Unorganized West Part Manitoulin District is an

unorganized area An unorganized area or unorganized territory (french: Territoire non organisé) is any geographic region in Canada that does not form part of a municipality or Indian reserve. In these areas, the lowest level of government is provincial or territ ...

Manitoulin District Manitoulin District is a district in Northeastern Ontario within the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1888 from part of the Algoma District. The district seat is in Gore Bay. It comprises Manitoulin Island primarily, as well as a ...

northeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, encompassing the portion of

Manitoulin Island Manitoulin Island is an island in Lake Huron, located within the borders of the Canadian province of Ontario, in the bioregion known as Laurentia. With an area of , it is the largest lake island in the world, large enough that it has over 100 ...

which is not part of an organized municipality. It comprises the geographic townships of Robinson and Dawson. Separate local services boards provide services in Robinson and Dawson townships.Local Services Boards, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 737
Canadian Legal Information Institute.

Communities

The division includes the communities of Burnt Island, Cook's Dock, Fernlee, Meldrum Bay and Silver Water.

Meldrum Bay

Meldrum Bay () is located at the western terminus of Highway 540, 72 kilometers west of Gore Bay, in Dawson township. Settled in the 1870s, and named after a town in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, Meldrum Bay developed as a commercial fishing and lumbering centre. Once the village was home to a busy fishing fleet, and Great Lakes steamers tied up at the docks. From the 1920s the

Owen Sound Transportation Company The Owen Sound Transportation Company, Limited was the forerunner of the enterprise that currently operates the vehicle and passenger ferry - M.S. ''Chi-Cheemaun'' - between Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula, and South Baymouth on Manitoulin ...

steamers provided weekly ferry service between Meldrum Bay and

Thessalon Thessalon is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located at the junction of Highway 17 and Highway 129 on the north shore of Lake Huron. It is surrounded by, but not part of, the municipality of Huron Shores, and is part of Algoma Di ...

, on its route between

Owen Sound Owen Sound ( 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi and Sydenham Rivers on an inlet of Georgian Bay. The primary tourist attract ...

and

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Sault Ste. Marie ( ) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is at the St. Mary's River on the Canada–US border. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay. The Ojibwe, the indigenous Anishinaabe inhabitants ...

, however, the 1962 opening of the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...

, and other road improvements has made this service unprofitable. Now during the summer, the docks are busy again, lined with pleasure craft from around the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

. This area holds some of the best

chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus ''Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ve ...

fishing in all of Canada. Many residents of the area are employed by

Lafarge La Farge, LaFarge or Lafarge can refer to: People * Antoinette LaFarge (1966–), American artist and writer * Christopher Grant LaFarge (1862–1938), American architect and partner in the firm Heins & LaFarge * Christopher Grant La Farge ( ...

, whose quarry near Meldrum Bay produces

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

used in concrete, road construction and metallurgical processing. This Lafarge Canada site is the home of the "largest Canadian marine quarry," with loading docks on the

Mississagi Strait The Mississagi Strait is a narrow strait or channel in Manitoulin District, Ontario, Canada, located in Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake M ...

Silver Water

Silver Water () is the largest community in Robinson township, located on Highway 540 approximately 42 kilometers west of Gore Bay. It has a year-round population of approximately 62 families, which almost doubles during the summer months. It is a vibrant rural community, with the majority of the population being retired seniors. The community contains a well equipped community center as well as a popular country-style diner, both of which are well used community gathering sites. Silver Water has an all volunteer fire dept. servicing the Robinson township consisting of 1 pumper and 2 tankers. This helps in keeping the residents homeowners insurance rates down. Silver Water also has a very active membership in the local United Church. The Pop is 169 with an average median age being 65.9 years. (2016 Census data)

Demographics

References

{{Manitoulin District Manitoulin West Geography of Manitoulin District

Communities

Meldrum Bay

Silver Water

Demographics

See also

References