Chamberlain | |
---|---|
Township (single-tier) | |
Township of Chamberlain | |
Coordinates: 47°53′N 79°56′W / 47.883°N 79.933°WCoordinates: 47°53′N 79°56′W / 47.883°N 79.933°W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Ontario |
District | Timiskaming |
Incorporated | 1908 |
Government | |
• Type | Township |
• Reeve | Kerry Stewart |
• Federal riding | Timmins—James Bay |
• Prov. riding | Timmins—James Bay |
Area | |
• Land | 110.22 km2 (42.56 sq mi) |
Population (2011) | |
• Total | 297 |
• Density | 2.7/km2 (7/sq mi) |
Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
Postal Code | P0J 1H0 |
Area code(s) | 705 |
Website | Township of Chamberlain |
Chamberlain is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within the Timiskaming District.
The rural township had a population of 297 in the Canada 2011 Census. Its primary named settlements are the communities of Chamberlain, Krugerdorf, and Wabewawa.
Nomadic people moved through the area 6,000 to 8,000 years ago. The area then became home to Algonquin people.
European fur traders passed through the area beginning in the 1600s, likely following the Blanche River which flows through Chamberlain.
The Province of Ontario surveyed large areas to the north and west of Lake Timiskaming in the 1880s, and in 1888 Chamberlain was surveyed into seventy-two 160 acres (65 ha) lots.
Land was open for settlement at the head of Lake Timiskaming in 1891, and by 1902-03 settlers had moved into Chamberlain.
The newly constructed, provincially owned Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway (now Ontario Northland Railway) ran as far north as New Liskeard. In 1904, work began to build the railway north from there, through the east side of Chamberlain. Work trains were clearing the railway right-of-way north of Englehart in 1906.
Between 1905 and 1915, the railway offered free land to settlers.
Chamberlain Township was incorporated in 1908.
Between 1925 and 1927, the province began construction of the Ferguson Highway, a road system to connect North Bay to Cochrane. In Chamberlain, it used the Wawbewawa Road to the Lutheran Church corner, and then followed Chamberlain 5 to the present day Highway 573. It then turned north to Swastika. Realignment of 25 kilometres (16 mi) of road between Englehart and Round Lake occurred in 1939, creating Ontario Highway 11.