Swastika, Ontario

Swastika, Ontario

Swastika (swaz-TEE-kuh) is a small community founded in 1908 around a mining site in northern Ontario, Canada, and today within the municipal boundaries of Kirkland Lake, Ontario.

Swastika is a junction on the Ontario Northland Railway, where a branch to Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec leaves the ONR's main line from North Bay, Ontario to Moosonee. The Northlander passenger railway service between Toronto and Cochrane serves a station at Swastika, with connecting bus service along Highway 66 into downtown Kirkland Lake.

History

Swastika, Ontario was named after the Swastika Gold Mine staked in the autumn of 1907 and incorporated on January 6, 1908. James and William Dusty staked the claims alongside Otto Lake for the Tavistock Mining Partnership. 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 was 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 T.& N.O. 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.

By 1911 a hotel, businesses, etc. were flourishing and the area to the east was heavily staked and the major gold mines of Kirkland Lake were found and developed. 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.

In 2008, the small community of Swastika is celebrating the town's centennial.

World War II

During World War II, the provincial government sought to change the town's name to Winston, in honour of Winston Churchill, but the town refused, insisting that the town had held the name long before the Nazis co-opted the symbol. Residents of Swastika used to tell the story of how the Ontario Department of Highways would erect new signs on the roads at the edge of the town. At night the residents would tear these signs down and put up their own signs proclaiming the town to be "Swastika". Fact|date=June 2008

Christopher Macaulay, a direct descendant of Thomas Babington Macaulay, was instrumental in fighting to keep the name of the town unchanged despite the association with National Socialism.

The town's other claim to fame is its association with the Mitford family, who owned the Swastika Mine for which the town was named. In particular, Nazi sympathizer Unity Mitford's association with the town—she was supposedly conceived there—impressed some of the more superstitious Nazis,Fact|date=February 2007 to whom the swastika was an important symbol.

Periodically, Swastika has been subject to criticism from various groups for retaining the name, however local residents have shown no inclination to accept a change.

Tourism

The Swastika area continues to support a strong tourist industry throughout the year. The summers are met with a number of anglers, hunters, and campers looking for adventure. Winters are especially popular as a result of the well maintained snow mobile trails in the area. There are also a number of Tourist destinations in the area, including the recently developed Hockey Heritage North in Kirkland Lake.

ee also

*Kirkland Lake
*Berlin, Ontario
*Swastika

External links

* [http://ontarioplaques.com/Plaques_STU/Plaque_Timiskaming06.html Ontario Plaques - Swastika]
* [http://www.embargo.ca/highway11/Timiskaming/TM-16-Swastika.htm Swastika - Ontario Highway 11 Homepage]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Swastika (Ontario) — Swastika, Ontario. Swastika es una pequeña comunidad fundada en 1908 alrededor de un sitio minero en el norte de Ontario (Canadá), y actualmente está dentro de los límites municipales de Kirkland Lake (Ontario). Swastika es una intersección en el …   Wikipedia Español

  • Swastika — This article is about the symbol. For the town, see Swastika, Ontario. The counter clock swastika to evoke shakti in the decorative Hindu form …   Wikipedia

  • Ontario Northland Railway — The ONR owned tracks in blue with trackage rights in red …   Wikipedia

  • Ontario Northland — Création 10 avril 1902 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ontario Northland Railway — Ontario Northland Le Chemin de Fer Ontario Northland, ou Ontario Northland Railway en anglais (ONR), est un chemin de fer canadien et une compagnie de la couronne provinciale. Sommaire 1 Trains de passagers 2 Autobus 3 Flotte 4 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ontario Highway 66 — Highway 66 Route information Maintained by the Ministry o …   Wikipedia

  • Ontario Highway 112 — Highway 112 Route information Maintained by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario Length: 19.8 km …   Wikipedia

  • Swastika — Svastika Svastika Le svastika (parfois appelé par abus de langage la svastika au lieu de la croix en forme de svastika) 卐 ou 卍 tel qu on le représente la plupart du temps, est un symbole religieux que l on retrouve de l Europe à l Océanie,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services — Parent Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Headquarters 555 Oak Street East …   Wikipedia

  • Western use of the Swastika in the early 20th century — adopted the symbol in the 1920s, it continued in use in Western countries with its original meaning until the Nazi association became dominant in the 1930s. The term swastika is first attested in English in 1871, and first refers to the Nazi… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”