Iroquois Falls - History

History

The background of the town's name varies depending on the source, attributing the name of the falls either to invasions by the Iroquois on Huron or Ojibway villages. It is also unclear who has relayed the tale, settlers or the First Nations people themselves.

Incorporated in 1915, Iroquois Falls was built as a company town by Frank Harris Anson, owner of the Abitibi Power and Paper Company, Limited. In 1916, much of the town was destroyed by fire. Frank Harris Anson, who was influenced by the Garden City movement, continued his beautification program during the 1920s as the community rebuilt.

Founded as Abitibi Pulp and Paper Co. by Frank Harris Anson, this mill created a dramatic change to the area. A new population migrated to the area for development. The creation of the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway (now Ontario Northland Railway) service greatly boosted the economy as there were no roads at the time. A large group of Abitibi housing units were built and a large church. The large church, which is a historic landmark for the area, was the first English Catholic Parish to be built in Northern Ontario. As Iroquois Falls grew it was separated into three distinct towns: Montrock, Ansonville, and Iroquois Falls. This was discontinued in 1979 and they were amalgamated into one town named Iroquois Falls. Abitibi-Price merged with Stone-Consolidated and then merged Donohue Forest Products and finally with Bowater to create AbitbiBowater. On April 17, 2009 AbitibiBowater sought CCAA protection. AbitibiBowater is currently in the process of implementing a re-structuring plan for the purpose of coming out of bankruptcy protection late 2010 or early 2011. AbitibiBowater emerged from CCAA protection under a new name: Resolute Forest Products.