Témiscaming

Témiscaming is a city located at the south end of Lac Témiscamingue on the upper Ottawa River in the Témiscamingue Regional County Municipality of western Quebec, Canada. Also nearby is Lake Kipawa.

For places with variant spellings of the same root, see Timiskaming.
Témiscaming
City
The mill on the Ottawa River at Témiscaming
Motto(s): 
Vive la Forêt ("Long Live the Forest")
Location within Témiscamingue RCM
Témiscaming
Location in western Quebec
Coordinates: 46°43′N 79°06′W[1]
Country Canada
Province Quebec
RegionAbitibi-Témiscamingue
RCMTémiscamingue
Settled1880
ConstitutedMarch 26, 1988
Government
 • MayoressNicole Rochon
 • Federal ridingAbitibi—Témiscamingue
 • Prov. ridingRouyn-Noranda–Témiscamingue
Area
 • Total718.49 km2 (277.41 sq mi)
Elevation
240 m (790 ft)
Population
 (2016)[3]
 • Total2,431
 • Density3.4/km2 (9/sq mi)
 • Pop (2011–16)
 1.9%
 • Dwellings
1,447
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)
J0Z 3R0
Area code(s)819
Websitewww.temiscaming.net

It is the administrative headquarters of the Algonquin Nation Wolf Lake First Nations band government.

History

The Ottawa River had long been used by Indigenous peoples, colonial explorers, coureurs des bois, and missionaries as transportation route through the region. Some of the notable travellers passing by Témiscaming were Radisson and des Groseilliers, Saint-Lusson, Charles le Moyne and Pierre Le Moyne, and Chevalier de Troyes. A small chapel had existed there for the trappers and fur traders en route to Ottawa.[1][4]

The area began to be developed circa 1850 when forestry companies began logging the land. Some of these logging crews had brought their families, and together with some pioneer families, they had formed a settlement of about 13 families by 1880. It was originally called "Long Sault", taken from the name of the rapids on the Ottawa River at this place. From 1884 on, Long Sault became an important stopover for colonists travelling upstream to Lake Timiskaming, leading to the construction of a hotel, wharves, stores, and a railroad to Mattawa. On August 12, 1886, the first train arrived at Long Sault, also called Gordon's Creek by then.[4]

In 1888, the Municipality of Témiscaming was officially incorporated. Its name, also spelled Témiskaming, was taken from Lake Timiskaming and in turn came from the Algonquin tim ("deep"), and kami ("open water").[5] In the fall of that same year, Alex Lumsden built a sawmill on Gordon Creek and the settlement came to be known as Lumsden's Mill. Around 1909 work began on the dam across the Ottawa River.[1][4]

Construction of Kipawa Co. Ltd. mill, 1919

The place experienced major growth when the Riordon Pulp and Paper Company built the Kipawa Mills pulp and paper mill there in 1918. It bought the Lumsden Mill as well as all the property in Long Sault. For all the construction workers and mill employees, a new town was built, designed according to a Garden City plan by Scottish architect Thomas Adams.[6][7]

In 1920, Témiscaming gained town status under the name "Kipawa" but the name was replaced by the original name the following year. On paper, there was a municipal council, but in reality, Témiscaming was a company town. The Canadian International Paper Company, that had bought out the Riordon Company in 1925, had total control by owning every property, appointing the mayor and council members, and even applying the law. No municipal elections were held for 35 years.[1][7]

On November 1, 1935, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake had its epicentre approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of Témiscaming. In 1936, the road between North Bay and Témiscaming was completed. In 1956, the Canadian International Paper Company declared Témiscaming as an "open town" and sold all its infrastructure. W.N. Irwin became the town's first mayor elected in a municipal election.[7] In 1972, when the company decided to close the mill, the employees formed Tembec to take over the operation of the mill.

In 1988, the Municipality of Letang, incorporated in 1980, was merged into Témiscaming.

Italian fountain in downtown Temiscaming. It is one of several such features in the city erected by a former mill manager in 1930.

Media

CKVM-FM, a community radio station based in Ville-Marie has a retransmitter in Témiscaming.

The Tem Times was the city's first newspaper (officially categorized as a country weekly) which ran from 1950 through to 1972.[8] Produced on a Gestener by local townspeople who were members of the Temiskaming Debating Club, and subsidized by the CIP, the circulation at its height was estimated at 1,000.[9] Gord McCulloch, who edited the paper for twenty-two years, went on to become a district editor and columnist for The North Bay Nugget.[10]

Sports

From the 2007-2011, Témiscaming is the home of the Temiscaming Royals Junior "A" ice hockey team of the Ontario-based Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.

Since 2011, the city of Témiscaming now have a new team called the Temiscaming Titans, they are a junior ice hockey team that are members of the Greater Metro Junior Hockey League.

Demographics

According to the 2016 Canadian Census:[3]

  • Population: 2,431
  • % Change (2011–2016): +1.9%
  • Area: 718.49 km2 (277.41 sq mi)
  • Density: 3.4 km2 (1.3 sq mi)
  • Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 1,098 (total dwellings: 1,447)
  • Mother tongue (according to the 2006 Canadian Census):[11]
    • English as first language: 27.9%
    • French as first language: 69.0%
    • English and French as first language: 0.7%
    • Other as first language: 2.4%

Population trend:[12]

  • Population in 2016: 2,431 (2011 to 2016 population change: +1.9%)
  • Population in 2011: 2,385
  • Population in 2006: 2,697
  • Population in 2001: 2,903
  • Population in 1996: 3,112
  • Population in 1991: 2,944

See also

References
  1. "Témiscaming (Ville)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
  2. "Témiscaming". Répertoire des municipalités (in French). Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire.
  3. "Témiscaming, V [Census subdivision], Quebec and Témiscamingue, MRC [Census division], Quebec (table). Census Profile". Statistics Canada. Government of Canada. August 9, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  4. "1 – Laying the Foundation" (PDF), Témiscaming 1921–1996, 1996, ISBN 2-9804206-0-3, archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2011, retrieved December 29, 2010
  5. Société de colonisation du lac Temiskaming (Hull, Québec); Laperrière, Augustin (1885). Au lac Temiskaming!. W. D. Jordan Special Collections and Music Library Queen's University Library. Ottawa, La Vallee.
  6. "2 – Industrial Origins" (PDF), Témiscaming 1921–1996, 1996, ISBN 2-9804206-0-3, archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2011, retrieved December 29, 2010
  7. "3 – Municipal Origins" (PDF), Témiscaming 1921–1996, 1996, ISBN 2-9804206-0-3, archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2011, retrieved December 29, 2010
  8. Temiskaming Debating Club (1950). "Tem times". ISSN 1184-4566. OCLC 1007436581.
  9. Témiscaming 1921-1996: nos racines, notre histoire. Book Committee: Louise Forget, Yolande Dumas, Julienne Cécire, Thérese Gélineau, Ken Collins, Ross Sparling, Philippe Barette, Shirley McCullock, Marjorie Brown, Linda Lamarhe, Pierre Bérubé, Gerry Jones, Peter McCulloch, Lois Lynn. Témiscaming?: s.n. 1996. p. 227. ISBN 9782980420603. OCLC 936856576.CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. Témiscaming 1921-1996: nos racines, notre histoire. Book Committee: Louise Forget, Yolande Dumas, Julienne Cécire, Thérese Gélineau, Ken Collins, Ross Sparling, Philippe Barette, Shirley McCullock, Marjorie Brown, Linda Lamarhe, Pierre Bérubé, Gerry Jones, Peter McCulloch, Lois Lynn. Témiscaming?: s.n. 1996. p. 228. ISBN 9782980420603. OCLC 936856576.CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. "Témiscaming, Quebec. 2006 Community Profiles". Statistics Canada. Government of Canada. August 20, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  12. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016
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