Machin is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

province of

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, located in the

Kenora District Kenora District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The district seat is the City of Kenora. It is geographically the largest division in Ontario: at , it covers 38 percent of the province's area, making it larger ...

west of Dryden. The township, named after Harold A.C. Machin, consists of 2 non-contiguous areas on the north shore of Eagle Lake. The junction of Highway 17 and Highway 105 is located in Machin, just east of Vermilion Bay.

Communities

The main communities in Machin township are Eagle River (), Minnitaki (), and Vermilion Bay ().

Eagle River

The community of Eagle River has its origin as a

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

fur-trading post on Eagle Lake, founded in 1869. It operated seasonally in the winter until 1882, when the post was moved to Wabigoon Lake. By that time, the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

was built through the area and the settlement grew where the railroad crosses the namesake Eagle River. In the 1890s, Eagle River was an important coal and water supply station for the railroad, while shipping out wood and fur. Trade at Eagle River ceased in 1903. In 1928, a hydro-electric power station was built on the river (and another one in 1937). Around 1935/1936, the first fishing and hunting lodge was built on Eagle Lake. The community lost later its importance as a railroad hub, and in 1968 and 1969, railway docks were removed and its train station was demolished in 1973.

Minnitaki

Minnitaki started as a

railway point A railroad switch ( AE), turnout, or (set of) points ( CE) is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off. Design T ...

along the Canadian Pacific Railway, which was built in the early 1880s. Its indigenous name means "muddy waters" or "shaded waters", either referring to the murky waters of Beaver Creek that flows through the place or to the shadow cast on water by passing clouds. In 1896, the geographic townships of Eton, Sanford, and Aubrey were surveyed, after which the first

homesteaders The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of t ...

founded the settlement.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Machin 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.

References

External links