Englehart, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Englehart is a town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, located on the Englehart River
Englehart River
The Englehart River is a river in Timiskaming District in northeastern Ontario, Canada.The river rises at an unnamed lake in Bompas Township.The river runs in a generally southeast direction, flowing into Long Lake, and then emptying that same lake...
in the Timiskaming District.
History
In 1905, Jacob Lewis Englehart was appointed to the commission in charge of the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway, what would later become the Ontario Northland RailwayOntario Northland Railway
The Ontario Northland Railway is a Canadian railway operated by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a provincial Crown agency of the government of Ontario....
. It was incorporated as the Town of Englehart in 1908 as a rest stop between North Bay
North Bay, Ontario
North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing.-History:...
and Cochrane
Cochrane, Ontario
Cochrane is a town in northern Ontario, Canada. It is located east of Kapuskasing, northeast of Timmins, south of Moosonee, and north of Iroquois Falls. It is about a one-hour drive from Timmins, the major city of the region. It is the seat of Cochrane District...
. The town was named after Jacob Lewis Englehart, founder of Imperial Oil Ltd, a key figure in the development of the T & N.O. Under his leadership, the railway continued to press northward. A new community began to take shape with the construction of the line's first major bridge at White River. Initially referred to as White River Crossing, it became a divisional point on the railway in 1906. in 1908.
Today, Englehart's importance as a railway town
Railway town
A railway town is a settlement that originated or was greatly developed because of a railway station or junction at its site.In Victorian Britain, the spread of railways greatly affected the fate of many small towns...
has diminished, and the biggest employer is an oriented strand board
Oriented strand board
Oriented strand board, also known as OSB and SmartPly , is an engineered wood product formed by layering strands of wood in specific orientations. In appearance, it may have a rough and variegated surface with the individual strips Oriented strand board, also known as OSB (UK) and SmartPly (UK &...
(OSB) facility built by Grants Forest Products, sold off to Georgia Pacific in early 2010.
Transportation
The Englehart railway stationEnglehart railway station
The Englehart Railway Station is located in the town of Englehart in Ontario, Canada.It is a stop for Northlander trains of Ontario Northland. The modern two storey station replaced an earlier station. Englehart is the halfway point for the Ontario Northland it servers as the engineer swap-out...
is served by the Northlander
Northlander
The Northlander is a Canadian passenger train operated by the Ontario Northland Railway in Ontario.It operates 6 days per week year-round in both directions and connects Cochrane with Toronto...
, and accessible by car via Ontario Highway 11.
On March 31, 2007, an Ontario Northland Railway
Ontario Northland Railway
The Ontario Northland Railway is a Canadian railway operated by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a provincial Crown agency of the government of Ontario....
freight train derailed about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of Englehart, spilling an estimated 100 tonnes of sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid is a strong mineral acid with the molecular formula . Its historical name is oil of vitriol. Pure sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive, colorless, viscous liquid. The salts of sulfuric acid are called sulfates...
into a creek feeding the Blanche River
Blanche River
The Blanche River is a river in the Saint Lawrence River drainage basin in Timiskaming District in northeastern Ontario, Canada. The river is a tributary of Lake Timiskaming and its name is from the French for the colour "white".-Course:...
.