Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

Sables-Spanish Rivers, Ontario

Sables-Spanish Rivers is a township in Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Georgian Bay. It is located in the Sudbury District, approximately 70 kilometres west of Sudbury.

The township was created in 1998 by amalgamating the former towns of Massey and Webbwood with the township of Spanish River and the unorganized geographic townships of May and Shakespeare, and was named for Massey's location at the junction of the Spanish and Aux Sables rivers.

The township's population was 3,237 in the Canada 2006 Census. The municipal offices are located in Massey.

Communities

Massey is located at the junction of the aux Sables and Spanish Rivers, close to the northern shore of Lake Huron. Chutes Provincial Park is one of its principal attractions. An episode of the old CBC Television show Adventures in Rainbow Country was shot here in 1969. Massey is one of several sites that claim to be the home of broomball.

Walford's economy is primarily based on logging and mining. The old Walford fire tower still stands north of the village on Tube Lake.

Webbwood was incorporated as a town in 1906. On January 21, 1910, a train derailment in the community killed 42 people. Stewart's general store has been running for over 20 years. It serves as a hub for goods between Espanola and Massey.

The hamlet of Lee Valley is divided between the municipalities of Sables-Spanish Rivers and Espanola.

Transportation

All three of the township's main communities are located directly along Highway 17. Massey is located at the junction of Highway 17 and Highway 553.

Media

The township is served primarily by media from Sudbury, Elliot Lake, Espanola and Little Current.

Culture

Massey hosts an annual Street Painting Festival in September of each year. The community also hosts an annual fair in late August, which celebrated its 100^th anniversary in 2006.

Famous people

Massey is the birthplace of artist Robert Lougheed. It is also the hometown of writer and former bank robber Stephen Reid, former NHLer Pete Horeck and the current home of poet Charlie Smith.

Theodore Drake, one of the inventors of Pablum, was born at Webbwood. The voters of Webbwood elected Canada's first female mayor, Barbara Hanley, in 1936.