REAL-NWO
(Resource and Archival Library for Northwestern Ontario)
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REAL-NWO (Resource and Archival Library for Northwestern Ontario) |
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Thunder Bay's rich and exciting past can be traced back nearly 11,000 years to the time of the Paleo-Indians. Although there is no written record of these early inhabitants, many of the stone tools they made can still be found. Spear points, axeheads and scraping implements provide valuable clues about life in the early days following the great glaciers. Beautiful copper fish hooks, knives and gaffs of the Old Copper Indians who inhabited the region 4,000 to 5,000 years ago have also been discovered.
When the first Europeans arrived, in the 17th century, the local Indians called this site "Animikie" which translates as "Thunder". The name was transformed by the French-speaking explorers into "Baie de Tonnerre" or Thunder Bay.
A fur trading post was established on Thunder Bay in 1683 by Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du l'Hut,
and named Fort Caministigoyan. It was abandoned in 1697 but shortly thereafter (in 1717) a
second French Post, Fort Kaministiquia, was built and for the most of that century, the trade in
furs prospered. In 1798, the drawing of the border between the U.S. and Canada and the threat
of having to pay customs dues forced the North West Company to abandon its Grand Portage
post and move north gaining access to rich fur markets.
Fort William named in honour of William McGillivray, the company's chief superintendent,
was built on Lake Superior near the Kaministiquia River.
Thunder Bay's recreated Old Fort William represents the fort as it appeared in 1815 when it was at its height--a bustling community of trading partners, voyageurs and Indians, all engaged in the lucrative fur trade. Fort William was the centre of the Canadian fur trading economy, the place where trapper met trader and the deals were struck.
By the middle of the 19th century the fur trade boom had long since faded and mining became the region's most important industry. Finds of copper, silver and later gold proved lucrative for those willing to take the risk. For more than a decade the famous Silver Islet mine not far from Thunder Bay, was considered the richest in the world! The shaft at Silver Islet began on a tiny rock in Lake Superior and, by its final years, extended 1250 feet below the level of the lake.
Thunder Bay's history was irretrievably changed in the 1870's with the coming of the railway. Within a very short time, strengthening links between the Lakehead and Canada's rich agricultural west made this city the principal port for the nation's grain shipments to the world. By the early 1900's, Thunder Bay ranked as the world's number one grain handling port, a title it only recently relinquished. At the same time, a flourishing industry developed as people from across the continent flocked here to take advantage of the region's superb fishing, hunting and recreational opportunities. Subsequent economic developments included the iron and steel industries -- thousands of fighters and bombers and dozens of warships were produced here during the Second World War -- and the making of pulp and paper.
Once the railway linked Thunder Bay to the world at the end of the last century the local
population began to grow and two villages developed side by side -- Fort William and Port
Arthur. In 1970 the two sister cities joined forced and amalgamated under the same name given
to the region centuries ago -- Thunder Bay.
