A brief history of the CPR station of Sturgeon Falls

François Castilloux

The recent

discussions about

the Joyeux Copains

building invite us to

explore the history

of the train station

in Sturgeon Falls. It

was recently

concluded that this

building truly belonged to the CPR and might

be the oldest surviving infrastructure in the

community. Pictures of the time indicate that it

was formerly located on the platform of the

station and acted as reception. Researches

indicate that the Joyeux Copains building could

have been built around 1893 while others claim

it is older. Be that as it may, the Joyeux Copains

building has certainly witnessed a great part of

the colonization era. For a time, it has acted as

reception and therefore playing a predominant

role in the CPR station of Sturgeon Falls. This

realization is important to us. Less people

remember of the time when the Joyeux Copains

building welcomed settlers. In 1910, this

building was relocated to its actual location to

make space for a bigger infrastructure which we

know well today. We have clearer memories of

the station and the big rectangular building with

a green four-hip roof. This well-known building

was built on the former location of the Joyeux

Copains building. Today, the Joyeux Copains

building is located some 200 m from its original

location and the CPR sold its ownership a long

time ago. Nonetheless, the Joyeux Copains

building will forever belong to the history of

Sturgeon Falls and the CPR station. This text is

dedicated to this history.

Today, the old CPR property is less visible. In the

past, it was 250 m by 350 m and was framed by

the Front, King, Nipissing and Salter streets. By

looking the map below, we noticed that the

property of the CPR has influenced the urban

development of the community. The name of

streets shows this. The street in front of the

station was simply named “Front” and the

vertical street leading to the station entrance

was named “Main”. The Eastern limit of the CPR

property touched “Nipissing Street” which was

opened to reach the shore of Lake Nipissing. The

Western limit touched King Street; Named to

reflect British imperialism. Finally, the Southern

limit of the CPR property symbolically lays on

Salter Street. The name “Salter” is important for

the history of West Nipissing even before the

beginning of our communities. In 1858, the

surveyor Albert Salter drew a horizontal baseline

through the woods from our region to Lake

Superior to prepare the land for the future

surveying and drawing of townships. This is very

important for the history of the CPR property in

Sturgeon Falls and the historian Wayne Lebelle

recently talked about it. Unfortunately, some

details need correction. In West Nipissing, Albert

Salter drew a baseline not a meridian. He drew a

real meridian West of Sudbury in 1856 but it

should not be confused with his baseline in

question which he drew here in 1858. Moreover,

a meridian runs North to South and the Salter

baseline runs East to West. Those are two

different things and historians have to be more

careful. The Salter baseline runs precisely 25

miles north of the 46th parallel. Also, it runs

directly on Salter Street. I have achieved this

conclusion when I juxtaposed a road map of

Sturgeon Falls on the Plan of the Township of

Springer surveyed by James K. McLean P.L.S. 1880

(M. Parker, 1881). The acronym “P.L.S.” means

“Provincial Land Surveyor”. The Salter baseline

was used by surveyors to help trace townships

and lots on a straight line. We will see this with

James K. McLean who surveyed in 1880 the

Springer Township (today Sturgeon Falls and

Cache Bay). In his report James K. McLean used

the Salter baseline and wrote “I commenced the

survey at the beginning of P.L.S Salter’s base line.

I found the post planted by him, near Sturgeon

Falls, and on the westerly side thereof, still

standing and in good state of preservation.” and

“From the base line, I laid out the concessions a

depth of eighty chains, and the lots a width of

forty chains, giving each lot an area of three

hundred twenty acres.” A little after, the CPR

engineers came to the area and drew the

property that became the Sturgeon Falls station.

The location of the property was chosen, firstly,

to accommodate the train line over Sturgeon

River and, secondly, to symbolically lay on the

Salter baseline.

The CPR station of Sturgeon Falls was the axis of

development around which the community of

Sturgeon Falls emerged. For a time, the Joyeux

Copains building was acting as reception of the

station and therefore welcomed hundreds of

settlers that arrived to colonize the area. In 1895,

this community is incorporated into a town and

adopts the name “Sturgeon Falls”. The name was

coined by the attraction site of the falls and by

the name of the CPR station. The name of the

township “Springer” had less effect on the

inhabitants. In 1898, the first big pulp and paper

mill is built besides the falls and provides

henceforth more winter employment to settlers.

A great community has emerged around the CPR

station and the town continued to develop fast.

In 1910 the station needed a bigger reception

and the Joyeux Copains building became

outdated. The demographic pressure and the

demand on transportation have greatly

increased since. Furthermore, the aggressive

industrialization that preceded the First World

War required the CPR to improve it services. In

1910, the CPR relocated the Joyeux Copains

building to a corner of the property where it is

today. Soon after, the CPR built the well-known

big rectangular building with the green four-hip

roof. Soon after, the Joyeux Copains building was

forgotten.

The Joyeux Copains building reminds us of the

importance of the station and the CPR property

in Sturgeon Falls. The investigation on the Joyeux

Copains revealed the importance of land

surveying and the Salter baseline for the history

of Sturgeon Falls. Today, the original CPR

property no longer exists but this building exists

as a relic. We are only starting to learn from its

past. More careful research will lead to more

fascinating discoveries.