Papineau-Cameron is a municipal township in northeastern Ontario, Canada, in Nipissing District. The township is located on the south side of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers along Highway 17.
It was established in 1992 when the townships of Papineau and Cameron were merged.
Papineau Township
The Township of Papineau bordered the Mattawa River to the north, Algonquin Park and the Township of Boyd to the south and the Township of Head and Clara to the east and then the Township of Calvin to the west.
The township got its name from Louis-Joseph Papineau, speaker of the house in Lower Canadian Legislature between 1815-1837. He was the leader and spokesman of the French Canadian patriots.
This area was already populated by natives who had been in this area for many decades. The first white man arrived here in the 1830’s. They were mainly lumbermen and farmers trying to make a life and a living for themselves.
With the Homestead Act of 1868, this brought many immigrants to this area. It was established in 1887 with a proper council and reeve. The families that did move and established themselves here had many members.
A typical day on the farm consisted of getting up at the crack of dawn to let the animals out of the barn, feed the chickens, collect the eggs and milk the cows. Then you had breakfast after which you cleaned out the stalls, cut some wood for the stove and worked in the garden or in the fields gathering hay.
Cameron Township
The Township of Cameron was located 10 minutes east of Mattawa.
It consisted of Klock’s, Morel and Rankin. It got its name from Chief Justice Sir Matthew Crooks Cameron, who was an MPP and held several senior government positions and was knighted in 1887.
The first white settlers to arrive in this region was in the 1840’s. They were lumbermen who came to work for the Klock’s Lumber Company or farmers that wanted to work the land and sell their supplies to the lumber companies that were working in this area.
The township was incorporated in 1887.
Many lumbermen stayed and brought their families. In 1912 there was also an influx of Finnish immigrants who had been working in the mines that arrived in Cameron 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.
Related Articles
Doug Mackey, 111:October 25, 2002 – The Vanished Village of Klock’s Mills
Doug Mackey, 116:December 13, 2002 – A Second Look at the Vanished Village of Klock
Doug Mackey, 129:March 28, 2003 – How Papineau Township got its name
Doug Mackey, 130:April 11, 2003 – Cameron Township in Perspective
Doug Mackey, 202:December 17, 2004 – Remembering the Cameron Finns
Doug Mackey, 230:October 28, 2005 – Cameron Finns Remembered in Mattawa
Doug Mackey, 277:August 3, 2007 – Community History Alive and Well
Doug Mackey, 405:February 10, 2012 – Former Mattawa Soldier Honoured
Related Publications
Turning Back the Wheel of Time : The Hazelwood Homestead by Crystal Krueger