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|population_note = |population_total = 4996|population_density_km2 = 60.3North American Eastern Time Zone>EST|utc_offset = -5Eastern Daylight Time>EDT|utc_offset_DST = -446N46region:CA-ON|display=inline,title}}|elevation_footnotes = |elevation_m =|elevation_ft = Canadian postal code#Forward sortation areas>Forward sortation areaList of P postal codes of Canada>P5EArea code 705>705 & 249List of highways in Ontario>HighwaysHwy|6}}Geographical Names Board of Canada>GNBC Code|blank1_info = FBCXV|website = www.espanola.ca/|footnotes =}}Espanola (2016 census population 4,996) is a town in Northern Ontario, Canada, in the Sudbury District. It is situated on the Spanish River, approximately {{Convert|70|km|mi}} west of downtown Sudbury, and just south of the junction of Highway 6 and Highway 17. The town is where the first experimental rules for the sport of ringette were created in 1963 by Mirl Arthur "Red" McCarthy using a group of local high school girls. Today, Espanola is considered "The Home of Ringette" while North Bay, Ontario, is considered the "Birthplace of Ringette" though the title of "birthplace of ringette" is often shared by both.WEB,weblink Espanola & Area History, Facebook, en,

History

Origin

The name "Espanola" has been attributed to a story which dates back to the mid-18th century. The story goes that a First Nations Ojibwa tribe met a man who had travelled far from Spain. The Spanish man, named Frise Espagnol, married a local Anishinaabe (First Nations) of a family living near the mouth of the river and he taught her and their children to speak Spanish. Later, when the French voyageurs and coureurs des bois came upon the settlement and heard fragments of Spanish spoken by the local natives, they remarked "Espagnole", which had been later anglicized to "Espanola", and the river was named the Spanish River.

Company town

(File:Spanish River Pulp and Paper Company 1927.jpg|thumb|left|Spanish River Pulp & Paper Company, ON, {{Circa|1927}})Espanola was founded in the early 1900s as a company town for the employees of the Spanish River Pulp and Paper company, a subsidiary of the Mead Corporation, which opened a pulp and paper mill there. The town expanded quickly becoming a bustling company town with a hotel, school and theatre. On January 21, 1910, a Canadian Pacific Railway passenger train derailed off a trestle {{Convert|10|km|mi}} east of Espanola. Forty-three people died from the railcar's {{Convert|27|ft|m|adj=on}} plunge into the icy water of the Spanish River. It was one of the CPR's worst railway accidents.In 1927, Abitibi Power and Paper Company acquired the Spanish River Pulp and Paper Mills from Mead,{{sfn|Karn|2010|p=4}} in a transaction that was subsequently seen to be highly overvalued{{sfn|Karn|2010|p=5}} and having a conflict of interest that was ultimately detrimental to Abitibi's shareholders.{{sfn|Karn|2010|p=4}} Changing economic conditions brought on by the Great Depression forced the closure of the Spanish River facility in 1929.{{sfn|Boothman|1994|p=30}}Espanola became a ghost town until the Second World War, when the mill site became a camp for German prisoners of war. During the final years of the Hepburn government, it sought to stimulate employment in Northern Ontario in order to stabilize its political position.{{sfn|Boothman|1994|p=30}} In that regard, it encouraged negotiations between Abitibi and Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Company of Parchment, Michigan which resulted in the sale of Abitibi's Spanish River facility (at that time its largest non-economic asset) in 1943.{{sfn|Boothman|1994|p=30}} It subsequently resumed operation as the KVP Company, producing specialty kraft paper.In 1948, KVP was sued for nuisance in allowing noxious effluent to be discharged into the Spanish River, and an injunction was issued barring it from making any further discharge.CANLII, McKie v. The K.V.P. Company Limited (and four other actions), 1948, onsc, 93, canlii, [1948] OR 398, 1948-04-15, auto, , affirmed in CANLII, K.V.P. Company Ltd. v. McKie et al., 1948, onca, 14, canlii, 1948-11-22, auto, The order was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada without success.CANLII, K.V.P. Co. Ltd. v. McKie et al., 1949, scc, 8, canlii, [1949] SCR 698, 1949-10-04, In 1950, the injunction was dissolved by an Act of the provincial legislature, which provided for any subsequent disputes with KVP to be taken to arbitration,CANLAW, The KVP Company Limited Act, 1950, S.O., 1950, 33,weblink which, together with other legislative changes,CANLAW, The Lakes and Rivers Improvement Amendment Act, 1949, S.O., 1949, 48, 6,weblink effectively curtailed chances for any further injunctions to be issued. The 1950 Act was not repealed until 2006.Legislation Act, 2006, s. 98(3), as enacted by the CANLAW, Access to Justice Act, 2006, S.O., 2006, 21, F,weblink e-laws.gov.on.ca, The 1950 Act effectively gave KVP a limited licence to pollute, and serious cleanup efforts did not happen until the 1980s.BOOK, Brubaker, Elizabeth, 1995, Property Rights in the Defence of Nature, 4: In the Name of the Public Good,weblink Toronto, Environment Probe, 0-91984924-5, 2014-11-15,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20141128000318weblink">weblink 2014-11-28, dead, In 1966 KVP was bought by Brown Forest Industries, a division of Charles Bluhdorn's industrial conglomerate Gulf and Western Industries. The Brown Forest Industries operation was later sold to E.B. Eddy, who operated the mill until June 1998. As of 2023, the plant was owned by Domtar, and at the time was the town's largest employer. In September 2023, Domtar announced that it intended to shut down the mill.NEWS, Domtar says northern Ontario paper mill to shut down 'indefinitely', Erik, White,weblink CBC.ca, September 6, 2023, September 12, 2023, Espanola got some negative press in the early 1980s when the mill accidentally discharged toxic effluent into the Spanish River, killing fish by the thousands. The spill acted like a flush, and when the fish came back a few years later, they were reportedly untainted and thriving, although the toxic smell still remained. Now the mill is said to be one of the most stringent "zero-emissions" pulp bleaching processes in the world {{Citation needed|date=May 2014}}, and the area below the Spanish River Dam is a designated fish sanctuary.

Recent history

Espanola was officially incorporated as a town on March 1, 1958.The 1969 CBC Television series Adventures in Rainbow Country was filmed near Espanola, near the small First Nations community of Birch Island and at Whitefish Falls. The series starred Lois Maxwell, the actress who played "Miss Moneypenny" in Bond films such as Dr. No and Goldfinger. Canadian-born, she was a long-time resident of the town.In 2001, a group of volunteers staged a fundraiser for the local hospital by attempting to set a world record for the world's longest ice hockey game. They were successful, playing for over three days straight. The record was broken in April 2004 in nearby Sudbury, where the teams played for six hours longer. Currently, the record holders are team Hope and team Cure from Sherwood Park near Edmonton, Alberta, who played for 250 hours (10 days).NEWS, 40 Alberta athletes pursue world record for longest hockey game,weblink July 11, 2019, CBC News Edmonton, February 12, 2018,

Demographics

{{Historical populations|title = Espanola, Ontario Historical populations|type = Canada|align = right|percentages =Canada 1996 Census>1996, Canada 2001 Census, Canada 2006 Census>2006, 2011 census 5527Canada 1996 Census>1996| 5454Canada 2001 Census>2001| 5449Canada 2006 Census>2006| 5314Canada 2011 Census>2011| 5364Canada 2016 Census>2016| 4996}}In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Espanola had a population of {{val|5185|fmt=commas}} living in {{val|2304|fmt=commas}} of its {{val|2450|fmt=commas}} total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:5185-5048}}|5048|1}} from its 2016 population of {{val|5048|fmt=commas}}. With a land area of {{convert|81|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|5185|81|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.WEB,weblink Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Ontario, Statistics Canada, February 9, 2022, March 30, 2022, Ethnically, Espanola is 87% European, 11.5% Indigenous, and 1.5% Visible Minority (mostly Chinese and South Asian).WEB, Government of Canada, Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2016 Census - Espanola, Town [Census subdivision], Ontario and Saskatchewan [Province],weblink www12.statcan.gc.ca, 28 March 2021, 8 February 2017, {{Canada census }}

Transportation

Road

{{jcon|hwy|6|nosh=y}} is routed through Espanola, with its junction with {{jcon|hwy|17|nosh=y}} just to the north, across the Spanish River in Baldwin township near McKerrow. It also connects Espanola with communities to the south along the way to Manitoulin Island, reaching its land terminus at South Baymouth before continuing on the other side of Lake Huron starting at Tobermory and passing through a number of Southern Ontario communities before reaching its ultimate southern terminus of Port Dover.

Rail

(File:Espanola station circa 1923.jpg|thumb|Espanola station {{circa|1923|lk=no}})Historically, Espanola was a station stop along the Algoma Eastern Railway (AER) and featured a distinctive station and water tower (built in 1911) which were similar to other AER stations such as the one in McKerrow. It marked the first major stop after the AER line turned south toward Manitoulin Island and its ultimate terminus at Little Current. After the financially troubled AER was acquired by the CPR, the portion of the line continuing south from the junction at McKerrow was maintained as the CPR Little Current Subdivision and saw regular passenger traffic, especially due to the difficulties in crossing the Spanish River before a modern highway bridge was constructed in the 1960s. In 1943, the Espanola station was served by a single southbound and single northbound passenger train per day, with a travel time of just over two hours to Sudbury.JOURNAL,weblink 10.14288/1.0357112, Canadian Pacific Railway timetables, CP Rail, Canadian Pacific Railway Company, University of British Columbia Library, 1940–49, 15 July 2020, Canadian Pacific Railway Company, The approximately 50-year-old water tower was demolished in 1960 as a part of the CPR's final switch from steam to diesel trains. In 1963, passenger service along the spur line was discontinued, though passengers were still able to board CP's iconic Budd cars at the Webbwood and McKerrow stations until service along the Sault Ste. Marie line was also discontinued in 1976, cutting off Espanola's access to passenger rail for the first time in its history. The historic Algoma Eastern Railway station was demolished shortly after in the mid-1980s.

Bus

In 2018, Ontario Northland announced a major service expansion west of Sudbury, which included Espanola.WEB,weblink Ontario Northland Introduces Bus Service to Manitoulin Island, 2019-07-04, 2019-07-04,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20190704213618weblink">weblink dead, Passengers may board buses headed to Sault Ste. Marie, or Sudbury.WEB, Transportation,weblink The Town of Espanola, July 11, 2019,

Walking and cycling

A segment of the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail runs through Espanola.WEB,weblink Great Lakes Waterfront Trail, Espanola, 29 August 2020, It approaches the town from the direction of the rural area of Lee Valley to the west. In downtown Espanola, the trail forks, with one section going to the north, where it bypasses McKerrow to the south on the way to Nairn and Sudbury, and the other going south toward Manitoulin, where it eventually connects to the Bruce Trail via ferry to the Bruce Peninsula. Both directions partially follow a paved shoulder along {{jcon|hwy|6|nosh=y}}, as well as on-street and off-street sections around the town.

Public services

Espanola's three primary schools, A.B. Ellis Public School, Sacred Heart School (Roman Catholic), and École St. Joseph (French Roman Catholic), and two secondary schools, Espanola High School and École secondaire catholique Franco-Ouest, service the local students, as well as those from surrounding communities such as Massey, Webbwood, McKerrow, Nairn Centre, Willisville, Whitefish Falls, Walford and Birch Island.In 1999 a modern recreation complex was constructed, replacing the aging arena and community swimming pool. In addition, Espanola has a public library.

Sports

Ringette

The town is where the first experimental rules for the Canadian sport of Ringette were drafted in 1963 at the Espanola Arena by Mirl Arthur "Red" McCarthy using a group of local high school girls who had played ice hockey during gym classes at the Espanola High School.NEWS,weblink The origins of ringette, Mayer, Norm, The Sudbury Star, 1989,

Ice hockey

Espanola has had four Junior A hockey teams throughout the town's history. The first was the Espanola Screaming Eagles which were founded in 1962 in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey Association and won the league title the same year. The team moved to the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League in 1972 when the NOJHA disbanded and stayed there until 2003 when the team relocated to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan where they are now known as the Soo Eagles in the same league.The town's second team was the Espanola Kings which were founded in 2007 in the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League. However, the team only lasted two season before folding after the 2008-2009 season.The third team was the Espanola Rivermen which were founded in 2013 in the NOJHL. However, the team lasted one season in the league before relocating to the newly formed Canadian International Hockey League. The team folded in 2015 after the league disbanded after one season.The fourth team is the Espanola Express which were founded in 2015 in the NOJHL. The team is still active in the league today.NEWS, Espanola Express team website,weblink

Media

Radio

• FM 94.1 - CKNR, variety
• FM 94.9 - CBON-7, Première Chaîne
• FM 99.3 - CJJM, variety

Other radio station signals are received out of Manitoulin Island, Elliot Lake and Sudbury.

Television

Former television stations which operated in the Espanola and area prior to the analog shutdown in 2012 which can only be received via cable or satellite:

• Channel 4: CBLFT-TV-7, SRC
• Channel 49: CICO-TV-71, TVOntario (Lee Valley)

One of the last operating analog television signals which can reach the Espanola area is CICI-TV (CTV) channel 5 out of Sudbury.

Print

Espanola is home to the Mid-North Monitor, a weekly community newspaper.

In popular culture

Espanola is a pivotal location in The Marrow Thieves, a young adult novel written by Charlie Dimaline.

Notable people

• NHLers/AHLers Art Gauthier, Leo Lamoureux and Al Secord.
• Mirl Arthur "Red" McCarthy became the co-founder of the sport of ringette in 1963 while he was the area's recreation director.
• Former Canadian steeplechase record-holder Greg Duhaime was born here.
• Jim Gordon, a longtime mayor of Sudbury, lived in Espanola for a number of years in the 1960s and served on the town council before moving to Sudbury.
• Lois Maxwell, played Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond films and starred in Adventures in Rainbow Country, filmed, partly, in Espanola.

See also

• List of towns in Ontario
• List of townships in Ontario
• List of francophone communities in Ontario
• List of population centres in Ontario
• List of municipalities in Ontario

References

Further reading

Bibliographies

• BOOK, Morrison, George R., 1989, Espanola on the Spanish, Espanola, G.R. Morrison, 0-9693746-0-7,
• BOOK,weblink A Century of History in Espanola, Ontario, Canada, T., Gallagher, 2001, Espanola, T. Gallagher, 319830483,
• BOOK,weblink Espanola District, Ontario, Terence Thomas, Quirke, 1917, University of Chicago,

Economic history

• CONFERENCE, Boothman, Barry E.C., 1994, Night of the Longest Day: The Receivership of Abitibi Power and Paper,weblink Annual Conference of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, 15, 2232, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20141112212931weblink">weblink 2014-11-12, (Section 14: Business History)
• WEB, Karn, Darren, 2010, From Anson's Folly to Bowater's Blunder: A History of Abitibi Paper, 1912–2011,weblink Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto,

External links

{{Commons category}}{{Wikivoyage|Espanola (Ontario)|Espanola}}

• {{official websiteweblink}}

{hide}Geographic location {edih}{{Sudbury District, Ontario}}