Dwight emailed me to tell me about Wavell, which like Krugerdorf, Jackfish, and Lowther, is one of the many towns that time forgot along Highway 11.
Wavell was a railway town complete with a school and a post office. Forestry was the big industry then, as was prospecting the wider region. This was especially true for the area after the Great Fire, as it still had trees, and the rail line to that point which hadn’t been damaged by the fire. Buildings in Wavell that were built in WWI eerily still stand today.
The area was populated by Russian and Polish immigrants after WWI. Over time Wavell literally died off, with only a couple houses on Highway 11, and only a couple more in the general area of the old town site.
Getting to the old Wavell town site, one turns east off Highway 11 (just within ear-shot of Kempus Mountain) on the Wavell Road. The well kept gravel road splits in 2: if you take the left prong, it crosses the Black River, and ends in a clearing near 2 homes which are still occupied today. To get to the old town site, take the right prong – and bring and bring a camera. Wavell is neat – beautiful and peaceful.
my grandfather Herbert Allinson worked the rail outside of Wavell ,it was the most peaceful beautiful places i’ve been it would have been 1959 or 60
hi, i was born in matheson, but came from wavell, i have 2 sisters and 3 brother. my father came to wavell age 12 my grampa was from poland and came to wavell before themhe was tomas nawroski and my dad was frank they had a farm at the very end of wavell, at second bridge we had to go to grampa by boat or walk in trail in the bush. we went to wavell school, walking there, in winter we skied. dad made our skies, and snow shoes. my father built his first house when he was 15. life was so much better then, people help out and every year we would have picknic at vanclief cottage on malic lake
my great grandparents and grandmother lived there my grandmother Pauline Seguin [nawroski] grew up out there the property is still in the family to this day really nice peacefull quite place out there.. billy acuelic is still out there also
Wavell was originally called Scotty’s Spring The first Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway section house was built here in 1907.
By 1920 the location has a 3500 foot passing siding for train operations and a loading siding 600 feet long for the loading of pulp wood.
In 1922 a shelter station is built for passengers.
It is believed that the name Wavell came into existence after the Second World War
It was to honour Field Marshall Sir Archibald Wavell 1883-1950.
The General served in the Middle East , North Africa and India. He was praised for his fine work in stopping the Fapanese from getting into India in 1943.
Apparently this general was well liked by his troops as he was always concerned about their welfare.
General Rommel of the German African Army thought so much of General Wavell that he always kept a copy of Wavell’s book
“General and Generalship” with him.
My Great Grandfather was the section foreman for the ONR at Wavell and worked there until about 1959. I drive in and stop for a few moments to see the changes every time I drive through the area. What was once a busy little community is now marked by a railway line that comes out of the bush, crosses the road, and continues it’s journey through the landscape on its way north. Both sad and peaceful at the same time.
I have to agree, Wavell is a nice place to visit. As a boy, we used to visit my Uncle and Aunt there. They stayed at the Van Clief farm. The barn behind the house had a long rope and some hay. We would swing from that cable sometimes. The house had no indoor plumbing. Water came from a well, pumped by a hand pumped outside. This water was very cold even in the summer. Christmas was fun there too as my uncle and some of his boys played guitar. There was a big wood stove in the kitchen and a smaller wood burning stove in the living room.