Powassan (/pəˈwɑːsən/) is a municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario, located near North Bay. Powassan is located in the Almaguin Highlands region of Parry Sound District, at its easternmost boundary with the Nipissing District.
Powassan | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Powassan | |
 | |
  Powassan | |
| Coordinates: 46°04′57″N 79°21′43″W / 46.08250°N 79.36194°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Ontario |
| District | Parry Sound District |
| Established | 1904 (original boundaries) 2001 (current boundaries) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Town |
| • Mayor | Peter McIsaac[1] |
| • Governing Body | Municipality of Powassan Council |
| • MP | Anthony Rota (L) |
| • MPP | Vic Fedeli (PC) |
| Area | |
• Total | 223.26 km2 (86.20 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | |
• Total | 3,346 |
| • Density | 15.0/km2 (39/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| Postal code span | P0H |
| Area code | 705 |
| Website | www.powassan.net |
The municipality includes the population centres of Powassan and Trout Creek, both along Highway 11.
History
editTaken from a First Nations name that means "bend", Powassan's original settlement was at the bend of the South River. The location today is known as the Bingham Chute, and is where the present hydro plant is. The village of Powassan began in/about 1880 with the construction of a sawmill and a grist mill. Mill employees built their houses in that section of the village.
A construction camp for the Northern and Pacific Junction Railway was established at Powassan in 1885. This section of track completed in 1886, was taken over by the Grand Trunk Railway in 1888 and absorbed by Canadian National Railways in 1923.
In 1886, the operation of the Northern and Pacific Junction Railway between Gravenhurst and Nipissing Junction saw the development of a second settlement near the railroad. Christopher Armstrong and William Faulkner Clark were granted two lots by the Crown, lots 15 and 16, respectively, in the 12th concession of the Township of Himsworth. The 15th sideroad of the Township of Himsworth was the road allowance reserve between the two lots, which is the present-day Main Street, Powassan's main thoroughfare. Armstrong divided lot 15 into sections that were 1/5 of an acre in size; Clark divided lots into lots of 1/4 acre each. Clark's plans are registered as numbers 43 and 57.[3]
On November 30, 1904, a Royal Proclamation was issued that declared that Powassan was a separate and new municipality. In the same proclamation, the citizens were constituted a body corporate under the name of the Corporation of the Town of Powassan. In 1906, the present town hall was built.
Powassan virus, a tick-borne disease, is named after the town of Powassan, where it was identified in a 5-year-old boy who died from encephalitis in 1958.[4][5]
The current Municipality of Powassan came into being on January 1, 2001 as a result of the amalgamation of the Town of Powassan, Town of Trout Creek and the Township of South Himsworth. The two main communities in the town are Powassan and Trout Creek.
Climate
edit| Climate data for Powassan (1981−2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13.0 (55.4) |
14.5 (58.1) |
20.6 (69.1) |
31.0 (87.8) |
32.2 (90.0) |
34.0 (93.2) |
36.0 (96.8) |
34.5 (94.1) |
31.5 (88.7) |
27.5 (81.5) |
18.9 (66.0) |
17.5 (63.5) |
36.0 (96.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −6.9 (19.6) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
1.3 (34.3) |
9.8 (49.6) |
17.6 (63.7) |
22.5 (72.5) |
24.9 (76.8) |
23.4 (74.1) |
18.4 (65.1) |
11.0 (51.8) |
3.5 (38.3) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
9.8 (49.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −12.3 (9.9) |
−10 (14) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
4.2 (39.6) |
11.3 (52.3) |
16.2 (61.2) |
18.7 (65.7) |
17.5 (63.5) |
13.1 (55.6) |
6.6 (43.9) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
−7.5 (18.5) |
4.4 (39.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −17.7 (0.1) |
−15.7 (3.7) |
−10.0 (14.0) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
4.9 (40.8) |
9.9 (49.8) |
12.5 (54.5) |
11.5 (52.7) |
7.8 (46.0) |
2.2 (36.0) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−11.9 (10.6) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −43.5 (−46.3) |
−42.0 (−43.6) |
−36.0 (−32.8) |
−20.0 (−4.0) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
1.5 (34.7) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
−9.5 (14.9) |
−29.0 (−20.2) |
−40.5 (−40.9) |
−43.5 (−46.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 63.1 (2.48) |
48.7 (1.92) |
60.0 (2.36) |
63.8 (2.51) |
86.6 (3.41) |
81.2 (3.20) |
97.7 (3.85) |
93.1 (3.67) |
105.5 (4.15) |
96.9 (3.81) |
89.1 (3.51) |
64.1 (2.52) |
949.7 (37.39) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 14.8 (0.58) |
9.3 (0.37) |
30.2 (1.19) |
49.1 (1.93) |
83.8 (3.30) |
81.2 (3.20) |
97.7 (3.85) |
83.1 (3.27) |
105.4 (4.15) |
91.0 (3.58) |
59.0 (2.32) |
21.3 (0.84) |
735.9 (28.97) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 48.3 (19.0) |
39.3 (15.5) |
29.8 (11.7) |
14.7 (5.8) |
2.8 (1.1) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.0) |
5.9 (2.3) |
30.1 (11.9) |
42.8 (16.9) |
213.7 (84.1) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 15.1 | 12.1 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 13.0 | 12.2 | 14.6 | 15.8 | 17.0 | 15.9 | 168.7 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 5.2 | 10.4 | 13.8 | 14.0 | 13.0 | 12.2 | 14.6 | 14.8 | 10.7 | 4.3 | 118.6 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 13.4 | 10.4 | 8.3 | 4.1 | 0.50 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.08 | 1.9 | 8.4 | 13.3 | 60.4 |
| Source: Environment Canada[6] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
edit| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1911 | 644 | — |
| 1921 | 614 | −4.7% |
| 1931 | 650 | +5.9% |
| 1941 | 775 | +19.2% |
| 1951 | 832 | +7.4% |
| 1961 | 1,064 | +27.9% |
| 1971 | 1,163 | +9.3% |
| 1981 | 1,015 | −12.7% |
| 1986 | 1,112 | +9.6% |
| 1991 | 1,150 | +3.4% |
| 1996 | 1,125 | −2.2% |
| 2001 | 3,252 | +189.1% |
| 2006 | 3,309 | +1.8% |
| 2011 | 3,378 | +2.1% |
| 2016 | 3,455 | +2.3% |
| 2021 | 3,346 | −3.2% |
| 2021[7], 2016[8], 2011[9], 2006[10], 2001 and 1996 [11], 1991 and 1986[12] | ||
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Powassan had a population of 3,346 living in 1,317 of its 1,381 total private dwellings, a change of -3.2% from its 2016 population of 3,455. With a land area of 223.26 km2 (86.20 sq mi), it had a population density of 15.0/km2 (38.8/sq mi) in 2021.[13][14][15][16][17][18]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Council". Town of Powassan. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
- ^ a b "2021 Census Profile: Powassan, Municipality". Statistics Canada. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ "The Powassan Story". Town of Powassan. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
- ^ Kemenesi G, Bányai K (January 2019). "Tick-Borne Flaviviruses, with a Focus on Powassan Virus". Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 32 (1): e00106–17, /cmr/32/1/e00106–17.atom. doi:10.1128/CMR.00106-17. PMC 6302355. PMID 30541872.
- ^ Patel KM, Johnson J, Zacharioudakis IM, Boxerman JL, Flanigan TP, Reece RM (2018). "First confirmed case of Powassan neuroinvasive disease in Rhode Island". IDCases. 12: 84–87. doi:10.1016/j.idcr.2018.03.016. PMC 6010959. PMID 29942757.
- ^ "Powassan, Ontario". Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010. Environment Canada. 31 October 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
- ^ "2021 Community Profiles". 2021 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. February 4, 2022.
- ^ "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. August 12, 2021.
- ^ "2011 Community Profiles". 2011 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. March 21, 2019.
- ^ "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
- ^ "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian census. Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021.
- ^ "1991 Census Highlights" (PDF). The Daily. Statistics Canada. April 28, 1992. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
- ^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Ontario". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/statcan/CS92-703-1971.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/statcan/CS92-533-1961.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/statcan/CS98-1951-1.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/statcan/CS98-1931-1-eng.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/statcan/CS98-1921-1-1924.pdf [bare URL PDF]