Témiscaming | |
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City | |
The mill on the Ottawa River at Temiscaming
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Motto: Vive la Forêt ("Long Live the Forest") | |
Location within Témiscamingue RCM. |
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Location in western Quebec. | |
Coordinates: 46°43′N 79°06′W / 46.717°N 79.100°WCoordinates: 46°43′N 79°06′W / 46.717°N 79.100°W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Quebec |
Region | Abitibi-Témiscamingue |
RCM | Témiscamingue |
Settled | 1880 |
Constituted | March 26, 1988 |
Government | |
• Mayoress | Nicole Rochon |
• Federal riding | Abitibi—Témiscamingue |
• Prov. riding | Rouyn-Noranda–Témiscamingue |
Area | |
• Total | 860.20 km2 (332.13 sq mi) |
• Land | 718.18 km2 (277.29 sq mi) |
Population (2011) | |
• Total | 2,385 |
• Density | 3.3/km2 (9/sq mi) |
• Pop (2006–11) | 11.6% |
• Dwellings | 1,402 |
Time zone | EST (UTC−5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−4) |
Postal code(s) | J0Z 3R0 |
Area code(s) | 819 |
Website | www |
Témiscaming is a town located at the south end of Lac Témiscamingue on the upper Ottawa River in the Témiscamingue Regional County Municipality of western Quebec, Canada. Also nearby is Lake Kipawa.
It is the administrative headquarters of the Wolf Lake First Nations band government.
The Ottawa River had long been used by natives, explorers, coureurs des bois, and missionaries. Some of the notable travelers passing by Témiscaming were Radisson and des Groseilliers, Saint-Lusson, Charles le Moyne and Pierre Le Moyne, and Chevalier de Troyes. A small chapel had existed there for the trappers and fur traders en route to Ottawa.
The area began to be developed circa 1850 when forestry companies began logging the land. Some of these logging crews had brought their families, and together with some pioneer families, they had formed a settlement of about 13 families by 1880. It was originally called "Long Sault", taken from the name of the rapids on the Ottawa River at this place. From 1884 on, Long Sault became an important stopover for colonists traveling upstream to Lake Timiskaming, leading to the construction of a hotel, wharfs, stores, and a railroad to Mattawa. On August 12, 1886, the first train arrived at Long Sault, also called Gordon's Creek by then.
In 1888, the Municipality of Témiscaming was officially incorporated. Its name, also spelled Témiskaming, was taken from Lake Timiskaming and in turn came from the Algonquin tim ("deep"), and kami ("open water"). In the fall of that same year, Alex Lumsden built a sawmill on Gordon Creek and the settlement came to be known as Lumsden's Mill. Around 1909 work began on the dam across the Ottawa River.