Nemegos

History

In 1885 the Canadian Pacific Railway built a line to western Canada and traversed the one of the loneliest stretch of land, northern Ontario. Between the two divisional points of Cartier and Chapleau, the railway established section villages every 20 or so miles. They named one section village, established around the 1890s, Nemegos after nearby Lake Nemegosenda. The site contained a siding, water tower, station, and a few section homes and about 20 residents.

During the 1910s a few locals were labouring in local bush camps and established homesteads at the section village. By 1911 only 28 people lived at the little siding. In 1916, they established a lumber depot to supply the local camps. This resulted in a new influx of settlers, mainly Finns. That same year a post office opened in a small general store to service the local needs. S. A. Hatch was the first postmaster.

Although Nemegos only had 38 residents in 1921, the remainder of the decade saw Nemegos explode in a hive of activity. The population swelled to nearly 100 residents, following construction of a small lumber mill around 1924. They added a bunkhouse to house the single workers and built additional homes, some mere log tenements, for the men and their families. They also established a school along with a small hotel. Although the mill closed in the early 1940’s most residents were self-sufficient and remained in the hamlet. A large fire burnt over some timber berths in the area, and the Kormak Lumber Company opened a salvaging mill between the village and Lake Nemegosenda in 1945.

In 1957 the mill closed and the population slowly began drifting away. By 1961 only 45 residents remained at the hamlet. The post office remained open until 1964. The railway dismantled the section village and the population dropped even further. By 1966, it dropped to 25 residents. The store closed that same year.

Although most homes saw seasonal use, the village never rebounded. They salvaged some homes for their lumber while others simply burnt. The railway tore down the station in the 1970s, followed by the water tower in the early 1990s. .

Today a dozen or so structures still remain. A lodge, that still contains a pay phone, operates year round, while seasonal residents still use the former homes. Two to three homes remain occupied year round. In 1999, the province evacuated Nemegos’ few remaining residents when a devastating forest fire hit the region. Fortunately for Nemegos, the fire stopped just a few kilometres from the settlement. The nearby native lands, just slightly east, were not so lucky. Much of the timber area was completely wiped out.

Nemegos is a scattered, colourful community with a lot to see. Although no traces remain of the railway station, hotel or schoolhouse, one unintentional benefit of recent government cutbacks has been the disappearance of the government bulldozers. About 1 1/2 kilometres south of the village, out of site on the left of the road, one can still fine some rotten timber from the old Kormak mill.