Redwater | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 46°53′47″N 79°38′56″W / 46.89639°N 79.64889°W [1] | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Ontario |
District | Nipissing |
Geographic Township | Askin |
Established | 1903 |
Time zone | UTC−5 ( EST) |
• Summer ( DST) | UTC−4 ( EDT) |
Postal Code | P0H |
Area code | 705 |
Redwater is an unincorporated place and railway point in the municipality of Temagami, Nipissing District, Northeastern Ontario, Canada. [1] It is in geographic Askin Township and is located on the shores of Lower and Upper Redwater lakes along the Ontario Northland Railway. [2] [3] Redwater was the site of a settlement established in the early 1900s that survived into the 1950s.
The community of Redwater began its formation from a small request stop on the Northern Ontario Railway in 1903 when the railway reached the area of the Upper and Lower Redwater lakes. [4] During this time a small train station, telegraph key, a siding and water tank was constructed. [4] The several men that worked on the railroad either lived in the train station or in a bunkhouse and two houses. [4] At least one of the two houses was used to supply bosses of the crew. [4]
The newly formed settlement was the site of a murder in 1909 that began when two railway employees named Cornish and Morin attacked W.J. Dyston who worked as the Redwater telegraph operator. [4] After the attack took place, Dyston had been badly beaten and had to struggle in order to get to the telegraph key. [4] When Dyston reached the telegraph key he managed to call for help. [4] Subsequently, Dyston collapsed onto the telegraph key after he sent an incoherent message and died. [4] It was during this time the name Redwater retained a new meaning for the settlement. [4]
A few years after the death of W.J. Dyston, the Redwater Lumber Company constructed a small sawmill in the area. [5] Its lumber yards were located adjacent to Redwater's train station so that the lumber would easily be exported by train. [5] A bunkhouse was created to supply homes for those that worked at the sawmill and subsequent houses were built along the railway. [5] In 1916, a store and post office opened and were operated by a customer named T.J. Baker. [5] [4] The Redwater sawmill ceased around 1928 but the community still remained populated. [5] A railroad car was used to supply a school from the 1940s up until the 1950s when at least five homes still existed. [5]
Because of the closure of the Redwater sawmill, the residents of Redwater only lived there for a time. [5] The post office that opened in 1916 closed in 1942 but the train station still remained in 1945. [6] [7] Homes were subsequently destroyed, with the last burning down in the 1950s. [5] In 1957, the Redwater water tower was burnt down. [5] After this took place, a series of cottages were constructed on the townsite in the 1960s and are still used today. [5] Remains of the early ghost town of Redwater are buried under extensive overgrowth and include foundations where the houses were located and a few root cellars. [4] An aluminum shed behind the site of Redwater's original train station is used by the Ontario Northland Railway. [5]
Redwater | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 46°53′47″N 79°38′56″W / 46.89639°N 79.64889°W [1] | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Ontario |
District | Nipissing |
Geographic Township | Askin |
Established | 1903 |
Time zone | UTC−5 ( EST) |
• Summer ( DST) | UTC−4 ( EDT) |
Postal Code | P0H |
Area code | 705 |
Redwater is an unincorporated place and railway point in the municipality of Temagami, Nipissing District, Northeastern Ontario, Canada. [1] It is in geographic Askin Township and is located on the shores of Lower and Upper Redwater lakes along the Ontario Northland Railway. [2] [3] Redwater was the site of a settlement established in the early 1900s that survived into the 1950s.
The community of Redwater began its formation from a small request stop on the Northern Ontario Railway in 1903 when the railway reached the area of the Upper and Lower Redwater lakes. [4] During this time a small train station, telegraph key, a siding and water tank was constructed. [4] The several men that worked on the railroad either lived in the train station or in a bunkhouse and two houses. [4] At least one of the two houses was used to supply bosses of the crew. [4]
The newly formed settlement was the site of a murder in 1909 that began when two railway employees named Cornish and Morin attacked W.J. Dyston who worked as the Redwater telegraph operator. [4] After the attack took place, Dyston had been badly beaten and had to struggle in order to get to the telegraph key. [4] When Dyston reached the telegraph key he managed to call for help. [4] Subsequently, Dyston collapsed onto the telegraph key after he sent an incoherent message and died. [4] It was during this time the name Redwater retained a new meaning for the settlement. [4]
A few years after the death of W.J. Dyston, the Redwater Lumber Company constructed a small sawmill in the area. [5] Its lumber yards were located adjacent to Redwater's train station so that the lumber would easily be exported by train. [5] A bunkhouse was created to supply homes for those that worked at the sawmill and subsequent houses were built along the railway. [5] In 1916, a store and post office opened and were operated by a customer named T.J. Baker. [5] [4] The Redwater sawmill ceased around 1928 but the community still remained populated. [5] A railroad car was used to supply a school from the 1940s up until the 1950s when at least five homes still existed. [5]
Because of the closure of the Redwater sawmill, the residents of Redwater only lived there for a time. [5] The post office that opened in 1916 closed in 1942 but the train station still remained in 1945. [6] [7] Homes were subsequently destroyed, with the last burning down in the 1950s. [5] In 1957, the Redwater water tower was burnt down. [5] After this took place, a series of cottages were constructed on the townsite in the 1960s and are still used today. [5] Remains of the early ghost town of Redwater are buried under extensive overgrowth and include foundations where the houses were located and a few root cellars. [4] An aluminum shed behind the site of Redwater's original train station is used by the Ontario Northland Railway. [5]