Port Arthur was a city in

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Pro ...

, Canada, located on

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

. In January 1970, it amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

. Port Arthur had been the district seat of

Thunder Bay District Thunder Bay District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The district seat is Thunder Bay. In 2016, the population was 146,048. The land area is ; the population density was . Most ...

. It is historically notable as a temporary (1882–1885) eastern terminus of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

. It served as a major

transshipment Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g. ...

point for lakers that carried cargo to Port Arthur from across 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 ...

. CPR's completion to the east did little to affect the city's importance for shipping; the

Canadian Northern Railway The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. Man ...

was constructed to serve the port, and it built numerous

grain silo A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legumes ...

s to supply lakers. This rail and

grain trade The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other ...

diminished in the latter half of the 20th century.

History

The government of the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...

determined in the late 1850s to begin the exploration and settlement of Canada west of Ontario. With

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

in 1867,

Simon James Dawson Simon James Dawson (June 13, 1818 – October 30, 1902) was a Canadian civil engineer and politician. Career Born in Redhaven, Banffshire, Scotland, Dawson emigrated to Canada as a young man and began his career as an engineer. In 1857 ...

was employed by the Canadian Department of Public Works (DPW) to construct a road and route from Thunder Bay on

to the

Red River Colony The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assiniboia, Assinboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hud ...

(now

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

). DPW's depot and settlement on the lake, where it landed and stored its supplies, acquired its first name in May 1870, after a fierce fire. Colonel

Garnet Wolseley Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, (4 June 183325 March 1913), was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He became one of the most influential and admired British generals after a series of successes in Canada, W ...

named the tiny fire-ravaged settlement as Prince Arthur's Landing, in honor of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (1850–1942), son of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. Prince Arthur was then serving with his regiment in Montreal. In 1871 the Ontario government surveyed the Prince Arthur's Landing Town Plot, thereby officially confirming the name and opening the land for legal possession. In May 1883 this unwieldy name was changed unilaterally by

(CPR) officials in Winnipeg to Port Arthur.Frederick Brent Scollie, "Falling into line : how Prince Arthur's Landing became Port Arthur," Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, ''Papers and Records'', XIII (1985), 8–19. The namesake prince did not visit the settlement until May 1890, when he and his entourage briefly stopped there. The residents of Prince Arthur's Landing developed the Thunder Bay District's first municipality, the Municipality of

Shuniah Shuniah () is a municipal township bordering the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada on the east. Shuniah was incorporated by an act of the Ontario legislature in 1873, and at that time included much of present-day Thunder Bay and its predecesso ...

in March 1873. This early form of regional government covered an area that reached from Sibley Peninsula to the United States (US) border. The residents of Prince Arthur dominated Shuniah, which was resented by the few residents of Fort William, Ontario. In 1881, they established their own Municipality of Neebing. They began a long and ultimately successful competition with Port Arthur to secure all the operations of the Canadian Pacific Railway, which moved to Fort William later in the century. Prospering from the CPR railway construction boom of 1882–1885, Port Arthur was incorporated as a town in March 1884. The CPR erected Thunder Bay's and western Canada's first terminal grain elevator on the bay in 1883, later leasing it to

Joseph Goodwin King Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

. In the late 19th century, Port Arthur was greatly affected by changes in the economy. The CPR completed its construction along the north shore of Lake Superior and decided to centralize its operations along the lower

Kaministiquia River The Kaministiquia River is a river which flows into western Lake Superior at the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario. ''Kaministiquia'' (''Gaa-ministigweyaa'') is an Ojibwe word meaning "where a stream flows in island" due to two large islands (McKellar ...

. This abruptly reduced business in Port Arthur. In addition, silver mining had been the mainstay of the economy since the 1870s, but the boom in silver mining ended in October 1890. The U.S. Congress passed the

McKinley Tariff The Tariff Act of 1890, commonly called the McKinley Tariff, was an act of the United States Congress, framed by then Representative William McKinley, that became law on October 1, 1890. The tariff raised the average duty on imports to almost fift ...

, cutting off profitable exports to the US. The town was in dire economic straits until 1897–1899, when the entrepreneurs William Mackenzie and

Donald Mann Sir Donald Daniel Mann (March 23, 1853 – November 10, 1934), who was also referred to as "Dan" or "D.D." before his knighthood, was a Canadian railway contractor and entrepreneur. Biography Born at Acton, Canada West, Mann studied as a Metho ...

acquired the Ontario and Rainy River Railway and the

Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway The Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway (PADW) was a Canadian railway that operated in Northwestern Ontario. The PADW was built in 1889 by investors interested in extracting the mineral and timber wealth of the Whitefish River Valley, Silver ...

. They chose Port Arthur as the Lake Superior headquarters for the

. Port Arthur thrived as a

transhipment Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g. ...

and grain handling port for the CNR after the railway line was opened to

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

in December 1901. From 1871 onward, Port Arthur was designated as the administrative centre for

(created 1871 by the Ontario government). A provincial stipendiary

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

dispensed justice until 1884, when the government created a judicial district and appointed a federal judge to lead the court. The province erected a jail and court house in 1876, and located a Crown Lands Agent, a Crown Timber Agent, and an Inspector of Colonization Roads in the town. The federal

Indian Agent In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the government. Background The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the United States first included development of t ...

was also usually located in the town. A large new

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

was erected by the province in 1924. Attempts from 1901 to 1914 to secure manufacturing industries generally came to naught. But the

Western Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company The Western Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard that operated at Port Arthur, Ontario, now part of Thunder Bay, on Lake Superior from 1911 to 1993. The shipyard was established in 1909 and renamed in 1916 as the Port Arthur Shipbuil ...

, later called the

Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company The Western Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard that operated at Port Arthur, Ontario, now part of Thunder Bay, on Lake Superior from 1911 to 1993. The shipyard was established in 1909 and renamed in 1916 as the Port Arthur Shipbuil ...

or PASCO, was a major industrial employer for many years. The

forest product A forest product is any material derived from forestry for direct consumption or commercial use, such as lumber, paper, or fodder for livestock. Wood, by far the dominant product of forests, is used for many purposes, such as wood fuel (e.g. in fo ...

s industry was important to the town's economic life. In the 1880s, Herman Finger established the Pigeon River Lumber Company, but dissolved the company and moved his operations to The Pas by 1906. In 1917, two sawmills were added the pulp and paper industry, with the establishment of the Port Arthur Pulp and Paper Company, later a division of Provincial Paper Mills Ltd, and in 1920 the Kaministiquia Pulp and Paper Company at Current River. This was sold in 1922 to the Consolidated Water Power and Paper Company of

Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin Wisconsin Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Wisconsin. The population was 18,877 at the 2020 census. The city also forms one of the core areas of the United States Census Bureau's Marshfield-Wisconsin Rapids Micropolit ...

. The absorption of the Canadian Northern Railway into the

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

meant the loss of many CNoR facilities. The Canadian Northern route through Port Arthur was downgraded by the new CNR. But western Canadian grain companies preferred to build their large new terminal

grain elevators A grain elevator is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposits ...

on Thunder Bay rather than on Fort William's

Lakehead University Lakehead University is a public research university with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate programs, grad ...

was established on a site within the former city of Port Arthur, whose intercity area increasingly became a focus of industrial and commercial activity in the post-World War II period. Port Arthur became a city in April 1907. The City of Port Arthur ceased to exist at the end of December 1969.

Prince Arthur's Landing waterfront district

In 2006, Prince Arthur's Landing was adopted as the name for a mix-use waterfront redevelopment district incorporating a marina, parkland and trails, public art, restored heritage buildings, and a future hotel. Structures include the Baggage Building Arts Centre public gallery, a restored circa-1900 building, the Water Garden Pavilion, a skateboard park, running and cycling trails, as well as public art.

Crest, motto, and coat of arms

In 1963 Port Arthur acquired a new coat of arms from the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

in London. The original crest depicted a wooden fort with wide-open gate with the motto "Gateway to the West." The new coat of arms, designed by J.P. Brooke-Little,

Bluemantle Pursuivant Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a junior officer of arms of the College of Arms in London. The office is reputed to have been created by King Henry V to serve the Order of the Garter, but there is no documentary evidence of this. ...

of Arms, featured a heraldic gateway in a framing sun, wavy bars representing water, blue fleurs de lys, a red cross, a lion holding a tree, a moose and a wolf.

Notable people

* Mary Riter Hamilton, Canadian artist and painter *

Smokey Harris Thomas Wilfred "Smokey, Fred" Harris (October 11, 1890 – June 4, 1974) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Harris played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Western Canada Hockey L ...

, professional hockey player noted for scoring the first ever goal in

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

history. *

Fred Page Frederick Page (September 29, 1915 – December 23, 1997) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator and ice hockey referee. He originated from Port Arthur, Ontario, where he played junior ice hockey, refereed locally and later at the Memorial ...

, hockey executive and inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame * Frank Sargent, hockey executive and inductee into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame * H. J. Sterling, city councillor and hockey executive

Bibliography

*Arthur, Elizabeth, 1920–. ''Thunder Bay district, 1821–1892 : a collection of documents''. oronto Champlain Society for the Govt. of Ontario: University of Toronto Press, 1973. . *Barr, Elinor, 1933–. ''Thunder Bay to Gunflint : the Port Arthur, Duluth & Western Railway''. Thunder Bay, Ont. : Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, 1999. . *Buonocore, S. P., 1955–. ''Catholic education on the northern frontier : the origins and early development of the Port Arthur Roman Catholic Separate School Board, 1870–1888''. Thunder Bay, Ont. : S.P. Buonocore, 2002, c1992. ; . *Campbell, George. ''The town that arrested a train''. Thunder Bay, Ont. : Guide Print and Pub., 1981. The 1889 seizure of a CPR freight train by the Town of Port Arthur for non-payment of municipal taxes. *Mauro, Joseph M., 1931–. ''Thunder Bay : a history : the golden gateway of the Great Northwest''. Thunder Bay, Ont. : Lehto Printers, 1981. Popular history without footnotes or sources. *Morrison, Jean. Labour pains : Thunder Bay's working class in the wheat boom era. Thunder Bay, Ont. : Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, 2009. . *Newell, Diane. "Silver mining in the Thunder Bay District 1865–1885," Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, Papers and Records, XIII (1985), 28–45. *Petersen, Bruce. "The great fire of 1870," Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, Papers and Records, XII (1984), 8–18. *Scollie, Frederick Brent. Thunder Bay mayors and councillors, 1873–1945 : including Port Arthur and Fort William, Ontario (1884–1945) and their predecessors, the municipalities of Shuniah (1873–1884) and Neebing (1881–1892) : a biographical and genealogical dictionary and electoral history. Thunder Bay, Ont. : Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, 2000. (hardback) (CD-ROM) *Scollie, Frederick Brent. "Theatre and music on Ontario's frontier 1876–1907 : town hall entertainment in Victorian Thunder Bay," Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, Papers and Records, XXXVI (2008), 24–52. *Thunder Bay from rivalry to unity / edited by Thorold J. Tronrud and A. Ernest Epp. Thunder Bay : Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, 1995. . *Tronrud, Thorold John. Guardians of progress : boosters & boosterism in Thunder Bay, 1870–1914. Thunder Bay, Ont. : Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, 1993. . *Young, J. E., Historical facts, grain elevator construction and shipping, Lakehead Harbour, 1883–1964 / prepared by J. E. Young, chairman, Lakehead Harbour Commission. ort Arthur, Ont. : Lakehead Harbour Commission 1965.

References