Timmins

History

Research performed by archaeologists indicate that human settlement in the area is at least 6,000 years old; it's believed the oldest traces found are from a nomadic people of the Shield Archaic culture.

Up until contact with settlers, the land belonged to the Mattagami First Nation peoples. Treaty Number Nine of 1906 pushed this tribe to the north side of the Mattagami Lake, the site of a Hudson's Bay trading post first established in 1794. In the 1950s, the reservation was relocated to the south side of the lake, to its present-day reservation.

The development of Timmins is due to the rich ore deposits of the Canadian Shield. Originally a company town, it was founded by Noah Timmins in 1912 following gold discoveries in the Porcupine Camp a few years earlier.

On June 9, 1909, Harry Preston slipped on a rocky knoll and the heels of his boots stripped the moss to reveal a large vein of gold, which later became the Dome Mine. Benny Hollinger discovered the nearby Hollinger Gold Mine in 1910. Noah and Henry Timmins bought into the Hollinger Mine shortly after. On the same day as the Hollinger discovery, Sandy McIntyre discovered the McIntyre Mine near Pearl Lake, four miles away. These mines are known as the "Big Three."

The area became home to dozens of prospectors during the "Porcupine Gold Rush," who explored the areas around Porcupine Lake and the Frederick House River. Most settlers grouped around Porcupine Lake and the Dome, which is situated one mile from the lake. Four miles down the road, around the McIntyre Mine, the hamlet of Schumacher was established. Timmins apparently got its name from the wooden sign nailed to a tree, demarcating Noah Timmins's purchase.

The rail system that began to operate around Timmins in 1911 accelerated the growth of the camp. That same year, two days after the first train arrived in the Porcupine, the entire camp was destroyed in the fire of 1911, although the area was rebuilt within two months.

In 1912, Noah Timmins founded the town to house the employees of the Hollinger Mine.

In November 1912, 1,200 members of the Western Federation of Miners Local 145 held a strike at all three mines in response to a proposal to lower their wages. Mine operators hired gun thugs, who fired on the picket line and were ordered out by the provincial government. After months without work, many men chose to leave the settlement; only 500 miners returned to work in July 1913. The strike won the men a nine-hour workday and a pay increase.

The Great Depression did not adversely affect the economy of the area, and jobs were available in mining and lumber.

In 1917, a dam was built at Kenogamissi Falls, downriver from Mattagami Lake, to provide power for the Timmins-Porcupine mining camp; Mattagami Lake was consequently flooded.

The gold mines declined in the 1950s.

In 1973, 35 townships covering 1,260 square mile, including Porcupine, South Porcupine, Schumacher, and Timmins were organized into the City of Timmins.

In the 1990s, the City of Timmins became a regional service and distribution centre for Northeastern Ontario.

Climate

Timmins is near the northern periphery of the hemiboreal humid continental climate (Dfb). Timmins has very cold winters, being in northern Ontario, but temperatures in late summer and fall tend to be among the coldest for any major city in any Canadian province, although during the spring and summer it can get very hot. The highest temperature ever recorded in Timmins was 39.4 °C (103 °F) on 12 July 1936. The coldest temperature ever recorded was −45.6 °C (−50 °F) on 1 February 1962.

Demographics

The 2006 census indicated that Timmins was 91.1% White, 7.7% Aboriginal, and 1.2% Visible Minorities. After several years of decline, the city's population has grown again, with an intercensal population estimate of 44,507 in 2008 and a rapid increase in new retail development projects in the city's west end.

Language

In Timmins, according to the 2011 census, 57.7% of the population reported English as their first language (Anglophone), 37.2% reported only French (Francophone) as their first language, and 4.6% reported only non-official, neither English nor French, as their first language (Allophone). 50.8% of the population is bilingual in both English and French.

Tourism

Some of the main tourist attractions within the city include: The Timmins Museum and National Exhibition Centre, Cedar Meadows Wilderness Tours, Kamiskotia Snow Resort, Porcupine Ski Runners Cross-Country Trails and Chalet, Hollinger Golf Club, Spruce Needles Golf Club, the Sandy Falls Golf Club, the McIntyre Community Building and the Timmins Snowmobile Club. Snowmobiling impacts the Timmins economy as tourists from all over North America travel to explore area trails.

Hollinger Park is one of the city's main recreational spaces. The park is divided in two sections, the north side being the public park area, with the south side having a regulation sized baseball diamond and two soccer fields for more organized outdoor recreational endeavours. The baseball park has been home to the Timmins Men's Baseball League since 1985. Former Timmins resident Shania Twain played a concert at Hollinger Park on July 1, 1999. An estimated 22,000 people attended the outdoor concert.

The Pioneer Museum is located 39.5 km (24.5 mi) northeast of the city centre in Connaught, a community of 400 people. Nearby communities include Barbers Bay, Dugwal, Finn Road, Hoyle, Ice Chest Lake, McIntosh Springs and Nighthawk. Local history in the area dates back over 300 years.

La Galeruche Art Gallery, located at 32 Mountjoy Street North (Centre Culturel La Ronde), provides local francophone artists with a venue to exhibit and sell their work.

The Porcupine Miner's Memorial tribute is a statue of the miner, head frame and tablets bearing the names of 594 miners killed in mining accidents were unveiled in 2008. The following year, the statues of a mother and two children were unveiled to commemorate those families left behind.

Timmins Murals painted by Ed Spehar, Gary Bostrom and Paulette Brozowski, three of our local and accomplished artists. Much of their work now graces the sides of buildings or is on display inside public buildings. These murals reflect the history of Timmins including the founders of the city. Murals are available for viewing at the McIntyre Community Centre, Hollinger Park, the Northern Tel Building, the Maurice Londry Community Centre, the CM Shields Library, Golden Avenue Public School, the Timmins Public Library, the Victor M. Power Timmins Airport and Theriault Catholic High School.

The Timmins Public Library was constructed in 2005 with locally manufactured products, using wood as the main structural material, making efficient use of our natural resources while reducing construction waste. The eco-friendly design was recognized by the Green Building Initiative and the building achieved a 3 Green Globes rating for its efficient use of resources and sustainable development.

Government

The city's mayor is Steve Black. He was sworn in on December 1, 2014, succeeding Tom Laughren.

Eight councillors serve with the mayor to complete the municipal government. Those eight councillors are elected to one of five areas of the city through a ward electoral system; rural parts of the city elect one councillor each, while the urban core of the city elects four at-large councillors. Councillors are elected to a four-year term.

Timmins city council

Postsecondary education

The main postsecondary institution in Timmins is Northern College, a College of Applied Arts and Technology. The city also has a local campus of Collège Boréal and Laurentian University's Université de Hearst. Collège Boréal / Université de Hearst has a new campus between École Secondaire Catholique Thériault and Timmins High and Vocational School on Thériault Boulevard. Algoma University also offers degrees in Social Work and Community Development on the Northern College Campus in South Porcupine.

School boards

Four school boards serve the City of Timmins:

High schools

Media

In 1952, broadcast pioneer J. Conrad Lavigne launched CFCL, the first French-language radio station in Ontario.

The Timmins Daily Press is the main English publication, publishing six issues per week. Other French-language media include newspapers Le Voyageur and Le Journal L'Express de Timmins.

Notable people

See also: List of mayors of Timmins.

Notable athletes