Sleeman is an unincorporated community located in Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario

Northwestern Ontario

Northwestern Ontario is the region within the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior, and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. Its western boundary is the Canadian province of Manitoba, which disputed Ontario's claim to the...

, 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...

. The town site is located in the center of Dawson

Dawson, Ontario

Dawson is a township located in Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The township is located at the mouth of the Rainy River where it flows into Lake of the Woods....

. The original town site was along the Rainy River some 3Km south but in the early 1900s when the steam ships that traveled from Fort Frances to Rainy River

Rainy River, Ontario

The Canadian town of Rainy River is situated on the Ontario-Minnesota border, along the Rainy River opposite Baudette, Minnesota, USA, and southeast of the Lake of the Woods...

 and then to Rat Portage Via Lake of the Woods

Lake of the Woods

Lake of the Woods is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. It separates a small land area of Minnesota from the rest of the United States. The Northwest Angle and the town of Angle Township can only be reached from the rest of...

 carrying Logs, Lumber, mail and other supplies stopped probably because 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...

 had finished its bridge and rail line from Winnipeg

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

 to International Falls

International Falls, Minnesota

International Falls is a city in and the county seat of Koochiching County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 6,424 at the 2010 census....

 and the docks of the great lakes located in Fort William

Fort William, Ontario

Fort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Ever since then it has been the largest city in Northwestern...

 and Port Arthur

Port Arthur, Ontario

Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario which amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Port Arthur was the district seat of Thunder Bay District.- History :...

 now known as Thunder Bay

Thunder 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...

 the town moved from the river to the rail line. The original store, coffee shop, post office building still stands today and has been renovated into a home. The town for many years held many stores, a large hotel, coffee shops, car dealership and a busy rail depot that served the Northern communities along Highway 621. Today there are only two businesses left, Lowes Lumber and the Canada Postal outlet

Canada Post

Canada Post Corporation, known more simply as Canada Post , is the Canadian crown corporation which functions as the country's primary postal operator...

. Only about 20 homes remain, even though an official town plan was made to accommodate many more. The rail siding was removed in 1993, the last of the CN hotel burned away in the late 1980s and the grocery store was demolished when the natural gas line was installed to serve the larger communities along Highway 11

Highway 11 (Ontario)

King's Highway 11 is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. At , it is the second longest highway in the province after Highway 17. Highway 11 begins at Highway 400 in Barrie, and arches through northern Ontario, around Lake Superior, to the Ontario–Minnesota border...

.

The township of Dawson was formed on January 1, 1997, when the former incorporated townships of Atwood, Blue, Dilke, and Worthington were amalgamated.

Climate

As recorded by John Trenchard (late) weather observer for Environment Canada

Environment Canada

Environment Canada , legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment Canada (EC) (French: Environnement Canada), legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment...

 from 1964 to 1991.