Webbwood in Sudbury District, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

Webbwood

1906-2006

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 9, 2024

1. Webbwood Marker

Inscription. Large stands of timber attracted the logging industry to the Hallam Township area and by the 1880s four logging camps had been established. The Canadian Pacific Railway followed, opening a spur line between Sudbury and Algoma Mills to service the area. This activity attracted many settlers, including Andrew Webb, from which the name “Webbwood” was derived. The village of Webbwood began to grow and by the 1890s was a CPR divisional point, servicing trains between Sault Ste. Marie and North Bay. With the discovery of gold in Shakespeare Township — northeast of Webbwood — and the operation of a gold mine there between 1903 and 1907, the population grew to 1,200. In 1906 Webbwood was incorporated as a town and in 1936 set a milestone by electing Barbara Hanley as Mayor — Canada’s first female mayor. After the timber stands ran out in the 1920s, the town’s prosperity began to dwindle. In 1977 the CPR centralized many of its shops throughout the area and closed the local facilities. In 2006 Webbwood remains home to 500 citizens.

Erected 2006 by Webbwood Heritage with the assistance of the Ontario Heritage Foundation.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars

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• Settlements & Settlers • Women. In addition, it is included in the Time Capsules series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1906.

Location. 46° 16.204′ N, 81° 53.12′ W. Marker is in Webbwood, Ontario, in Sudbury District. It is on Main Street (Provincial Highway 17) just west of O'Neil Street, on the right when traveling west. The marker is mounted on a waist-high rock stand in front of the Sables-Spanish Rivers Public Library - Webbwood Branch. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 16 Main Street, Webbwood ON P0P 2G0, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Northeastern Ontario

and specifically in Northern Ontario.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Great North Woods,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 6 other markers are within 16 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Centennial of Confederation (a few steps from this marker); Lest We Forget (a few steps from this marker); The Lumbering Industry (approx. 16 kilometers away); Townships of Sable and Spanish Rivers (approx. 16 kilometers away); Home of Broomball (approx. 16.1 kilometers away); a different marker also named Lest We Forget (approx. 16.2 kilometers away).

Also see . . .
1. History of Webbwood (Webbwood Genealogy).

Excerpt: The earliest settler to
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 9, 2024

2. Webbwood Marker
Looking northwest from Main Street; the marker is mounted on a rock stand in front of the library. The library is on the right.
the area was Andrew Webb who arrived there in 1883. According to some members of my family, who settled there in 1908 and subsequently purchased some of Andrew Webb's land, Webbwood was given its name by CPR engineers who stopped in the early settlement to load on some of Webb's wood to fire up their engines. The story goes on to say that Andrew Webb kept a supply of wood on hand for this purpose.

(Submitted on August 25, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Barbara McCallum Hanley (née Smith) (Wikipedia).

Excerpt: Canadian politician who served as mayor of Webbwood, Ontario, from 1936 to 1944. She was the first woman in Canadian history to be elected as a mayor in a general election, although she was preceded by at least one appointed female reeve, Violet Barss in Delia, Alberta. She was educated at the North Bay Normal School and taught in Trout Creek, Emsdale and Chetwynd before moving to Webbwood in 1908. She married Joseph Hanley, a Canadian Pacific Railway foreman, on 27 August 1913. She subsequently served on the public school board from 1923 to 1935, and then served one year on the town council. She was also cofounder of a local theatre troupe, the Webbwood Dramatic Society.
On January 6, 1936, Hanley defeated Robert
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 9, 2024

3. Webbwood Marker (looking southeast from behind)
The back side of the marker (rock) features a Webbwood Centennial Time Capsule plaque and a donor plaque. The Webbwood Library is on the left and Main Street is on the right.
E. Streich in Webbwood's mayoral election. She garnered 82 votes to Streich's 69. Early media coverage focused on the question of whether she would continue her housekeeping duties while serving as mayor, to which she responded that "Webbwood is hardly a big enough place for me to give up my housework just to be mayor." She served as mayor of Webbwood until 1944, winning eight consecutive elections, sometimes by acclamation. After stepping down as mayor in 1944, she served as town clerk from 1946 until 1950. She remains the longest-serving mayor in the history of Webbwood, which was dissolved into the larger municipality of Sables-Spanish Rivers in 1998.

(Submitted on August 25, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

3. Township of Sables-Spanish Rivers (Wikipedia).

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

(Submitted on August 25, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Webbwood Centennial Time Capsule image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 9, 2024

4. Webbwood Centennial Time Capsule

Buried Here September 3rd, 2016
To Be Unearthed 2056
W.R.C.

Donated by R.W.R. St. Michel image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 9, 2024

5. Donated by R.W.R. St. Michel

Credits. This page was last revised on August 25, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 25, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 635 times since then and 92 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 25, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.