Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay is a city on the northwestern shore of Lake Superior, in Canada. It was created in 1970 from the amalgamation of Port Arthur and Fort William, which had existed for about 100 and 200 years, respectively. Since amalgamation its population has remained mostly constant, at about 110,000 people. This makes it a particularly interesting place for hyperlocal historical study, since it remains as a frozen "time capsule" of the past, and its entire history is not very long and is thus tractable. The individual genealogies of every person in town can be conceivably traced.
Another feature of Thunder Bay making it an especially good candidate for historical analysis is its isolation. Extending the concept of "topographical prominence" to cities, Thunder Bay would feature highly on a list of most "isolated" cities larger than 100,000 people, since it is hundreds of kilometres from any other city of comparable size. This means people had to decisively living within its boundaries or else far away in another city. This isolation makes analysis more tractable and also contributes to the unique character of its culture.
Thunder Bay has a particularly high number of community-minded people who have contributed to many volunteer activities such as sports, theatre, dance, academics, and many other activities giving it a rich and vibrant sense of community. Unlike in other cities where people generally do not know their neighbours, in Thunder Bay it is normal to be friendly and know the names of many people in your neighbourhood and while going about one's errands it would be normal to meet several people you recognize.
Thunder Bay can be understood best by the timing of routes into the city. (see below)
Port Arthur and Fort William's rivalry has strong analogues with Eagleton and Pawnee, Indiana from Parks and Recreation.
To a lesser extent, Shelbyville and Springfield from The Simpsons are also a good analogy.
It has been said that "Port Arthur is the last eastern city and Fort William the first western city" [1]
Geography
The city's official boundary, shown below, is derived from the City of Thunder Bay's GIS open-data "City Limits" feature layer (citation embedded in the map data). The boundary excludes a small enclave on the south side of the Kaministiquia River, near the historic Fort William townsite; this may correspond to the Fort William First Nation reserve, though that has not been confirmed.
View an interactive 3D map of Thunder Bay, showing the city's official boundary and terrain.
Rivers
Rivers flowing into Thunder Bay
The following table lists the major rivers and creeks that flow into Thunder Bay (part of Lake Superior), ordered approximately from north to south (at their exit into Lake Superior).
| River / Creek | Name origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Current River | Descriptive (English) | Originates from Onion Lake (dam-regulated); flows through Boulevard Lake before entering Lake Superior. Popular for recreation and coldwater fishery. |
| McVicar's Creek | Named after the McVicar family, particularly early settler Robert McVicar (c. 1799–1864), a Hudson's Bay Company trader who settled in the area. | Smaller urban creek. |
| McIntyre River | Named after the former geographic Township of McIntyre (and likely John McIntyre, a prominent Hudson's Bay Company figure associated with Fort William). | Flows through southern city areas including near Emerald Greens Golf Course and Lakehead University. Notable trout fishery. Connected to the Neebing River via the Neebing-McIntyre Floodway. |
| Neebing River | From Ojibwe Niibing / Niibin, meaning "summer" or "in the summer". | Joins the McIntyre River system via the Neebing-McIntyre Floodway for flood control. The name also applied to the former geographic Township of Neebing. |
| Kaministiquia River | From Ojibwe Gaa-ministigweyaa (or similar), meaning "river with islands" or "where a stream flows in island", referring to the delta islands at its mouth. | Largest river entering Thunder Bay. Originates at Dog Lake (??? but this is before Kakabeka Falls); features Kakabeka Falls upstream. Forms a delta at its mouth with three branches divided by McKellar Island and Mission Island. |
| McKellar River (branch) | Named after the prominent McKellar family, particularly John McKellar (1833–), a businessman, prospector, and politician who owned extensive land in the area. | Central branch of the Kaministiquia River delta. |
| Mission River (branch) | Named for a Jesuit mission located on its south shore. | Southern branch of the Kaministiquia River delta. |
Historical Population
| Group | Avg population | Start year | End year | Duration (years) | Est. total unique people |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indigenous (pre-Anishinaabe) | ~75 | 7500 BCE | 1000 CE | 8,500 | ~14,000 |
| Anishinaabe / Ojibwe | ~100 | 1000 CE | 1900 CE | 900 | ~7,500 |
| Non-Indigenous settlers | ~150 | 1679 | 1900 | 221 | ~2,800 |
| Total population | ~40,000 (rising) | 1900 | 1970 | 70 | ~85,000 |
| Total population | ~110,000 | 1970 | 2026 | 56 | ~135,000 |
| Z Overall Total | — | 7500 BCE | 2026 | 9,526 | ~244,300 |
Timeline of Connections to the Lakehead (Thunder Bay)
| Mode | Winnipeg (West) | Minneapolis / US (South) | Toronto / East |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water (Voyageur/Portage) | 1803 (NWC inland river/portage route). Ended 1821 following HBC merger. | 1731 (Grand Portage route). Shifted to Fort William 1803; ended 1821. | 1803 (NWC canoe route to Montreal). Ended 1821 following HBC merger. |
| Water (Steamship) | 1871 (Dawson Route inland lake steamboats on Lake of the Woods). Obsolete by 1883. | 1871 (Regular Lake Superior steamship connections to railheads in Duluth) | 1870 (Regular steamship arrivals like the Chicora) & 1884 (CPR Great Lakes fleet) |
| Air | 1938 (Trans-Canada Air Lines network integration) | 1967 (North Central Airlines scheduled service to Duluth) | 1938 (Trans-Canada Air Lines network integration) |
| Road | 1932 (Overland route through the Canadian Shield) | August 18, 1917 (Scott Highway / International Outlaw Bridge) | September 17, 1960 (Trans-Canada Highway 17 "Gap" closed) |
| Rail | 1882–1883 (CPR connection). Passenger service ended January 15, 1990. | 1893 (Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway). Passenger service abandoned by 1938. | 1885 (CPR North Shore route completed) & 1910 (GTPR). Passenger service ended January 15, 1990. |
- 1803: The North West Company (NWC) establishes a fur trading route to the newly built inland headquarters, Fort William (named after chief superintendent William McGillivray). Replacing Grand Portage, this depot became the site of the annual summer rendezvous and the major transshipment point connecting Montreal to the western interior.
- 1821: The North West Company merges with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) following years of violent and costly fur trade wars. Because the HBC relied on the much shorter sea route through Hudson Bay via York Factory and Moose Factory, the grueling overland canoe route to Montreal was virtually abandoned. Fort William immediately lost its strategic importance as a major transshipment hub and gradually declined into a minor fishing and trading post until it was closed in 1883.
After the amalgamation in 1821, Fort William continued as a fur trade fort essentially serving as the regional point for the local fur trade. It of course had a much diminished role but there were still returns from the local fur trapping areas. The post was essentially shut down as a HBC post in 1883 and then gradually fell apart and was taken over as railway land with the last building - the Stone Store - being demolished in 1902.
Books specifically on the fur trade history of the region, by Jean Morrison:
- Superior Rendezvous Place: Fort William in the Canadian Fur Trade
- Lake Superior to Rainy Lake: Three Centuries of Fur Trade History.
- Dr. Livio Di Matteo
- Mid-to-Late 19th Century: Before the railways were completed, commercial passenger steamships were the primary method for immigrants, troops, and travelers to reach the Lakehead. Early steamship services navigated Lake Superior from southern ports like Sarnia and Windsor. Even the Canadian Pacific Railway operated its own Great Lakes steamship fleet (featuring ships like the Algoma, Alberta, and Athabasca) starting in 1884 to ferry passengers and freight from Owen Sound to Port Arthur while the difficult rail route north of Lake Superior was still under construction.
- 1882–1883: The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) arrives, completing the rail connection between Winnipeg and the Lakehead.
- 1889–1892 (The Railway Controversy): Despite Port Arthur being the original terminus, a bitter tax dispute prompted CPR management to relocate their main rail yards, roundhouse, and grain elevators six miles south to the banks of the Kaministiquia River in Fort William. Fearing economic ruin, Port Arthur decided to build a municipal electric street railway in 1892 to link its business district directly to the new CPR yards in Fort William. Fort William violently objected to this "inter-urban" railway—even instructing road commissioners to tear up the rail ties—but Port Arthur eventually succeeded in forcing the connection through, saving its economy.
- 1901–1902: The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) route arrives in Port Arthur. This network broke the CPR's rail monopoly, establishing a second major rail connection that vastly expanded the local coal and grain shipping infrastructure.
- 1910: The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR) (along with the federal National Transcontinental Railway) establishes its connection to the Lakehead, creating another transcontinental link to Eastern Canada (Toronto/Montreal) and the West. To cut costs and raise the city's profile, the GTPR and CPR collaborated to build a Beaux-Arts style Union Station in Fort William, which opened in 1910.
- August 18, 1917: The overland route for automobiles (connection to Minneapolis/Duluth) is finalized. Initially known as the "Scott Highway" on the Ontario side, it officially connected with Minnesota's north shore roads when the international "Outlaw Bridge" was opened over the Pigeon River.
- 1932: The overland route for automobiles (connection to Winnipeg) is created. The opening of this early road carved a vital path through the rugged terrain of the Canadian Shield, linking the Lakehead to the Canadian Prairies.
- 1938: The Fort William Municipal Airport (now Thunder Bay International Airport) is opened. Initially built partly as a Depression-era unemployment relief project, the airport was soon taken over for the war effort, serving as the No. 2 Elementary Flying Training School under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Trans-Canada Air Lines (now Air Canada) soon began integrating the Lakehead into its growing national commercial passenger network.
- April 1, 1955: Commercial aviation hits a major milestone when Trans-Canada Air Lines introduces the Vickers Viscount to its Montreal–Toronto–Fort William–Winnipeg route. This marked the very first turbine-powered (turboprop) commercial passenger flight service in North America.
- September 17, 1960: The overland route for automobiles (connection to Toronto / Sault Ste. Marie) is completed. The final north shore section of the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 17), known as "The Gap" between Agawa Bay and Marathon, was finally paved, closing the loop and allowing continuous automobile travel across Ontario.
- 1974: The original Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) Port Arthur passenger station closes. Passenger rail operations are briefly consolidated at the CPR Union Depot in neighbouring Fort William.
- January 15, 1990: Regular passenger rail service to the city permanently ends. Following federal restructuring and drastic reductions to the national passenger rail network, VIA Rail removed Thunder Bay from the transcontinental route of The Canadian. The mainline was shifted northward, passing through Sioux Lookout instead. The historic Port Arthur railway station still stands at Prince Arthur's Landing on the waterfront, repurposed for municipal and business uses.
Parsons and Currie relatives
The Currie family's roots in Thunder Bay (formerly Port Arthur and Fort William) are surprisingly shallow, but if one goes back to the Parsons family - the family of the mother of Great Grandma Anna Currie - one finds many migrants, since it was they who engaged in the Great Parsons Migration to Port Arthur at the turn of the 19th century into the 20th.
Jack Currie's mother Anna Snook's parents were from Port Arthur, but it's not clear how far back their history in the town goes, although they were present at the time of Anna Snook's birth in 1892. Alex did marry Anna in Port Arthur in June 1914, however, and stayed long enough for Jack to be born there in June 1915. Soon after, he left, because his life as a station agent doesn't appear to involve any long stays in the town.
Jack Currie moved back to Port Arthur, bringing his young family, in 1954. However, his two older sons had moved away by the time they were at university in the 1970s. Only Jack's youngest son Ron stayed for the rest of his life. Jack and his wife Lucy did stay in Thunder Bay until their deaths in 2009 and 2003, respectively.
Ron's children Michael and Carolyn left town in 2001 and 2015, at 19 and 30, respectively.
Leaving aside our third cousins from the Parsons branch, this leaves only the ageing Ronald and his wife Mary Ann carrying the torch in the town Michael was raised in.
The only people born in Thunder Bay are Anna, Jack, and Carolyn.
The only one born AND raised in Thunder Bay is Carolyn.
Stays in Thunder Bay:
- George Snook 1892-1930 (from Salisbury, England)
- Anne Parsons 1892-1924 (from Newfoundland)
- Anna Snook 1893-1916 (born, but raised around Schreiber)
- Jack Currie 1915-1916, 1954 - 2009 (born, lived from age 39 onwards)
- Lucy Currie 1954 - 2003 (from age 36 onwards)
- Ronald Currie 1954 - present (from age 7 onwards)
- Mary Ann Currie ~1978 - present (from age 28 onwards)
- Bill Currie 1954 - 1965 (from ages 11 to 18)
- Doug Currie 1954 - 1968 (from ages 8 to 18)
- Michael Currie 1982 - 2001 (not born there, but from ages 0 to 19)
- Carolyn Currie 1985 - 2015 (born and raised, until 30)
The person from our family with the most years in Thunder Bay is Ronald Currie, with 64 years as of 2018.
True enterprising individuals who made the active choice to move to Thunder Bay, and didn't just descend from those who were already here:
- Sometime between 1900 and 1914: Alex Currie
- In 1893: George Snook & Anne Parsons
- In 1954: Jack Currie & Lucy Currie
- In 1977: Mary Ann Currie
Thunder Bay BandWiki
The following information is drawn from the Thunder Bay BandWiki entry for Thunder Bay and has not been independently verified.
Geography and character
According to the Thunder Bay BandWiki, the city sits on the shores of Lake Superior and is located near the horizontal geographic centre of Canada. The BandWiki notes, in informal terms, that visitors often remark on a distinctive smell that fades after roughly a week of acclimatisation.
Local music scene
The Thunder Bay BandWiki describes a lively if financially modest local music scene. Key points recorded there include:
- Thunder Bay is home to a large number of local bands spanning a variety of genres.
- The city regularly hosts out-of-town touring acts ranging from lesser-known acts to major touring artists such as Alice Cooper.
- Local bands typically play both all-local bills and support slots for touring acts. According to the BandWiki, locals frequently perform without payment so that touring bands receive a greater share of the door, making stops in Thunder Bay financially viable for acts travelling by van across Canada.
- Thunder Bay sits on the Trans-Canada Highway, the only overland route connecting Winnipeg to the west and Sault Ste. Marie to the east, making it a natural stop for bands touring across Canada. The BandWiki notes that underground punk and metal acts in particular often play high-energy shows there, earning enough for fuel to the next city.
- The BandWiki describes a strong underground artists' community in the city alongside the music scene.
External links noted in BandWiki
The BandWiki entry listed the following community resources (link validity unverified):
- Thunder Bay Shows & Events — show listings and local event information
- Baycore — local punk and metal community
- Definitely Superior Art Gallery — local visual arts community
References
Beaulieu, M. S. (n.d.). Cited by: 2
Eddington, B. (n.d.). Cited by: 1
McCombe, C. G. L. (n.d.). Cited by: 1
Polley, W. J. (n.d.).
Twance, Y. (n.d.). Cited by: 1