Brewing Monopoly in Ontario: Northern Breweries Ltd.

Northern Breweries Ltd. was a Canadian brewing company founded in 1907 by the Doran, Mackey, and Fee families. Located in Northern Ontario the company played a significant role in many northern communities and the built history of these facilities are still being considered locally. The company originally started in Sudbury as the Sudbury Brewing and … Continue reading Brewing Monopoly in Ontario: Northern Breweries Ltd.

Heritage Hide’n’Seek GeoTour

Parks Canada recently announced a Northern Ontario heritage GeoTour that combines geocaching and the history of the Northern Ontario region.  Details on the GeoTour were a bit difficult to locate initially, as the links provided in my local paper didn't direct users to the correct site and the parks website has a number of geolocation … Continue reading Heritage Hide’n’Seek GeoTour

Canadian History via Ian Tamblyn

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Canadian folk musician Ian Tamblyn in concert.  Ian's music has a distinctly Canadian feel to it and a number of his songs recount moments in Canadian history.  Some of the historical topics he touched on last night were the CPR, the Franklin expedition, First Nation/Settler tensions, and … Continue reading Canadian History via Ian Tamblyn

Come On Over! Northeastern Ontario A to Z

May 10th marked the release of Come on Over! Northeastern Ontario A to Z by Dieter Buse and Graeme Mount, professors emeritus of Laurentian University. From September to November 2010, while developing the book Buse and Mount were featured weekly on CBC Northern Ontario Radio’s Morning North program discussing communities from their book.Come on Over! … Continue reading Come On Over! Northeastern Ontario A to Z

The Porcupine Express

This week's Northern Ontario historical photo focuses on Timmins and more specifically The Porcupine Express, circa 1915. In 1911, the Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway line was extended to South Porcupine. That rail line is currently known as Ontario Northland Railway. South Porcupine is now one of the many neighbourhoods which makes up Timmins.Timmins is … Continue reading The Porcupine Express

Nippising Junction Public School

This week's Northern Ontario Historical Photograph is of the Nippising Junction Public School in 1948. This one room school house was for grades one to four and serviced an area that is now part of North Bay, Ontario.This photograph is from the Michael Oldfield collection held by the Nippising University Archive. The Archive has a … Continue reading Nippising Junction Public School

Fort William Grain Elevator

This week's Northern Ontario historical photograph highlights a part of Thunder Bay's history. The photograph is of the CPR grain elevators in Fort William, circa 1920. Fort William, Port Arthur and outlying townships amalgamated in January 1970 to form Thunder Bay. Fort William was established as a trading community and was essential in the movement … Continue reading Fort William Grain Elevator