Swastika is a small Canadian community founded around a mine site in

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

in 1908. Today it is within the municipal boundaries of

Kirkland Lake Kirkland Lake is a town and municipality in Timiskaming District, Ontario, Timiskaming District of Northeastern Ontario. The 2021 population, according to Statistics Canada, was 7,750. The community name was based on a nearby lake which in turn ...

, Ontario. It has frequently been noted on lists of

place names considered unusual Place names considered unusual can include those which are also Profanity, offensive words, inadvertently humorous (especially if mispronounced) or highly charged words, as well as toponymy, place names of unorthodox spelling and pronunciation, ...

. Swastika is a junction on the

Ontario Northland Railway The Ontario Northland Railway is a Canadian railway operated by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a Crown agency (Ontario), provincial Crown agency of the government of Ontario. Originally built to develop the Lake Timiskaming ...

, where a branch to

Rouyn-Noranda Rouyn-Noranda (; Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population 42,313) is a city on Osisko Lake in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, Canada. The city of Rouyn-Noranda is coextensive with a territory equivalent to a regional county municipalit ...

, Quebec, leaves the ONR's main line from North Bay, Ontario, to

Moosonee Moosonee () is a town in Northeastern Ontario, Canada, on the Moose River approximately south of James Bay. It is considered to be "the Gateway to the Arctic" and has Ontario's only saltwater port. Nearby, on Moose Factory Island, is the com ...

. Until 2012, the ''

Northlander The ''Northlander'' was a passenger train operated by the provincially-owned Ontario Northland Railway in southern and northeastern Ontario, Canada. In 2012, rail service was discontinued and replaced with express bus service. Rail service will ...

'' passenger railway service between

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and Cochrane served the Swastika railway station with a connecting bus service running along Highway 66 into downtown Kirkland Lake.

History

20th century

The town was named after the Swastika Gold Mine staked in 1907 and incorporated on January 6, 1908. James and William Dusty staked the claims alongside Otto Lake for the Tavistock Mining Partnership. The gold mine and town were named after the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

good-luck symbol

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

. The Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway had an engineers' camp nearby as they had to construct two railway bridges as they advanced northwards. The first usage of the name Swastika occurred in their 1907 Annual Report to indicate a water tank located at the site to meet the needs of the steam trains that opened up northern Ontario. Prospectors and miners flocked to the area and after viewing the find at the Swastika Gold Mine they advanced even further throughout the surrounding region. In 1909 the Lucky Cross Mine adjacent to the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway tracks began producing gold. A Mr. Morrisson started a farm and lodging alongside the tracks as early as 1907 and from there the community developed. Swastika had a population of 450 by 1911, with the Lucky Cross and Swastika Mines in operation. By 1911, a hotel and businesses were flourishing, the area to the east was heavily staked and in 1912 the major gold mines of Kirkland Lake were found and developed by

Harry Oakes Sir Harry Oakes, 1st Baronet (23 December 1874 – 8 July 1943) was a British gold mine owner, entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. He earned his fortune in Canada and moved to the Bahamas in the 1930s for tax purposes. Though American by b ...

. Swastika was the main transportation link with the railway and communications centre. Churches, schools, community groups and organisations continued to provide the needs of the residents of the area. From 1945 to 1949, Swastika Mine was called the Crescent Kirkland Mine. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the provincial government removed the Swastika sign and replaced it with a sign renaming the town "Winston" The residents removed the Winston sign and replaced it with a Swastika sign with the message "To hell with

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

, we had the swastika first." The 1930s' British socialite Unity Mitford was conceived in Swastika when her parents were there to investigate a gold claim investment in 1913. One of the famous Mitford sisters who were daughters to aristocrat David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, Unity was notorious for her extreme devotion to Adolf Hitler and support of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

and

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

21st century

In 2008, Swastika celebrated the town's centennial. In 2021, the Ontario Northland Railway's station was demolished. On May 26, 2021, the Province of Ontario announced plans to reinstate the Northlander passenger train between Toronto and Timmins and/or Cochrane. As of 2023, the population of Swastika was approximately 500 people.

References

{{Coord, 48, 06, N, 80, 06, W, region:CA_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title 1908 establishments in Ontario Communities in Timiskaming District

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 ...

Kirkland Lake Naming controversies Populated places established in 1908