Magnetawan

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Not to be confused with the First Nations reserve on Georgian Bay, see: Magnetawan 1, Ontario
Magnetawan
Township
Municipality of Magnetawan
Magnetawan
Coordinates: 45°40′N 79°38′W / 45.667°N 79.633°W / 45.667; -79.633Coordinates: 45°40′N 79°38′W / 45.667°N 79.633°W / 45.667; -79.633
Country  Canada
Province  Ontario
District Parry Sound
Settled 1870s
Incorporated January 1, 1998
Government
 • Type Township
 • Mayor Richard Smith
 • Federal riding Parry Sound—Muskoka
 • Prov. riding Parry Sound—Muskoka
Area[1]
 • Land 531.83 km2 (205.34 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Total 1,454
 • Density 2.7/km2 (7/sq mi)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Postal Code P0A
Area code(s) 705
Website www.magnetawan.com
Municipal office and library

Magnetawan is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, as well as the name of a community within the former Township of Chapman.

Located in the Almaguin Highlands region of the Parry Sound District, the township had a population of 1,454 in the 2011 Canadian census.

Barbara Hanley, the first woman ever elected mayor of a community in Canada, was born in Magnetawan in 1882.

The community of Magnetawan proper holds the status of designated place in Canadian censuses, separately from the rest of the township. Its population in the Canada 2011 Census was 264. It is sistered with the city of Baltimore, Maryland.

Communities

The township comprises the communities of Ahmic Harbour, Ahmic Lake, Cecebe, Cedar Croft, Chikopi, Dufferin Bridge, Magnetawan, North Seguin, Oranmore, Pearceley, Port Anson and Port Carmen, as well as the ghost town of Spence.

History

The first people to inhabit the region were the Hurons, Ojibway and Algonquins, who would visit the area in the summer for hunting and fishing but sheltered on Georgian Bay in the winter. While some Europeans explored the region in the early 19th century, settlement and colonization by Europeans was hardly taking place, so much so that the government considered turning the entire region into an Indian reserve.[2]

But when pine stands in southern Ontario became depleted, the area attracted loggers and the government changed its mind and encouraged settlement through free land grants, first offered in 1853. Settlement happened slowly but accelerated when the colonization road from Rosseau to Nipissing began being built in 1866.[2] In 1868, the government passed the Free Grand Land and Homestead Act and began advertising this extensively in European countries to attract new immigrants.[3] Croft Township was surveyed in 1869, Chapman Township in 1870, and the village of Magnetawan was mapped out in 1873.

The Township of Magnetawan was formed in 1998 through the amalgamation of the Township of Chapman and the Village of Magnetawan, along with the unincorporated geographic Townships of Croft and Spence.

Demographics

Population trend:[4]

  • Population in 2011: 1454 (2006 to 2011 population change: -9.7 %)
  • Population in 2006: 1610
  • Population in 2001: 1342
  • Population total in 1996: 1324
    • Magnetawan (village): 241
    • Chapman (township): 645
  • Population in 1991:
    • Magnetawan (village): 267
    • Chapman (township): 605

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 658 (total dwellings: 1782)

Mother tongue:[5]

  • English as first language: 87.2%
  • French as first language: 2.5%
  • English and French as first language: 0%
  • Other as first language: 10.3%

Local lakes and rivers

Ahmic Harbour

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Statistics Canada 2011 Census - Magnetawan Census Profile
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Aborginals Hurons, Ojibway and Algonquins". Municipality of Magnetawan. Retrieved 2010-08-24. 
  3. ↑ "The Land Grants". Municipality of Magnetawan. Retrieved 2010-08-24. 
  4. ↑ Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011 census
  5. ↑ "2006 Magnetawan community profile". 

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Magnetawan.
Whitestone Unorg. Centre Parry Sound Machar
McKellar Strong
   Magnetawan  
Seguin McMurrich/Monteith Ryerson
Towns
Townships
Villages
First Nations
Local services boards
Unorganized areas
See also
Communities in Parry Sound District
Census divisions of Ontario
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