Spanish, Ontario - History

History

According to legend, the Spanish name was derived around the year 1750. Numerous persons have attempted to explain the rationale for the name "Spanish" in what was once historically part of New France. There are several different theories regarding the name of the community. According to local legends a French Jesuit Father was travelling in the area in the 1700s and encountered a Spanish speaking woman with children. The woman had been captured by local warriors in a battle in Spanish controlled lands far to the south in what is now the United States of America, and had been married to a local Ojibway chief, the family taking the name "Espaniel". Espaniel is a common surname among the local Ojibway communities. Another variant of the story has it that it was in fact a Spanishman who had fled the Spain-controlled lower Mississippi Valley during the fur trade days and had taken refuge along the North Shore and married into a local Ojibway comminity. Other theories on the name of Spanishinclude a claim that Dr. J.J. Bigsby, a geologist with the Canadian Boundary Commission, named the river to contrast with the nearby French River. Further intrigue arises from the 1980 discovery of two Spanish coins from 1742 found near the mouth of the Sauble River. This has led to speculation of very early Spanish-speaking explorers along the North Shore. The Spanish River has had numerous names since names were recorded. John McBean, HBC Factor at the La Cloche Trading Post resorded the name Eskimanetigon in his map of 1824. Elder Peter Owl of Sagamok states the name has traditionally been Minitegozibe. The Ministry has names a Provincial Park on the upper river. The Spanish River Valley Minitegoibe Signature site. Early settlement of the area gained momentum in the latter part of the 1800s with the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in February 1884, between Lake Nipissing and Algoma, now known as Algoma Mills. According to an article in the Ontario Gazetteer, by 1903–1904, the Spanish River Station (the railway designation for Spanish) had a population of approximately 200 with two timber companies operating in the vicinity: Huron Lumber Co. and Spanish River Co. W. H. Graham operated a general store, William Coget ran the hotel and the local blacksmith as well as the Postmaster was Gustavo Hamilton.

During the same year (1903–1904), the community of Spanish Mills, located on Aird Island in the North Channel just south of the Town of Spanish, also had a thriving timber industry complete with a sawmill, schoolhouse, and general store. The Sable and Spanish River Boom and Dam Co. and the Spanish River Lumber Company.