in their wishes because the name Foley Post Office already existed near Parry Sound. The story is told that someone declared that "We want to name the town for the Foley Brothers, and we'll name it Foley yet!" and the unintended name stuck.
Being about mid-way between Capreol and Hornepayne, Foleyet was established as a divisional point, for changing train crews and servicing rolling stock, and there was with a large railway roundhouse as well.
The town started with 15 houses. The Canadian Northern Railway built a large sawmill, west of the station, equipped with a pulp barker, planing mill, and a powerhouse. This mill although owned by the railway operated under the name Eastern Lands Division. Lumber was sold wholesale to railway employees, for home construction. A lumber yard was also established at Capreol. The Eastern Lands Co. built their main office here. They cut white pine, red pine, spruce pulp logs, and jack pine axe ties.
In 1917, a dam was built, creating a new river by joining Midway Creek and Muskego Rivers. The dam broke a year later, flooding Foleyet and lowering the lake levels significantly once again. The town has had many such disasters, in the form of fires and floods, and much of its landscape differs completely now from its origins. Often when new progress was made or added, it was simply destroyed years later.
The land occupied by Foleyet was originally an island, before an esker was destroyed and the lake receded dramatically. Ivanhoe Lake (then known as Pishkanogami, the native name for it) was how the area was first explored, before Foleyet became a town. The Hudson's Bay Company had two outposts nearby, one on Lake Pishkanogami, and one on Kukatush (Groundhog) Lake. Both were closed in the 1880s due to a decline in the fur trade. It wasn't until 1960 that lake Pishkanogami became Ivanhoe Lake or lac Ivanhoe in French.
The town, at present, is known as the home of the white moose. In 1998 one such moose was hit by a train, and after a day of suffering was killed by a CN worker. The head of the moose is mounted in the Northern Lights Restaurant.
Elsas
Elsas railway station is located in the community of Elsas, Ontario, Canada. This station is currently in use by Via Rail. Transcontinental Canadian trains stop here.
Oba Pop: 5 people / mile
Oba is located at the junction of the Canadian National and the Algoma Central Railways, approximately halfway between Dubreuilville and Hearst. The community is also accessible by forest roads extending from Highway 583. The community is known for it's hunting and fishing.
Hornepayne
Hornepayne is a township of 1209 people (Canada 2006 Census) located in the Algoma District of Ontario, Canada. The town was originally established in 1915 as Fitzback when the Canadian Northern Railway's transcontinental line was built through the area. It was renamed Hornepayne in 1920 after British financier Robert Horne-Payne.
Hornepayne serves as a railway divisional point on the main Canadian National Railway line. The forestry industry is the major employer to the local economy. Hunting and fishing related tourism in the area is served by several small companies.
The township of Hornepayne has been the proposed site of a low level nuclear waste storage facility for some time. The town's community liaison group chose to withdraw from this development in the early '90s, but as of May 2010 the township is still being considered for nuclear waste management/storage.
Hillsport
Hillsport railway station is located in the community of Hillsport, Ontario, Canada. This station is currently in use by Via Rail. Transcontinental Canadian trains stop here.
Caramat - flag stop
Nakina. Pop 556
Nakina was first established in 1923 as a station and railway yard on the National Transcontinental Railway. As an important railway service stop from 1923 until 1986, the town had a railway round-house as well as a watering and fueling capability. During World War II, there was also a radar base on the edge of the town, intended to watch for a potential attack on the strategically important Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie.
In the 1970s pulp and paper operations near the town resulted in growth in the towns population to its peak of approximately 1200.
As of 2004 the town remains focussed on tourism, diminished pulp and paper operations and support of other more northern communities (food, fuel and transportation). Mining and minerals industries are often seen as a source of further growth, though the Canadian Shield geology of the area makes extraction of minerals like gold an expensive operation.
Longlac Pop: 2074
Auden - flag stop (hunting camps)
Ferland - flag stop
Mud River - flag stop
Armstrong Pop: 1,155 - flag stop
Collins
Collins (Ojibwemowin: Namaygoosisagagun) is the home to the Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, a non-status Ojibwa First Nation near Onamakawash Lake, on the northshore of Collins Lake, northwest of Lake Nipigon; the First Nation is presently applying for official band status and reserve lands through the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. The name "Namaygoosisagagun" comes from Namegosi-zaaga'igan, meaning "Trout Lake," which is the Aboriginal name for Collins Lake. Though Namaygoosisagagun First Nation have about 140 people registered, only about 30 people live in Collins. Collins may be accessed either by the Canadian National Railway line or by airplane.
Allwater Bridge Flag stop
Flindt Landing (railway station)
Savant Lake
Savant Lake railway station is on the line served by Via Rail transcontinental Canadian trains.
Sioux Lookout:Pop 5183
Sioux Lookout, known locally as the "Hub of the North", it is serviced by the Sioux Lookout Airport, Highway 72, and the Sioux Lookout railway station. Tourism, lumber, and health care are the primary sources of employment in the town.
There are a number of fishing camps in the area that allow access to an extensive lake system fed by the English River. The town is surrounded by several beaches including Umphreville Park, a historical site that predates the town itself. During the summer months, Sioux Lookout's population rises as tourists, most of which are American, arrive to take advantage of the multitude of lakes and rivers in the area. Experienced guides, employed by the camps, can locate the best locations and also provide an educated tour of the unique land known affectionately as "sunset country".
Sioux Lookout's name comes from a local mountain and First Nations story. This mountain, known as Sioux Mountain, was used in the late 18th century by Ojibway Indians to watch for any oncoming Sioux warriors looking to ambush their camp. A careful eye could see the sun shining off the birch of enemy canoes crossing nearby rapids. Women and children could be led away safely while the warriors could intercept the Sioux on the water. Illustrating this old story on the front page of the local newspaper, The Sioux Lookout Bulletin, is an iconic image of a First Nations man, holding a hand above his eyes to scan the waters.
Present-day Sioux Lookout was incorporated in 1912 and was then a terminal point on the National Transcontinental Railway. For many years, Sioux Lookout was simply a railway town. When gold was discovered in Red Lake, Sioux Lookout became one of the leading aviation centers in Canada during the twenties and thirties. During the Cold War, Sioux Lookout operated a radar base to monitor any activity from Russia.
Now, the Canadian National Railway is a significant employer, but it is no longer the base of the municipality’s economy. Instead, the forest industry and expanding tourism is the crux of Sioux Lookout employment.
Richan
Richan is on the Canadian National Railway transcontinental and is served by Richan railway station, a stop for Via Rail transcontinental Canadian trains.
Red Lake Road
Red Lake Road is named for the road, today's Ontario Highway 105, that runs from the community of Vermilion Bay in the south to the town of Red Lake in the north. Red Lake Road railway station is in the community and served by Via Rail transcontinental Canadian trains.
Canyon - Flag stop
Farlane - Flag stop
Redditt Pop: 172
Until 1985 the main street of Redditt was called highway 666. In 1985, an Evangelical Christian church located on the then Highway 666 nearer to Kenora, asked that the highway be renumbered. Subsequently the main street of Redditt and the road into town were renumbered to highway 658. Members of the church had argued to the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario, that it was inappropriate for their church to be located on the "Highway to Hell". Redditt is also the starting point for what is locally known as the "English River Road", which provides access to resource (logging primarily) exploitation in the region north of Redditt.
Once a location for a Canadian National Railway roundhouse, the railyard operations were closed down in the early 1950s when the CNR switched to diesel/electrics from steam. At this time Ontario Central Airlines, owned by Barney Lamb, established a maintenance facility in the old roundhouse, for its fleet of amphibious charter aircraft. The old switch yard was used as a landing strip for wheel aircraft after the tracks had been pulled. At this time the inflow to Corn Lake (the MacFarlane River) was dredged, and a control dam constructed at the out flow of Ena Lake to ensure an adequate water depth for the landing of amphibious aircraft, which were then towed by dolly to the former roundhouse for maintenance.
Redditt is on the Canadian National Railway transcontinental main line, and Redditt railway station is served by Via Rail transcontinental Canadian passenger trains.
The primary economic activities are tourism and resource harvesting. Several hunting and sport fishing lodges and camps are found in Redditt. The facilities are usually quite basic, relying on the "external" or outdoor experience to provide the fun and excitement. Prices are generally quite affordable. Many outfitters, lodges, and camps (the terms are quite often interchangeable) provide varying levels of service from simple "house keeping" cabins to full "American plan" (generally understood to mean all-inclusive except for licenses, alcohol, and tobacco). Price is of course service level dependent. Some of the operators provide an "outpost" camp experience. These outlying camps or cabins can usually only be reached by air via float plane, or by canoe over one or more portages and lakes.
Traditionally this has been seen as the truest wilderness experience. The areas where these "outposts" are located are more isolated, and less frequented by travelers, and thus often offer a higher potential for trophy hunting and fishing, and consequently also offer the non-hunter or non-angler a better chance to experience the northern wilderness unintruded upon by strangers.
There is an attraction called The Bottle House that was designed and built by Hank and Myrtle Deverell in 1973. It took approximately 25,000 bottles and 1,000 pounds of mortar to build. The Deverells spent approximately 1,756 hours building it. There are no other known bottle houses in Northwest Ontario.
Minaki
Minaki was accessible only by rail until about 1960. It was a fuelling and watering point in the days of steam locomotives; now few trains stop in Minaki, though the thrice-weekly Via Rail transcontinental Canadian passenger trains will stop on request at the Minaki railway station.
First nations people have lived on the Winnipeg River in the Minaki area for a millennium or more, judging by the potshards and arrow points that turn up along the shores. The river was a major canoe route for the explorers and fur traders in the early days of white settlement. In the nineteenth century the Hudson's Bay Company had a trading post a couple of kilometres north of the present community.
The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, which operated the line for the National Transcontinental, built a rustic resort hotel that it called the Minaki Lodge and renamed the station Minaki, an Ojibwa word that has been variously translated as Beautiful Water or Good Land.
Minaki is at the boundary where the white pine and yellow birch of the northwestern tip of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence forest meet the jack pine, black spruce and trembling aspen of the boreal forest. Most major stands of white pine were either cut by the Simpson and Short lumber company in the 1920s or destroyed by wildfires in the drought summers of the 1930s. The largest remaining stands of virgin pine timber, the trees that symbolize the rugged north for many Canadians, are on islands where they were protected from both logging and fire. Fly-in service is available to the English River and lakes farther north. Area lakes offer bass, muskie, northern pike and walleye. There are also many black bear, moose and deer in the rugged woods surrounding the town.
Ottermere
Ottermere Railway Station is in the community and served by Via Rail transcontinental Canadian trains.
Malachi - flag stop
Copeland’s Landing - flag stop
Rice Lake
Rice Lake is a lake that the Natives called Pemadashdakota or "lake of the burning plains". The lake is fairly shallow and was named for the wild rice which grew in it and was harvested by native people of the area. Most of the extensive stands of wild rice originally found in the lake were wiped out when water levels were raised in the lake during the construction of the waterway.
Prehistoric burial mounds are found at Serpent Mounds Park on the north shore of the lake. Rice Lake is an attractive tourist area but is most famous for its fish. Annual fishing contests are held at Rice Lake, as well as personal fishing. Rice Lake is said to be the lake with most fish in Ontario. Panfish, Walleye, Muskie and Bass are found in Rice Lake's waters.
Winnitoba, MB - flag stop
Ophir - flag stop
Brereton Lake
Brereton Lake railway station is located in the community of Brereton Lake, Manitoba. This station is currently in use by Via Rail. Transcontinental Canadian trains stop here.
The Ojibway people and various other groups before them initially populated the area. The Ojibway, or Anishinaabe, first mapped some of the area on birch bark. The name of the park is derived from the cowrie shells that were used in ceremonies by the Ojibway, Anishinaabe, and Midewiwin. The historic Winnipeg River and the Whiteshell River are the main rivers that run through this remote park and wilderness area. For thousands of years aboriginal peoples used the area for harvesting wild rice, hunting, fishing, trade, and dwelling. In 1734, Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Verendrye was the first European to explore the area during his quest for a route to the Western Sea. Natives, fur traders, and trappers used the Winnipeg River as the main travel route across Canada, along with the Whiteshell River.
Whiteshell Park has many pink granite ridges, cliffs, and flat granite areas used for petroform making by First Nation peoples. There is also archaeological evidence of ancient copper trading, prehistoric quartz mining, and stone tool making in the area. The copper trade, going east to Lake Superior, began approximately 6000 years ago. Many artifacts and prehistoric camps were discovered in the Whiteshell Park and are protected under the Heritage Act of Manitoba.
Whiteshell Provincial Park is home to a variety of large mammals including black bear, moose, white-tailed deer, wolves, lynx and smaller ones like otter, marten, fisher, red fox, mink, hares, beavers, bats, skunks, raccoons, and red squirrels. The birds that can be seen in the park include owls, bald eagles, ruby throated hummingbirds, chickadees, blue jays, grosbeaks, turkey vultures, redpolls, woodpeckers, osprey, loons, ruffed grouse, ducks and Canada geese. There are also snakes, muskrats, turtles and a wide variety of insects found in the park. The lakes and rivers within the park are home to perch, walleye, jackfish, lake sturgeon, black crappie, burbot, whitefish, trout, white bass and smallmouth bass.
The park is still used by aboriginal peoples for wild rice harvesting and ceremonies. Today the park is popular for swimming, boating, canoeing, hiking, cottagers, camping, fishing, and more. It contains part of the Trans-Canada Trail, although construction is incomplete. The species of fish that this section of the Winnipeg River System is best known for is its lake sturgeon. These gigantic bottom feeders can reach lengths of up to 20 feet long and can be up to 200 years old. Lake sturgeon are an endangered species and have to be released upon catching them.
Elma
Elma, Manitoba is a community in Manitoba whose name may originate from all the elm trees in the area, though it is more likely the name was given when the Canadian National Railroad was built through the area. It was common for small railroad towns to be named by the railroad engineers or other planners. Elma has a small rail station (hut) used frequently by people going to isolated cabins in the eastern Whiteshell and North Western Manitoba.
There is currently little infrastructure in Elma. Delays for building projects are due to provincial requirement for a safe drinking water supply and an adequate. Residents are hoping with the arrival of a fresh drinking water supply and promises from the RM to clean the area up, the town may rejuvenate and attract new people to the area.
Winnipeg Pop: 633,451
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada and is located at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers (a point commonly known as The Forks).
The name "Winnipeg" comes from the Cree for "muddy waters". The Winnipeg area was a trading centre for Aboriginal peoples prior to the arrival of Europeans. The first fort was built there in 1738 by French traders. A settlement was later founded by the Selkirk settlers in 1812, the nucleus of which was incorporated as the City of Winnipeg in 1873. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, Winnipeg was one of the fastest growing cities in North America. The University of Manitoba, founded during this period, was the first university in Western Canada.
Winnipeg has a diversified economy, with sectors in finance, manufacturing, food and beverage production, culture, retail and tourism. Winnipeg is a major transportation hub.
The Forks was a crossroads of canoe routes travelled by Aboriginal peoples prior to European contact. The name Winnipeg is a transcription of the western Cree word wi-nipe-k meaning "muddy waters"; the general area was populated for thousands of years by First Nations. Through archaeology, petroglyphs, rock art and oral history, scholars have learned that native peoples used the area in prehistoric times for camping, hunting, tool making, fishing, trading and, further north, for agriculture.
Before the first European encounter, First Nations peoples appear to have been engaged in farming activity along the Red River, where corn and other seed crops were planted. The rivers provided an extensive transportation network linking many indigenous peoples, including the Anishinaabe, Assiniboine, Ojibway, Sioux, and Cree. The Red River linked ancient northern peoples with those to the south along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The Ojibway made some of the first maps on birch bark, which helped fur traders navigate the waterways of the area.
The first French officer arrived in the area in 1738. Sieur de La Vérendrye built the first fur trading post on the site, called Fort Rouge.Francophone trading continued at this site for several decades before the arrival of the British Hudson's Bay Company. Many French and later British men who were trappers married First Nations women; their mixed-race children, the Métis, hunted, traded, and lived in the area.
The Royal Canadian Mint, established in 1976, is where all circulating coinage in Canada is produced. The plant, located in southeastern Winnipeg, also produces coins for many other countries.
Winnipeg Bear, (also known as Winnie-the-Pooh) was purchased in Ontario, by Lieutenant Harry Colebourn of The Fort Garry Horse. He named the bear after the regiment's home town of Winnipeg. The bear cub was purchased from a hunter for $20 by the lieutenant while en route to England during the First World War. "Winnie" was surreptitiously brought to England with her owner, and gained unofficial recognition as The Fort Garry Horse regimental mascot. Colebourn left Winnie at the London Zoo while he and his unit were in France; after the war she was officially donated to the zoo, as she had become a much loved attraction there.
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