One day as I was driving down Algonquin Blvd West in Timmins, I happened to look over while crossing the Mattagami River bridge and noticed a crane removing the city docks from the boat launch area before winter arrived.
As I proceeded along Riverside Drive, I noticed how calm the section of river was that flowed next to the road.
For some strange reason, I found myself reminiscing back to a time when I was younger.
Back then, families would load up their children on a Friday or Saturday night and head west down Riverside Drive - which just happened to be two lanes back then - for an evening at the drive-in theatre.
Today, the Timmins Square and Home Hardware now sit where the old drive-in theatre was.
I guess writing the two-part Sturgeon Transplant article left me wondering how many of us know the history associated with the City Of Timmins and the Mattagami River.
Born and raised here, I have seen many changes over the years.
One of them is population growth, as many families came to Timmins for employment opportunities.
Having said that, I felt that I would shed a little light on the history of the fish that live here and how the Mattagami River played a vital role back then - and still does today - for the City of Timmins.
With the need for timber for area mines and homes, many lumber companies started up in the area.
With Feldman Timber being the largest lumbering manufacturer back then, other companies associated with the lumber industry included Colonel W.W. Worthington, Mat Boivin, Charles Pierce, Sylvester Kennedy, L.S. Newton, Wallingford Brothers, A.E. Philips and S. McChesney.
Logs were floated as far as Peter Long Lake down the Grassy River into the Mattagami river, then towed from Kenogamissi dam on Wawiatin Falls by boat where they travelled down the Mattagami River.
An interesting point I came across was that with the arrival of ONR rail, two thirds of the lumber milled at the Feldman sawmill was shipped by rail to markets near Toronto.
The remaining third was sold locally.
Workers had to walk two days to some camps and others had a two day horse ride by sleigh back into camps in the early 1920s.
Since they spent nine months in these bush camps, their spare time was spent fishing, playing cards and other activities.
In 1910, Porcupine Power Co. received contact from the Hollinger Mine and others associated with it to make provisions for adequate hydro supply.
The new power plant was then built at Sandy Falls, seven miles downstream from Timmins on the Mattagami River, and Hollinger started receiving power from the plant in 1911.
A second power plant was built at Wawaitin Falls, five miles up river from Timmins.
Due to some construction troubles in 1912, the plant was completed in 1913.
In 1916, the Peter Long Dam was built and later replaced in 1972 with a new concrete structure.
Northern Canada Power Co. Ltd. took over the Sandy Falls and Wawaitin power sites.
In 1911, Timmins townsite had electrical power at hand when the first wooden structures were built that fall.
The Hollinger, McIntyre and Vipond mines received their hydro from the Sandy Falls Station while the Dome Mine received their power from the Wawaitin Plant.
When the two power plants were connected, they supplied Schumacher, South Porcupine and other communities.
The Mattagami River also provided the residents with a household water supply.
According to records from the City Of Timmins, the first drawings show the sewage plant from 1914 and approximately 1917 for the water plant.
Although the city does not have records for the actual construction of these plants, it assumes that they were built after the designs were drawn.
During this time, the MNR in Timmins belonged to the Cochrane District.
Its building was built along Riverside Drive next to the Fish Bowl.
The two properties are separated by a creek that runs between them.
The Timmins MNRF was unable to confirm when the MNR had first established a physical office in Timmins.
However, their archives did show the Timmins Ministry of Natural Resources District was established around 1973-74 which was the first time that a district manger was in place for Timmins.
Unfortunately, the MNRF Timmins District doesn't have any information on area fish species before the lumber industry began.
They did state that the Mattagami River is a cool water system that included fish like Walleye, Yellow Perch, Cisco, Whitefish, Northern Pike, and White Suckers.
Watch for more on the history of the Mattagami in next week's column.
Whether you're an angler or hunter; a camp, lodge, resort owner; or just holding an outdoor event and would like some exposure, please feel free to email us at [email protected]
