Upsala, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Upsala is a geographic township in Thunder Bay District
in northwestern Ontario
. It is located on the Trans-Canada Highway
, Highway 17
, 142 km west of Thunder Bay
.
It was named after the city of Uppsala
in Sweden.
When established in 1882, Upsala was an important fuel and water stop for trains travelling on the then newly constructed Canadian Pacific Railway
system.
The Upsala area is situated just north of Lac des Mille Lacs, which was an important fur trade
waterway and today is home to many fishing and hunting resorts.
In 1914 a survey of the township was completed, but the planned settlement was interrupted by the outbreak of World War One. The area was finally opened for settlement in 1922, at the request of employees of the Canadian Pacific Railway, who appreciated its possibilities.
Pioneer settlers included Hans Nordal, H.D. Wiseman, Hugo Carlson, S. Kenuck, O. Hakanson, A. Greenland, G.R. Johnston and Elmer and Esther Aho. The first school in the town was established in 1925. Sybil Nordal was one of the pupils in the first class. Entertainment revolved around the “house party set”: neighbours who gathered in each other’s homes or at the schoolhouse to dance to the fiddle. A forest fire in 1928 threatened the township and burned the Aho home.
The Women’s Institute was organized by Mrs. D.B. Frazer in 1935 with charter members Mrs. Kailik and Mrs. Greenlund. In 1939 the Agricultural Society was established in a hall located half a mile east of Upsala on property owned by C. McGuire. The society arranged to purchase fertilizer in quantity at low prices, and sponsored potato growing competitions. Mr. Harrison, the proprietor of the Victoria Hotel in Fort William, donated a cup called the Harrison Trophy which became the property of three time winner, Harold Johnston, the son of pioneer farmers.
By the 1930s the town consisted of many homes on both sides of the tracks and along side roads. Until 1937, when the highway went in, there were no roads in the centre of town, just paths between the buildings on the north and south sides of the CPR tracks. The station and pump house and the Catholic church were north of the tracks, with the cemetery further back. To the south there was the Upsala Inn, J.R. Ellat Store, SS#1 (the school), the community hall and Lake Milton. Mail and supplies were delivered to the station on trains as they came through.
Until 1937, all travel to the town was by rail. Then a section of the Trans-Canada Highway was built on the site of a wagon trail in the town, connecting it to the twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur (now one city, Thunder Bay).
Thunder Bay District, Ontario
Thunder Bay District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The district seat is Thunder Bay....
in northwestern 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....
. It is located on the Trans-Canada Highway
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins the ten provinces of Canada. It is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia's Highway 1, one of the world's longest national highways, with the main route spanning 8,030 km...
, Highway 17
Highway 17 (Ontario)
King's Highway 17, more commonly known as Highway 17, is a provincially maintained highway and the primary route of the Trans-Canada Highway through the Canadian province of Ontario. It begins at the Manitoba border west of Kenora and ends south of Arnprior at the western terminus of Highway 417, ...
, 142 km west of 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...
.
It was named after the city of Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
in Sweden.
When established in 1882, Upsala was an important fuel and water stop for trains travelling on the then newly constructed 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...
system.
The Upsala area is situated just north of Lac des Mille Lacs, which was an important fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
waterway and today is home to many fishing and hunting resorts.
History
The town of Upsala, in Northwestern Ontario, was established in 1882 in the township of Upsala, to serve as a station stop on the new Canadian Pacific Railway. It took its name from the township, which in turn was named for the Swedish city of Uppsala, reflecting the Scandinavian and Nordic background of many area immigrants.In 1914 a survey of the township was completed, but the planned settlement was interrupted by the outbreak of World War One. The area was finally opened for settlement in 1922, at the request of employees of the Canadian Pacific Railway, who appreciated its possibilities.
Pioneer settlers included Hans Nordal, H.D. Wiseman, Hugo Carlson, S. Kenuck, O. Hakanson, A. Greenland, G.R. Johnston and Elmer and Esther Aho. The first school in the town was established in 1925. Sybil Nordal was one of the pupils in the first class. Entertainment revolved around the “house party set”: neighbours who gathered in each other’s homes or at the schoolhouse to dance to the fiddle. A forest fire in 1928 threatened the township and burned the Aho home.
The Women’s Institute was organized by Mrs. D.B. Frazer in 1935 with charter members Mrs. Kailik and Mrs. Greenlund. In 1939 the Agricultural Society was established in a hall located half a mile east of Upsala on property owned by C. McGuire. The society arranged to purchase fertilizer in quantity at low prices, and sponsored potato growing competitions. Mr. Harrison, the proprietor of the Victoria Hotel in Fort William, donated a cup called the Harrison Trophy which became the property of three time winner, Harold Johnston, the son of pioneer farmers.
By the 1930s the town consisted of many homes on both sides of the tracks and along side roads. Until 1937, when the highway went in, there were no roads in the centre of town, just paths between the buildings on the north and south sides of the CPR tracks. The station and pump house and the Catholic church were north of the tracks, with the cemetery further back. To the south there was the Upsala Inn, J.R. Ellat Store, SS#1 (the school), the community hall and Lake Milton. Mail and supplies were delivered to the station on trains as they came through.
Until 1937, all travel to the town was by rail. Then a section of the Trans-Canada Highway was built on the site of a wagon trail in the town, connecting it to the twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur (now one city, Thunder Bay).