Swastika, Ontario

History

The town was named after the Swastika Gold Mine staked in 1907 and incorporated on January 6, 1908, the naming of the mine being inspired by a necklace the owner saw.

James and William Dusty staked the claims alongside Otto Lake for the Tavistock Mining Partnership. The gold mine and town were named after the Sanskrit good-luck symbol swastika. The Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway had an engineers' camp nearby as they had to construct two railway bridges as they advanced northwards. The first usage of the name Swastika occurred in their 1907 Annual Report to indicate a water tank located at the site to meet the needs of the steam trains that opened up northern Ontario.

Prospectors and miners flocked to the area and after viewing the find at the Swastika Gold Mine they advanced even further throughout the surrounding region. In 1909 the Lucky Cross Mine adjacent to the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway tracks began producing gold. A Mr. Morrisson started a farm and lodging alongside the tracks as early as 1907 and from there the community developed.

Swastika had a population of 450 by 1911, with the Lucky Cross and Swastika Mines in operation. By 1911, a hotel and businesses were flourishing, the area to the east was heavily staked and in 1912 the major gold mines of Kirkland Lake were found and developed by Harry Oakes. Swastika was the main transportation link with the railway and communications centre. Churches, schools, community groups and organisations continued to provide the needs of the residents of the area.

From 1945 to 1949, Swastika Mine was called the Crescent Kirkland Mine.

During World War II, the provincial government removed the Swastika sign and replaced it with a sign renaming the town "Winston". Residents removed the Winston sign and replaced it with a Swastika sign with the message "To hell with Hitler, we had the swastika first."

References

References

1. "Swastika – Ontario Highway 11 Homepage". Highway11.ca.
2. Parker, Quentin. (August 2023). "Welcome to Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An insider's guide to 201 of the world's weirdest and wildest places". Adams Media.
3. "The Story of Swastika, Ontario".
4. (May 27, 1911). "How Swastika Camp was First Discovered". [[North Bay Nugget]].
5. (1960). "Three Miles of Gold". The Ryerson Press.
6. "Swastika Historical Plaque". Ontarioplaques.com.
7. (1986). "Fortunes in the Ground". The Boston Mills Press.
8. (Winter 2009). "News from the Tavistock and District Historical Society".
9. (31 January 2017). "The Nazi from Swastika, Ont.: How Canada's most unusually named town spawned a notorious Hitler fangirl". National Post.
10. (2001). "Naming Canada: Stories about Canadian Place Names". University of Toronto Press.
11. (September 15, 2017). "Why the swastika can't be rehabilitated". [[Maclean's]].