Black River-Matheson Explained

Black River-Matheson
Official Name:Township of Black River-Matheson
Settlement Type:Township (single-tier)
Pushpin Map:Canada Ontario
Pushpin Mapsize:200
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Canada
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Ontario
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Cochrane
Government Type:Township
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Name:Vacant
Leader Title1:Governing Body
Leader Name1:Black River-Matheson Township Council
Leader Title2:MP
Leader Name2:Charlie Angus (NDP)
Leader Title3:MPP
Leader Name3:John Vanthof (NDP)
Established Title:Established
Area Land Km2:1163.45
Population As Of:2016
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:2438
Population Density Km2:2.1
Timezone:EST
Utc Offset:-5
Timezone Dst:EDT
Utc Offset Dst:-4
Postal Code Type:Postal code FSA
Postal Code:P0K
Coordinates:48.5333°N -108°W
Area Codes:705, 249

Black River-Matheson is a township in the Cochrane District of the Canadian province of Ontario. The municipality is astride the Black River, for which it is partly named. The Matheson railway station was serviced by the Northlander until 2012.

Matheson was first known as McDougall's Chute after an early trapper. Renamed for Arthur J. Matheson (1842–1913), provincial Treasurer and M.P.P. for South Lanark.[2]

Mining, forestry and farming are some of the principal industries in the area, augmented by outdoor tourism in the summer, such as fishing and hunting. There are three elementary schools within the municipality.

Communities

The communities in the township are Holtyre, Matheson, Ramore, Shillington, Val Gagné and Wavell. The main community of Matheson is located at the intersection of highways 11 and 101.

History

Prospecting started in 1909. The Croesus Mine (1914–1918) became "one of the richest mines in Canada," according to Barnes. Gold was like "plums in pudding" and "one gold nugget was egg shaped, two inches long and one and a quarter across." A total of 16 companies operated in the Harker Holloway area from 1917 to 1925, including Harker Gold Mines. P.A. McDermott found a gold-bearing zone in 1922, which became American Barrick's Holt-McDermott Mine in 1988. Located in the Abitibi greenstone belt, the mine produced 60,000 ounces of gold in 1994.[3]

The Great Fire of 1916 left 243 dead.[3]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Black River-Matheson had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of 1161.89km2, it had a population density of in 2021.[4]

Population trend:[5]

Notable people

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Census Profile, 2016 Census Black River-Matheson, Township . Statistics Canada . February 14, 2019.
  2. Book: Hamilton, William. The Macmillan Book of Canadian Place Names. registration. Macmillan. 1978. 0-7715-9754-1. Toronto. 158.
  3. Book: Barnes. Michael. Gold in Ontario. 1995. The Boston Mills Press. Erin. 155046146X. 95–100.
  4. Web site: Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Ontario . . February 9, 2022 . April 2, 2022.
  5. Statistics Canada 1996 Census - Community Highlights for Black River-Matheson
  6. Web site: BRIGHTWELL, A.H. Harry, D.V.M. . Library of Parliament . March 29, 2014.
  7. Web site: Bob Lomer McCord . Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum . March 29, 2014.