Espanola, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Espanola is a town in Northern Ontario
, Canada
, and is the seat of Sudbury District
. It is situated on the Spanish River
, approximately 70 kilometres west of downtown Sudbury, and just south of the junction of Highway 6 and Highway 17.
tribe of the area sent a raiding party a long distance to the south and brought back with them a white woman who spoke Spanish
. The woman married a local Annishnabeg (First Nations) of a family living near the mouth of the river and taught her children to speak Spanish. Later, when the French
Voyageurs
and Coureur des bois
came upon the settlement and heard fragments of Spanish spoken by the local natives, they remarked "Espagnole", which had been later anglicized to "Espanola", and the river was named the Spanish River.
Espanola was founded in the early 1900s as a company town
for the employees of the Spanish River Pulp and Paper company, which opened a pulp and paper
mill there. The town expanded quickly becoming a bustling company town with a hotel, school and theatre. On January 21, 1910, a Canadian Pacific Railway
passenger train derailed off a trestle
10 km. east of Espanola. Forty-three people died from the railcar's 27-foot plunge into the icy water of the Spanish River. It was one of the CPR's
worst railway accidents.
In 1930, the mill was closed due to the Great Depression
, and Espanola became a ghost town until the Second World War, when the mill site became a camp for German prisoners of war. In 1946, the paper mill was reopened by the now defunct "Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Company" (KVP), producing specialty kraft
paper.
Espanola was officially incorporated as a town on March 1, 1958.
In 1966 KVP was bought by Brown Forest Industries, a division of Charles Bluhdorn
's industrial conglomerate Gulf and Western Industries
. The Brown Forest Industries operation was later sold to E.B. Eddy, who operated the mill until June 1998. Now owned by Domtar
, it continues to be the town's largest employer.
The 1969 CBC Television
series Adventures in Rainbow Country
was filmed near Espanola, near the small First Nations community of Birch Island and at Whitefish Falls. The series starred Lois Maxwell
, the actress who played "Miss Moneypenny
" in Bond
films such as Dr. No
and Goldfinger
. Canadian-born, she was a long-time resident of the town.
Espanola got some negative press in the early 1980s when the mill accidentally discharged toxic effluent into the Spanish River, killing fish by the thousands. The spill acted like a flush, and when the fish came back a few years later, they were reportedly untainted and thriving, although the toxic smell still remained. Now the mill is said to one of the most stringent "zero-emissions" pulp bleaching processes in the world, and the area below the Spanish River Dam is a designated fish sanctuary.
In 2001, a group of volunteers staged a fundraiser for the local hospital by attempting to set a world record
for the world's longest ice hockey
game. They were successful, playing for over three days straight. The record was broken in April 2004 in nearby Sudbury, where the teams played for six hours longer. Currently, the record holders are team Hope and team Cure from Sherwood Park
near Edmonton
, Alberta
. who have played for 10 days straight.
Roman Catholic), and two secondary schools, Espanola High School
and École secondaire catholique Franco-Ouest, service the local students, as well as those from surrounding communities such as Massey, Webbwood, McKerrow, Nairn Centre, Willisville, Whitefish Falls, Walford and Birch Island.
In 1999 a modern recreation complex was constructed, replacing the aging arena and community swimming pool.
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing. The region has a land area of 802,000 km2 and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about 6% of the population...
, Canada
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...
, and is the seat of Sudbury District
Sudbury District, Ontario
The Sudbury District is a district in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1894 from townships of eastern Algoma District and west Nipissing District....
. It is situated on the Spanish River
Spanish River (Ontario)
The Spanish River is a river in Algoma District, Sudbury District and Greater Sudbury in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. It flows in a southerly direction from its headwaters at Spanish Lake and Duke Lake to its mouth at the North Channel on Georgian Bay, Lake Huron just outside of the community...
, approximately 70 kilometres west of downtown Sudbury, and just south of the junction of Highway 6 and Highway 17.
History
The name "Espanola" has been attributed to a story which dates back to the mid 18th century. The story goes that a First Nations OjibwaOjibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
tribe of the area sent a raiding party a long distance to the south and brought back with them a white woman who spoke Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. The woman married a local Annishnabeg (First Nations) of a family living near the mouth of the river and taught her children to speak Spanish. Later, when the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Voyageurs
Voyageurs
The Voyageurs were the persons who engaged in the transportation of furs by canoe during the fur trade era. Voyageur is a French word which literally translates to "traveler"...
and Coureur des bois
Coureur des bois
A coureur des bois or coureur de bois was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian woodsman who traveled in New France and the interior of North America. They travelled in the woods to trade various things for fur....
came upon the settlement and heard fragments of Spanish spoken by the local natives, they remarked "Espagnole", which had been later anglicized to "Espanola", and the river was named the Spanish River.
Espanola was founded in the early 1900s as a company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
for the employees of the Spanish River Pulp and Paper company, which opened a pulp and paper
Pulp and paper industry
The global pulp and paper industry is dominated by North American , northern European and East Asian countries...
mill there. The town expanded quickly becoming a bustling company town with a hotel, school and theatre. On January 21, 1910, a Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
passenger train derailed off a trestle
Spanish River derailment
The Spanish River derailment is a rail transport accident that occurred on January 21, 1910, on the CPR line where the railway crosses the Spanish River near the settlement of Nairn in Northern Ontario, Canada....
10 km. east of Espanola. Forty-three people died from the railcar's 27-foot plunge into the icy water of the Spanish River. It was one of the CPR's
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
worst railway accidents.
In 1930, the mill was closed due to the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, and Espanola became a ghost town until the Second World War, when the mill site became a camp for German prisoners of war. In 1946, the paper mill was reopened by the now defunct "Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Company" (KVP), producing specialty kraft
Kraft process
The kraft process describes a technology for conversion of wood into wood pulp consisting of almost pure cellulose fibers...
paper.
Espanola was officially incorporated as a town on March 1, 1958.
In 1966 KVP was bought by Brown Forest Industries, a division of Charles Bluhdorn
Charles Bluhdorn
Charles Blühdorn was a Vienna, Austria-born American industrialist.-Biography:Per a Who's Who in Ridgefield he was considered such a "hellion" that his father sent the 11-year-old to an English boarding school for disciplining...
's industrial conglomerate Gulf and Western Industries
Gulf+Western
Gulf and Western Industries, Inc., for a number of years known as Gulf+Western, was an American conglomerate.- History :Gulf and Western's prosaic origins date to a manufacturer named Michigan Bumper Co. founded in 1934, though Charles Bluhdorn treated his 1958 takeover of what was then Michigan...
. The Brown Forest Industries operation was later sold to E.B. Eddy, who operated the mill until June 1998. Now owned by Domtar
Domtar
Domtar Corporation is the largest integrated producer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America and the second largest in the world based on production capacity, and is also a manufacturer of papergrade pulp....
, it continues to be the town's largest employer.
The 1969 CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
series Adventures in Rainbow Country
Adventures in Rainbow Country
Adventures in Rainbow Country was a Canadian television series, which aired on CBC Television in 1970 and 1971.A half hour family drama, the show starred Lois Maxwell as Nancy Williams, a widow raising her children Billy and Hannah in rural Northern Ontario...
was filmed near Espanola, near the small First Nations community of Birch Island and at Whitefish Falls. The series starred Lois Maxwell
Lois Maxwell
Lois Maxwell was a Canadian actress.Maxwell began her film career in the late 1940s, and won a Golden Globe Award for the New Actress of the Year for her performance in That Hagen Girl...
, the actress who played "Miss Moneypenny
Miss Moneypenny
Jane Moneypenny, better known as Miss Moneypenny, is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. She is secretary to M, who is Bond's boss and head of the British Secret Service...
" in Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films such as Dr. No
Dr. No (film)
Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R...
and Goldfinger
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
. Canadian-born, she was a long-time resident of the town.
Espanola got some negative press in the early 1980s when the mill accidentally discharged toxic effluent into the Spanish River, killing fish by the thousands. The spill acted like a flush, and when the fish came back a few years later, they were reportedly untainted and thriving, although the toxic smell still remained. Now the mill is said to one of the most stringent "zero-emissions" pulp bleaching processes in the world, and the area below the Spanish River Dam is a designated fish sanctuary.
In 2001, a group of volunteers staged a fundraiser for the local hospital by attempting to set a world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
for the world's longest ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
game. They were successful, playing for over three days straight. The record was broken in April 2004 in nearby Sudbury, where the teams played for six hours longer. Currently, the record holders are team Hope and team Cure from Sherwood Park
Sherwood Park, Alberta
Sherwood Park is a large hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Strathcona County that is recognized as an urban service area. It is located adjacent to the City of Edmonton's eastern boundary, generally south of Highway 16 , west of Highway 21 and north of Highway 630...
near Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. who have played for 10 days straight.
Demographics
Population trend:- Population in 2006: 5314 (2001 to 2006 population change: -2.5 %)
- Population in 2001: 5449
- Population in 1996: 5454
- Population in 1991: 5527
Public services
Espanola's three primary schools, A.B. Ellis Public School, Sacred Heart School (Roman Catholic), and École St. Joseph (FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
Roman Catholic), and two secondary schools, Espanola High School
Espanola High School (Espanola, Ontario)
Espanola High School is located in the town of Espanola, Ontario, approximately 70 km from downtown Greater Sudbury. The school features the Domtar computer lab, and a podcast radio station studio Charlene Camillo who attended Espanola High School won the Lieutenant-Governor’s Community...
and École secondaire catholique Franco-Ouest, service the local students, as well as those from surrounding communities such as Massey, Webbwood, McKerrow, Nairn Centre, Willisville, Whitefish Falls, Walford and Birch Island.
In 1999 a modern recreation complex was constructed, replacing the aging arena and community swimming pool.
Radio
- FM 94.1 - CKNRCKNR-FMCKNR-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts an adult contemporary format at FM 94.1 in Elliot Lake, Ontario. The station uses the on-air brand Moose FM.-History:...
, Moose FM - FM 94.9 - CBON-7CBON-FMCBON-FM is a Canadian radio station. It broadcasts the Société Radio-Canada's Première Chaîne network at 98.1 FM in Sudbury, Ontario. The station also serves much of Northern Ontario through a network of relay transmitters.-History:...
, Première Chaîne - FM 99.3 - CJJMCJJM-FMCJJM-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 99.3 FM in Espanola, Ontario.-History:Originally owned by Joco Communications, the station was licensed by the CRTC on July 19, 2007....
, Moose FM (new as of fall 2010)
Television
- Channel 4: CBLFT-TV-7, SRCTélévision de Radio-CanadaTélévision de Radio-Canada is a Canadian French language television network. It is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, known in French as Société Radio-Canada. Headquarters are at Maison Radio-Canada in Montreal, which is also home to the network's flagship station, CBFT-DT...
- Channel 49: CICO-TV-71TVOntarioTVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...
, TVOntarioTVOntarioTVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...
Notable people
- NHLers/AHLers Art GauthierArt GauthierArthur "Nosey" Gauthier was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 13 games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens. He was born in Espanola, Ontario.-External links:...
, Leo LamoureuxLeo LamoureuxLeo Peter Lamoureux was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. Lamoreaux played his entire National Hockey League career with the Montreal Canadiens....
and Al SecordAl SecordAlan William Secord is a retired professional ice hockey left wing who played in the National Hockey League for twelve seasons from 1978–79 until 1989–90.-Playing career:...
. - Former Canadian steeplechase record-holder Greg DuhaimeGreg DuhaimeGreg Duhaime was a Canadian middle distance runner, onetime Canadian record holder in the 3000 metres steeplechase.Duhaime's parents reside in Elliot Lake...
was born here. - Jim Gordon, a longtime mayor of Sudbury, lived in Espanola for a number of years in the 1960s and served on the town council before moving to Sudbury.
- Pte. David Byers, a soldier of the Canadian ForcesCanadian ForcesThe Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
, who died in Afghanistan on September 18, 2006.