Thessalon is a town in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nor ...

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 ...

, located at the junction of Highway 17 and Highway 129 on the north shore of

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Straits of Mack ...

. It is surrounded by, but not part of, the municipality of

Huron Shores Huron Shores is a Municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario, located along the North Channel of Lake Huron in the Algoma District. The municipality was created in 1999 through the amalgamation of the former townships of Thessalon, Thomp ...

, and is part of Algoma District. The main industries are timber and tourism. The town is a popular

retirement community A retirement community is a residential community or housing complex designed for older adults who are generally able to care for themselves; however, assistance from home care agencies is allowed in some communities, and activities and socia ...

. It is the administrative headquarters of the

Thessalon First Nation Thessalon First Nation is an Ojibwe First Nation in Algoma District, Ontario. Their reserve is located at Thessalon 12. They are a member of the Anishinabek Nation The Anishinabek Nation, also known as the Union of Ontario Indians, is a First ...

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

with a

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

, Thessalon 12.

History

Appears on early maps as Tessalon (Galinée, 1670), and later as Pointe aux Thessalons (Bellin, 1775). A corruption of an earlier Amerindian descriptive Neyashewun, meaning "a point of land". The region was first surveyed in 1869. The survey was done to determine if the area could support a viable lumber industry. By the winter of 1870 the beginnings of a

lumber camp A logging camp (or lumber camp) is a transitory work site used in the logging industry. Before the second half of the 20th century, these camps were the primary place where lumberjacks would live and work to fell trees in a particular area. Many ...

had taken root and in 1877 a more permanent settlement was established. Thessalon was incorporated in 1892.

Nathaniel Dyment , nickname = {{Plainlist, * Nat * Nate , footnotes = Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael. People with the name Nathaniel * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * Nate A ...

Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...

, the owner of Dyment Co. one of the earliest and most prominent lumber companies in the area is considered the founding figure of Thessalon.

Recreation

There is an arena, a curling club and one primary school in the town. The town was also home to the

Thessalon Flyers The Thessalon Flyers were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Thessalon, Ontario, Canada. Over its history, this defunct hockey team was a part of the International Junior B Hockey League, followed by the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, and ...

. The

Voyageur Hiking Trail The Voyageur Hiking Trail is a public hiking trail between Sudbury and Thunder Bay in Northern Ontario, Canada. The name honours the early European fur traders of the region who travelled largely by canoe and were known as 'voyageurs’ and � ...

passes near the community. The Thessalon River flows through the town and into Lake Huron at Water Street. Fishing is excellent in the river:

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samu ...

, pickerel, bass, northwater

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

and

muskie The muskellunge ''(Esox masquinongy)'', often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. Origin of name The name "muskellun ...

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Thessalon had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Population trend: * Population in 2016: 1,286 * Population in 2011: 1,279 * Population in 2006: 1,312 * Population in 2001: 1,386 * Population in 1996: 1,485 * Population in 1991: 1,543

Transportation

Ontario Northland The Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC), or simply Ontario Northland, is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario responsible for providing transportation services for passengers and goods in northern Ontario. It reports to ...

provides intercity motor coach service to Thessalon as a stop along its Sault Ste. Marie–Sudbury–North Bay–Ottawa route, with one bus a day each headed eastbound and westbound from Sunday to Friday, with no service on Saturdays. The Thessalon railway station was once a divisional point along 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 ...

's Sudbury–Soo Line. Passenger service began in the area around 1905, and a station building was constructed around 1910. With dwindling passenger traffic along the line, service was gradually discontinued, and the station was demolished sometime after 1971.

Notable residents

* Henry Horricks (1883 - 1968), pacifist, was born near Thessalon

References

External links

* {{Algoma District Municipalities in Algoma District Single-tier municipalities in Ontario Towns in Ontario