Calvin Township


Calvin Township is located 10 minutes west of the Town of Mattawa and 25 minutes east of North Bay.  The township also consists of Eau Claire and Eau Claire Station.  The township got its name from Delino Dexter Calvin, an Ontario lumber merchant and MPP who was a delegate from Frontenac Country.

This region was already populated by natives named the Nipissings before the white man arrived.  The first white settlers to arrive in this region was in the 1830’s.  They were lumbermen who came to work for the Mackey Lumber Company or farmers that wanted to work the land and sell their supplies to the lumber companies that were working in this area.

Mackey’s Lumber Mill in Eau Claire

The township was incorporated in 1887.

Many lumbermen stayed and brought their families, while other families arrived to work the rich farm land.  As time went by, it developed into a busy township with a train station, so people could do business in Mattawa and schools.

Eau Claire Train Station
Typical Rural School of the Area

The Eau Claire Gorge Conservation Area was developed to preserve and share the natural history of the area, including a log slide and dam built on the property in the 1870’s for the Mackey Lumber Company. The interpretive trail allows visitors to explore the beautiful scenery, waterfalls and open rock face of the Gorge.

Eau Claire Gorge

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Click on the double headed arrow in the upper right corner for a full screen view


Related Articles

Macleans, Bruce McLeod, May 1, 1944 – MICA STRIKE
Doug Mackey, 14:July 7, 2000 – Eau Claire Gorge a great place to visit
Doug Mackey, 128:March 21, 2003 – How a Township Got its Name


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