Oskélanéo is a community in northern

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, within the boundaries of the City of La Tuque. It is located along the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

between Clova and

Parent A parent is either the progenitor of a child or, in humans, it can refer to a caregiver or legal guardian, generally called an adoptive parent or step-parent. Parents who are progenitors are First-degree relative, first-degree relatives and have ...

, on the shores of Lake Oskélanéo. The community is named after the eponymous lake and stream, meaning "bones" in the

Algonquin language Algonquin (also spelled Algonkin; in Algonquin: or ) is either a distinct Algonquian languages, Algonquian language closely related to the Ojibwe language or a particularly divergent Ojibwe language dialects, Ojibwe dialect. It is spoken, alon ...

. The little hamlet is home to a few hunting and fishing

outfitter An outfitter is a shop or person that sells specialized clothes (an '' outfit'' is a set of clothing). More specifically, it is a company or individual who provides or deals in equipment and supplies for the pursuit of certain activities. In Nort ...

s. The

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

train to the Abitibi will stop at the Oskelaneo River Station on request.Via Rail Canada
Oskelaneo River train station
/ref>

History

Oskelaneo formed when the

National Transcontinental Railway The National Transcontinental Railway (NTR) was a historic railway between Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Moncton, New Brunswick, in Canada. Much of the line is now operated by the Canadian National Railway. The Grand Trunk partnership The completion o ...

was built through the area in 1910. It was also known as Oskelaneo River after its railway station designation. It became a supply depot for and access point to the

Rupert River The Rupert River is a river in Quebec, Canada. From its headwaters in Lake Mistassini, the largest natural lake in Quebec, it flows west into Rupert Bay on James Bay. The Rupert drains an area of . There is some extremely large whitewater on ...

Lake Mistassini Lake Mistassini () is the largest natural lake by surface area in the province of Quebec, Canada, with a total surface area of approximately and a net area (water surface area only) of . It is located in the Jamésie region of the province, app ...

, and other areas of northern Quebec. The canoe brigades of the

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 ...

travelled through

Oskélanéo River The Oskélanéo River is a tributary of the South Bay of Bureau Lake (Gouin Reservoir), flowing into the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada. The Oskélanéo River runs successively in the cantons of F ...

to supply trading posts at Obiduan,

Chibougamau Chibougamau () is the largest town in Nord-du-Québec, central Quebec, Canada. Located on Lake Gilman, it has a population of 7,233 people (2021 Canadian census). Chibougamau is surrounded by, but not part of, the local municipality of Eeyou ...

, and

Mistissini Mistissini ( meaning Big Rock) is a Cree town located in the south-east corner of the largest natural lake in Quebec, Lake Mistassini. The town is inside the boundaries of the Baie-James Municipality and is the second largest Cree community ...

. Furthermore, the community was also used by

prospectors Prospecting is the first stage of the geological analysis (followed by exploration) of a territory. It is the search for minerals, fossils, precious metals, or mineral specimens. It is also known as fossicking. Traditionally prospecting rel ...

, local

Atikamekw The Atikamekw are an Indigenous people in Canada. Their historic territory, ('Our Land'), is in the upper Saint-Maurice River valley of Quebec (about north of Montreal). One of the main communities is Manawan, about northeast of Montreal. ...

Amerindians, and even some recreational canoeists as an access point to the north, making the Oskelaneo canoe route so popular that it prompted the construction of manually operated locks on the

between the rail station and Bureau Lake (now flooded by

Gouin Reservoir The Gouin Reservoir (, ) is a reservoir (water), man-made lake, fully within the boundaries of the La Tuque, Quebec, City of La Tuque, Quebec, Canada. It is not one contiguous body of water, but the collective name for a series of connected lake ...

). Oskelaneo also became a forestry centre and in 1917, a sawmill was built. In 1921, a post office opened. It gained further prominence that same year when the forest fire protection service started using Oskelaneo as a base, and in 1924, when an airbase was established for aerial surveying and transport. In 1926, the HBC opened a post in the community.Camille Laverdière, ''Oskélanéo: village du Haut Saint-Maurice'', Cahiers de géographie du Québec, vol. 3, n° 6, 1959, p. 223-235 () By the beginning of World War II, Oskelaneo went into decline. The sawmill was demolished and the airbase was no longer used. Circa 1948, the road to Chibougamau was completed, which rendered the canoe route through

immediately obsolete. The last canoe brigade to Mistissini ran in 1948. The community retained some use as an access point to the Gouin Reservoir, but lost this purpose too once logging roads reached the area. In 1956, Oskelaneo still counted 29 families and a total of 119 persons, mostly forestry workers. In 1962, the HBC closed its general store and in 1973, the post office closed as well. Until March 2003, Oskelaneo was within the Obedjiwan Unorganized Territory, and thereafter became part of the new City of

La Tuque La Tuque ( , , ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,129 at the 2021 Canadian census, most of which live within the urban area. At over , i ...

when

Le Haut-Saint-Maurice Regional County Municipality Le Haut-Saint-Maurice () was a former regional county municipality and census division in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada. It was formed on January 1, 1982, and dissolved on March 26, 2003, when it was amalgamated in its entirety into the n ...

was dissolved.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oskelaneo, Quebec Communities in Mauricie Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Ghost towns in Quebec La Tuque, Quebec

History

See also

References