Algoma District

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Algoma District is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario.

The name was created by an American ethnologist, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793–1864), who was appointed Indian agent to the Ojibwe in Sault Ste. Marie region in 1822. "Al" is derived from Algonquin, while "goma" is a variant of gomee, meaning lake or water.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Algoma District has shoreline along Lake Superior and Lake Huron. It has an international border crossing to the American state of Michigan, at Sault Ste. Marie. Historically, it was known for its lumber and mining industries.

The rugged scenery of the region has inspired works by Canadian artists, particularly the Group of Seven. They rented a boxcar from the Algoma Central Railway to travel on excursions through this region.

History

Surviving prehistoric remains in Algoma District are concentrated around waterways. These remains date as far back as the Archaic period. There are also sites from the later Woodland period, with evidence of extensive Late Woodland habitation. Ceramics at Late Woodland sites show predominantly southeastern links, having originated from the Huron–Petun complex (broadly Ontario Iroquoian) as well as from modern-day Michigan.<ref name=dawson>Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp

French explorers arrived in the area by the mid-17th century. As the French penetrated into North America, they established lines of forts and trading posts, often at river mouths to control trade, especially the lucrative fur trade. In Algoma, they established Fort Michipicoten, located at the mouth of the Michipicoten River where it empties into Lake Superior. The Michipicoten was one of the geographic features depicted by Samuel de Champlain on a 1632 map.<ref name=douglas>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp This helped the French bridge the distance to Fort Kaministiquia at the head of Lake Superior, and protected the route up the Michipicoten to James Bay, providing a significant crossroads of water routes.

Administrative history

Algoma was created by proclamation as a provisional judicial district of the Province of Canada, effective October 1859,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This was authorized under an act passed by the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada in 1857.<ref>Template:Cite canlaw</ref> The limits of the district were more specifically described thus:

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The district seat is Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. However, it is noted that Thessalon is where the Algoma District Services Administration Board is located.

As the population grew and the northern and northwestern boundaries of Ontario were determined by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Algoma shrank. Other districts were created from it by the provincial government of Ontario:

Geography

Rivers

File:Michipicoten River.jpg
The Michipicoten River

Algoma District is crossed by a number of rivers, which historically were used as transportation and trade corridors. The Hudson's Bay Company chose key riverside or river mouth locations for a number of its trading posts in the district. One example was Fort Michipicoten, located at the Michipicoten River's mouth. The rivers flow in a number of directions, some crossing through other districts to ultimately empty into faraway water bodies such as James Bay. Others drain into the Great Lakes Basin via Lake Huron or Lake Superior.

Major rivers in Algoma District include:

Forests

In the Algoma section, the characteristic forest mixture consists of yellow birch, white spruce, balsam fir, sugar maple, hop-hornbeam, and eastern white cedar. Eastern white pine and occasional red pine (Pinus resinosa) dominate on the upper, steep south-facing slopes; white spruce, eastern white cedar, and balsam fir occupy the middle and lower slopes. A white spruce–balsam fir association, which usually includes white birch and black spruce, is prominent on the river terraces and adjoining flats in the northern part of the Section (Rowe 1972).<ref name="rowe">Rowe, J.S 1972. Forest regions of Canada. Can. Dep. Environ., Can. For. Serv., Ottawa ON, Publ. 1300. 172 p.</ref>

Subdivisions

Communities within these subdivisions are added in parentheses.

Cities

Name of City Population Ref.
Elliot Lake 10,743
Sault Ste. Marie 73,368

Towns

Name of Town Population Ref.
Blind River 3,472
Bruce Mines 566
Spanish 696
Thessalon 1,279

Townships

Name of Township Population Ref.
Dubreuilville 635
Hilton 261
Hornepayne 1,050
Huron Shores (Iron Bridge, Sowerby, Little Rapids, Dean Lake) 1,723
Jocelyn (Kentvale) 237
Johnson (Desbarats) 750
Laird 1,057
Macdonald, Meredith and Aberdeen Additional (Echo Bay, Bar River, Sylvan Valley) 1,609
The North Shore (Spragge, Serpent River, Algoma Mills) 509
Plummer Additional 650
Prince 1,031
St. Joseph (Richard's Landing) 1,240
Tarbutt 396
Wawa (Michipicoten, Michipicoten River) 2,975
White River 607

Village

Name of Village Population Ref.
Hilton Beach 145

Reserves

Name of Reserve Population Ref.
Garden River 14 1,170
Goulais Bay 15A 82
Gros Cap 49 68
Gros Cap Indian Village 49A N/A
Missanabie 62 N/A
Mississauga First Nation#8 390
Obadjiwan 15E N/A
Rankin Location 15D 566
Sagamok 1,036
Serpent River 7 373
Thessalon 12 108
Whitefish Island N/A

Unorganized areas

Demographics

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Algoma District had a population of Template:Val living in Template:Val of its Template:Val total private dwellings, a change of −0.3% from its 2016 population of Template:Val. With a land area of Template:Convert, it had a population density of Template:Pop density in 2021.<ref name=2021census>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Canada census

Highways

King's Highways

Secondary highways

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Tertiary highways

  • #821

Protected areas

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  • Algoma Headwaters Provincial Park
  • Aubinadong River Provincial Park
  • Aubrey Falls Provincial Park
  • Batchawana Bay Provincial Park
  • Batchawana River Provincial Park
  • Chapleau Crown Game Preserve
  • Chapleau-Nemegosenda River Provincial Park
  • Delta Provincial Nature Reserve
  • Fort Creek Conservation Area
  • Goulais River Provincial Park
  • Hiawatha Highlands Conservation Area
  • La Cloche Provincial Park
  • Lake Superior Provincial Park
  • Little White River Provincial Park
  • Marks Bay Conservation Area
  • Matintenda Provincial Park
  • Michipicoten Post Provincial Park
  • Missinaibi Provincial Park
  • Mississagi Provincial Park

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  • Mississagi River Provincial Park
  • Montreal River Provincial Park
  • Nagagami Lake Provincial Park
  • Nagagamisis Provincial Park
  • Nemegosenda River Wetlands Provincial Park
  • North Channel Islands-La Cloche Provincial Park
  • North Shore Waterwat Provincial Park
  • Obatanga Provincial Park
  • Pancake Bay Provincial Park
  • Pichogen River Provincial Nature Reserve
  • Pokei Lake-White River Wetlands Provivncial Nature Reserve
  • Potholes Provincial Nature Reserve
  • Pukaskwa National Park
  • River aux Sables Provincial Park
  • Sandy Islands Provincial Nature Reserve
  • Sayme-Aubinadong-Gong Provincial Park
  • St. Joseph's Island National Marine Bird Sanctuary
  • Wenebegon River Provincial Park

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Attractions

See also

References

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Further reading

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