Blind River understand · Blind River tourist information
All Destinations | Europe | Asia | North America | Africa | South America | Oceania | Hotels
Blind River tourist information
Blind River tourist information
The Ojibway people (known as the Anishnawbe) resided in this area long before the Europeans arrived in the 1600's starting with explorer Samuel de Champlain to prospect for precious metals and furs. Upon discovering Lake Huron and the North Channel of the Mississaugi River which later became part of the Voyageur Route, a fur trading post was established by the Northwest Company in 1789 and later taken over by the Hudson Bay Company in 1820 when trappers settled along the banks of the river leading into Lake Huron. Along this route, one of the rivers was named by the Natives as 'Penewobecong', which was translated as "Smooth Rock" or "Sloping" but the mouth of this river was not visible to the Voyageurs as they followed the canoe route, so they called it the "Blind River", which then became the name of the settlement along the mouth of this river.
Spurred by the growth of the copper mining industry in the 1800's in nearby Bruce Mines, the first sawmill was built beside the mouth of the Blind River at the current site of the Old Mill Motel as it provided timber and planks for the mine. In 1906, Blind River was incorporated as a town and a second sawmill was built at the site of the current Blind River Marine Park. The Carpenter Hixon Company built a state-of-the-art pine sawmill in 1929 that produced over 89 million board feet in its first year and survived as the McFadden Lumber Company, which was the largest white pine sawmill east of the Rocky Mountains, until the 1948 Great Mississauga Fire led to a depletion of timber resources resulting in its eventual closing in 1969 due to difficult economic conditions.
Uranium was discovered in the area in 1955 which led to the opening of the short-lived Pronto Mines operation in nearby Algoma Mills whose significance led to the discovery and establishment of the Blind River-Elliot Lake Uranium mining camp. A uranium refinery was built just west of Blind River in 1983 and is now owned by Cameco Corporation, which processes uranium concentrates from all over the world into uranium trioxide.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Blind River
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Blind River - updated May 2024
SAVE up to 75% on Last Minute deals! Search for discount Blind River hotels, motels, apartments, hostels, guest accommodations and vacation resorts. Book now and pay at the hotel. Instant email confirmation!
>>> SEARCH FOR DEALS <<<
WHERE TO TRAVEL NEXT IN 2020
Blind River Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.