Long Lake

The community of Long Lake began as a lumber town in the early 1900's.  During that time, the only lumber company in the area was the Victoria Harper Logging Company.  Their mill and office / bunkhouse buildings were situated near the east end of Long Lake.

In 1907, Luc Potvin and Paul Mathieu discovered gold in the area.  This discovery resulted in the establishment of the Long Lake Gold Mine in the spring of 1909.  The mine was located one mile south of the lake and was later sold to the Canadian Exploration Company Limited.  It employed local settlers until its closure in June of 1916.  The discovery of gold helped to promote the decline of the lumber industry and the boom of the mining community.

Around this time, pioneers began to build homes around Long Lake.  These settlers were mainly of French or Ukrainian descent.  Finnish settlers would come from Europe with few possessions and a strong determination to make a life for themselves and their families.  Upon arrival in Canada, the men would take jobs working in the mining or lumbering industries and would eventually purchase their own land and begin farming.

Dairy farms were quite common in the area and farmers would take turns transporting milk to the Sudbury dairy.  Long Lake was known as a farming community until about 1940.

 

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