Sables-Spanish Rivers is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of

Georgian Bay The Georgian Bay () is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is t ...

. It is located in the

Sudbury District The Sudbury District is a district in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1894 from townships of eastern Algoma District and west Nipissing District. In 1973, the Regional Municipality of Sudbury was creat ...

, approximately west of

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

. The township was created in 1998 by amalgamating the former towns of Massey and Webbwood with the Township of The Spanish River and the unorganized geographic townships of May and Shakespeare, and was named for Massey's location at the junction of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and Aux Sables rivers. The township's population was 3,237 in the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...

. The municipal offices are located in Massey.

Communities

Massey () is located at the junction of the aux Sables and Spanish Rivers, close to the northern shore of

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

Chutes Provincial Park Chutes Provincial Park is a recreation class provincial park in Sables-Spanish Rivers, Ontario, Canada, near the community of Massey. The park is named after a logging chute that diverted logs around the waterfall on the River aux Sables The R ...

is one of its principal attractions. Massey is one of several sites that claim to be the home of

broomball Broomball is a both a recreational and organized competitive winter sport, winter and ball sport played on ice or snow. It is played either indoors or outdoors, depending on the climate and location. It is most popularly played in Canada and the ...

. Walford () is the westernmost community of the township located along Highway 17. Its economy was primarily based on logging and mining. The old Walford fire tower still stands north of the village on Tube Lake. Webbwood () was incorporated as a town in 1906. The hamlet of

Lee Valley The Lea Valley (also spelt Lee Valley), the valley of the River Lea, has been used as a transport corridor, a source of sand and gravel, an industrial area, a water supply for London, and a recreational area. The London 2012 Summer Olympics wer ...

is divided between the municipalities of Sables-Spanish Rivers and Espanola. File:Massey ON.jpg, Massey Image:Webbwood ON.jpg, Webbwood

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Sables-Spanish Rivers had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Culture

The community hosts an annual fair in late August, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007. Massey holds a fall fair every year at the fairgrounds. There are rides, contests, prizes, many games and even more vendors. A crash-up car derby has been recently been added along with a four-wheeler mud bog competition. In 2008, the classic car show at the fair was very small compared to the years before so it may be cancelled. There are motocross races, horse pulls, and horse shows there as well.

Recreation and sports

The Massey District Community Centre and Arena is located in Massey, and plays host to the Massey Predators Minor Hockey Association and the Massey and District Figure Skating Club. The Massey Marathon is held annually using the arena as a centre for registration and award ceremony. The marathon is now in its 33rd year and is a qualifier for the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

. The township is also the home of

Transportation

All three of the township's main communities are located directly along . Massey is located at the junction of Highway 17 and . All three communities sit along the

Huron Central Railway The Huron Central Railway is a railway operating in northern Ontario, Canada. It is operated by Genesee & Wyoming Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. The Huron Central Railway was established in July 1997 to operate a route ...

, and once had Canadian Pacific Railway stations. Webbwood was once a

divisional point In Canada and also in the United States, a divisional point (or division point) is a local operational headquarters for a railway. Divisional points are significant in railway maintenance of way operations. Especially historically, they could be the ...

on the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

's Sudbury–Soo Line, with the Webbwood Subdivision to the east and the Thessalon Subdivision to the west. As

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

s were phased out, Canadian Pacific no longer needed as many divisional points for refueling and repair, so its importance as a station declined and the station was eventually removed. Massey and Webbwood are both stops on

Ontario Northland The Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC), or simply Ontario Northland, is a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario responsible for providing transportation services for passengers and goods in Northern Ontario. It reports to ...

Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie may refer to: People * Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a Native American tribe in Michigan Places * Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada ** Sault Ste. Marie (federal electoral district), a Canadian federal electora ...

–

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

motor coach route. The Great Lakes Waterfront Trail, a part of the

Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, Arctic oceans. The trail extends over ; it is now the longe ...

, passes through the township. Travelling from

in the west, the trail enters the township following DeClerk Road and Menard Crescent on gravel before following the route of Highway 17 along a paved shoulder. At Walford, it dips south to follow the gravel route of River Road parallel and to the north of the Spanish River. Upon reaching Massey, it passes through the south of the town before continuing along Lee Valley Road toward

Media

The township is served primarily by media from

Elliot Lake Elliot Lake is a city in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is north of Lake Huron, midway between the cities of Greater Sudbury, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie in the Northern Ontario region. Once dubbed the "uranium ca ...

, Espanola and Little Current. In 1995, The Canadian Wildlife Experience Inc. received a licence to operate a new low-power

tourist information A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center or tourist information centre is a physical location that provides information to tourists. Types A visitor center may be a Civic ce ...

radio station to serve Massey, Walford and Spanish, Ontario at 98.5 MHz, during the spring, summer and fall seasons. The call letters were CJWE-FM. It is uncertain if the station is still currently in operation.Decision CRTC 95-796
New low-power FM radio station, ''CRTC'', November 1, 1995

Notable people

The citizens of Webbwood elected Canada's first female mayor, Barbara Hanley, in 1936."History Made in Webbwood When Woman Mayor Elected"
''

Sudbury Star ''The Sudbury Star'' is a Canadian daily regional newspaper published in Sudbury, Ontario. It is owned by the media company, Postmedia. It is the largest daily paper in Northeastern Ontario by circulation. History The ''Sudbury Star'' began ...

'', January 6, 1966. Massey is the birthplace of artist

Robert Lougheed Robert Lougheed (May 27, 1910 – June 3, 1982) was a Canada-born American artist who has specialized in images of the American West. He was born and raised on a farm in Massey, Ontario, Canada. He became an illustrator for mail-order catalogues ...

and former NHLer

Pete Horeck Peter "Pistol Pete" Horeck (June 15, 1923 — August 29, 2009) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, and Boston Bruins between 1944 and 1952. Early l ...

. It is also the hometown of writer and former bank robber Stephen Reid and the current home of poet Charlie Smith.

Theodore Drake Theodore G.H. Drake, MD (1891- 1959) was a Canadian pediatrician and one of three physicians who developed Pablum. Early life Drake was born on September 16, 1891, in Webbwood, Ontario. He obtained his university degree from the University of Tor ...

, one of the inventors of

Pablum Pablum is a processed cereal for infants originally marketed and co-created by the Mead Johnson & Company in 1931. The product was developed at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto to combat infant malnutrition. Developers of Pablum inclu ...

, was born at Webbwood.

References

External links

* {{Sudbury District, Ontario Municipalities in Sudbury District Single-tier municipalities in Ontario Township municipalities in Ontario