Foleyet, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Foleyet is a community in the Sudbury District
, Ontario
, Canada
, midway between Chapleau
and Timmins
on Highway 101. The town was created during the construction of the Canadian Northern Railway
(CNR) through the area in the early years of the 20th century.
A designated place
administered by a local services board, Foleyet had a population of 216 in the Canada 2006 Census
.
, to the eastern section, between Toronto
and Ruel, which was accomplished in 1912. While this work was going on, a line was also being put in from Ottawa to Capreol
. On June 15, 1915, the first work train arrived from Capreol. The engineer was Jim Scott. The train carried men to build bridges over Ivanhoe River, Muskego River, and Groundhog River.
The CNR station at Foleyet was originally called Foley. Local legend has it that the early residents applied for a post office named to honour their former employer the Foley Brothers, but were frustrated in their wishes because the name Foley Post Office already existed near Parry Sound
. The story is told that someone declared that "We want to name the town for the Foley Brothers, and we'll name it Foley yet!" and the unintended name stuck.
Being about mid-way between Capreol and Hornepayne
, Foleyet was established as a divisional point
, for changing train crews and servicing rolling stock, and there was with a large railway roundhouse as well.
The town started with 15 houses. The Canadian Northern Railway built a large sawmill, west of the station, equipped with a pulp barker, planing mill
, and a powerhouse. This mill although owned by the railway operated under the name Eastern Lands Division. Lumber was sold wholesale to railway employees, for home construction. A lumber yard
was also established at Capreol. The Eastern Lands Co. built their main office here. They cut white pine
, red pine
, spruce
pulp logs, and jack pine
axe ties
.
The smallest Canadian Northern steam locomotive was at Foleyet. It was an Alco 0-4-0 Saddle Tank, on the Canadian National Roster as CNR # 3. It was used at the sawmill and sold to Acme Timber in 1925. Art Boyer was the engineer.
From Canadian Northern to Canadian National Eastern Lands Division continued their operations there until April 1925, at which time the mill was sold to Acme Timber Co. of Sudbury. Acme was a major supplier of timber to Inco. This firm was started around 1923 by D. H. Haight, who had been supplying mining timber and fuel wood to the International Nickel Co. since the early 1900s. Haight, a native of New Jersey
, was a cousin of Inco's first president Ambrose Monell. The general manager of Acme Timber Co. was Haight's brother-in-law, Ben Foote Merwin. In 1932, Merwin organized Pineland Timber Co. which took over Acme in 1934.
In 1917, a dam was built, creating a new river by joining Midway Creek and Muskego Rivers. The dam broke a year later, flooding Foleyet and lowering the lake levels significantly once again.
The town has had many such disasters, in the form of fires and floods, and much of its landscape differs completely now from its origins. Often a when a new progress was made or added, it was simply destroyed years later.
The land occupied by Foleyet was originally an island, before an esker was destroyed and the lake receded dramatically. Ivanhoe Lake (then known as Pishkanogami, the native name for it) was how the area was first explored, before Foleyet became a town. The Hudson's Bay Company
had two outposts nearby, one on Lake Pishkanogami, and one on Kukatush (Groundhog) Lake. Both were closed in the 1880s due to a decline in the fur trade. It wasn't until 1960 that lake Pishkanogami became Ivanhoe Lake or lac Ivanhoe in French.
The town, at present, is known as the home of the white moose. In 1998 one such moose was hit by a train, and after a day of suffering was killed by a CN worker. The head of the moose is mounted in the Northern Lights Restaurant.
Foleyet has two schools to support its small community, roughly half Francophone
. They are the Foleyet Public School and École Notre Dame, the latter a French separate school
. Neither school has more than 10 students at one time.
. Ten of the 264 passengers were showing flu-like symptoms; however, these turned out to be unrelated to the earlier death. As the train was held in quarantine for ten hours, the item made the national Canadian and other international news media. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Foleyet_2008.JPG
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....
, 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....
, 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...
, midway between Chapleau
Chapleau, Ontario
Chapleau is a township in Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada. It is home to one of the world's largest wildlife preserves. Chapleau has a population of 2,354 according to the Canada 2006 Census....
and Timmins
Timmins
Timmins is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada on the Mattagami River. At the time of the Canada 2006 Census, Timmins' population was 42,997...
on Highway 101. The town was created during the construction of the Canadian Northern Railway
Canadian Northern Railway
The Canadian Northern Railway is a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its demise in 1923, when it was merged into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.-Manitoba beginnings:CNoR had its start in...
(CNR) through the area in the early years of the 20th century.
A designated place
Designated place
A designated place or DPL is a type of community or populated area identified by Statistics Canada for statistical purposes. DPLs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages.DPLs are communities that lack...
administered by a local services board, Foleyet had a population of 216 in the Canada 2006 Census
Canada 2006 Census
The Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...
.
History
In the early 1900s, Canadian Northern decided to build a railroad through the area Foleyet now occupies. The Foley Brothers and Northern Construction were the two contractors who were hired to do the job. Construction began in 1911 and was completed in 1915. The goal of the construction was to unite the western lines from Current Junction, now part of Thunder BayThunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
, to the eastern section, between Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Ruel, which was accomplished in 1912. While this work was going on, a line was also being put in from Ottawa to Capreol
Capreol, Ontario
Capreol is a community in the Ontario city of Greater Sudbury. From 1918 to 2000, Capreol existed as an independent town, situated on the Vermilion River....
. On June 15, 1915, the first work train arrived from Capreol. The engineer was Jim Scott. The train carried men to build bridges over Ivanhoe River, Muskego River, and Groundhog River.
The CNR station at Foleyet was originally called Foley. Local legend has it that the early residents applied for a post office named to honour their former employer the Foley Brothers, but were frustrated in their wishes because the name Foley Post Office already existed near Parry Sound
Parry Sound, Ontario
Parry Sound is a town in Central Ontario, Canada, located on Parry Sound on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay. Parry Sound is located south of Sudbury and north of Toronto. It is the seat of Parry Sound District, a popular cottage country region for Southern Ontario residents. It is also the...
. The story is told that someone declared that "We want to name the town for the Foley Brothers, and we'll name it Foley yet!" and the unintended name stuck.
Being about mid-way between Capreol and Hornepayne
Hornepayne, Ontario
Hornepayne is a township of 1209 people located in the Algoma District of Ontario, Canada. The town was originally established in 1915 as Fitzback when the Canadian Northern Railway's transcontinental line was built through the area. It was renamed Hornepayne in 1920 after British financier...
, Foleyet was established as a divisional point
Divisional point
In Canada, a divisional point is a railway depot that includes more than just a basic siding or station.- Overview :In the coal and steam era, a divisional point would include such amenities as a substantial passenger station, freight and baggage sheds, a roundhouse, water tank, coaling and sanding...
, for changing train crews and servicing rolling stock, and there was with a large railway roundhouse as well.
The town started with 15 houses. The Canadian Northern Railway built a large sawmill, west of the station, equipped with a pulp barker, planing mill
Planing mill
A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and seasoned boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the planer and matcher, the molding machines, and varieties of saws...
, and a powerhouse. This mill although owned by the railway operated under the name Eastern Lands Division. Lumber was sold wholesale to railway employees, for home construction. A lumber yard
Lumber yard
A lumber yard is a retail location for lumber and wood related products used in construction and/or home improvement projects. Lumber yards can also provide services such as the use of a planer and other large machines....
was also established at Capreol. The Eastern Lands Co. built their main office here. They cut white pine
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
, red pine
Red Pine
Pinus resinosa, commonly known as the red pine or Norway pine, is pine native to North America. The Red Pine occurs from Newfoundland west to Manitoba, and south to Pennsylvania, with several smaller, disjunct populations occurring in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and West Virginia, as well...
, spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
pulp logs, and jack pine
Jack Pine
Jack pine is a North American pine with its native range in Canada east of the Rocky Mountains from Northwest Territories to Nova Scotia, and the northeast of the United States from Minnesota to Maine, with the southernmost part of the range just into northwest Indiana...
axe ties
Axe ties
Axe ties are railway ties that are hewn by hand, usually with a broadaxe. There are 2,900 ties per mile of track on a first class railroad. The early railways would not accept ties cut with a saw, as it was claimed that the kerf of the saw splintered the fibres of the wood, leaving them more likely...
.
The smallest Canadian Northern steam locomotive was at Foleyet. It was an Alco 0-4-0 Saddle Tank, on the Canadian National Roster as CNR # 3. It was used at the sawmill and sold to Acme Timber in 1925. Art Boyer was the engineer.
From Canadian Northern to Canadian National Eastern Lands Division continued their operations there until April 1925, at which time the mill was sold to Acme Timber Co. of Sudbury. Acme was a major supplier of timber to Inco. This firm was started around 1923 by D. H. Haight, who had been supplying mining timber and fuel wood to the International Nickel Co. since the early 1900s. Haight, a native of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, was a cousin of Inco's first president Ambrose Monell. The general manager of Acme Timber Co. was Haight's brother-in-law, Ben Foote Merwin. In 1932, Merwin organized Pineland Timber Co. which took over Acme in 1934.
In 1917, a dam was built, creating a new river by joining Midway Creek and Muskego Rivers. The dam broke a year later, flooding Foleyet and lowering the lake levels significantly once again.
The town has had many such disasters, in the form of fires and floods, and much of its landscape differs completely now from its origins. Often a when a new progress was made or added, it was simply destroyed years later.
The land occupied by Foleyet was originally an island, before an esker was destroyed and the lake receded dramatically. Ivanhoe Lake (then known as Pishkanogami, the native name for it) was how the area was first explored, before Foleyet became a town. The Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
had two outposts nearby, one on Lake Pishkanogami, and one on Kukatush (Groundhog) Lake. Both were closed in the 1880s due to a decline in the fur trade. It wasn't until 1960 that lake Pishkanogami became Ivanhoe Lake or lac Ivanhoe in French.
The town, at present, is known as the home of the white moose. In 1998 one such moose was hit by a train, and after a day of suffering was killed by a CN worker. The head of the moose is mounted in the Northern Lights Restaurant.
Foleyet has two schools to support its small community, roughly half Francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
. They are the Foleyet Public School and École Notre Dame, the latter a French separate school
Separate school
In Canada, separate school refers to a particular type of school that has constitutional status in three provinces and statutory status in three territories...
. Neither school has more than 10 students at one time.
Train quarantine
On May 9, 2008, a woman died of natural causes on a train operated by Via RailVIA Rail
Via Rail Canada is an independent crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. It is headquartered near Montreal Central Station at 3 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec....
. Ten of the 264 passengers were showing flu-like symptoms; however, these turned out to be unrelated to the earlier death. As the train was held in quarantine for ten hours, the item made the national Canadian and other international news media. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Foleyet_2008.JPG