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Chapleau is a township in Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada. It is home to one of the world's largest wildlife preserves. Chapleau has a population of 1,942 according to the 2016 Canadian census.[1] The major industries within the town are the logging mill, Rayonier Advanced Materials (RYAM) (formerly, Tembec), and the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) rail yards. [edit] History
The first European settlement in the area was established in 1777 by the Hudson's Bay Company. The settlement was a fur trading post about to Chapleau's north, on Big Missinabi Lake. In 1885 the Canadian Pacific Railway was built through the area. The CPR chose this as a divisional point, and the town was founded. It was named in honour of Sir Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau, a lawyer, journalist, businessman, politician, and most notably the 5th Premier of Quebec. Louis Hémon, author of the French novel Maria Chapdelaine, was struck and killed by a train in Chapleau on 8 July 1913. After a fire in 1948, the government was prompted to construct a road to Chapleau to enable logging contractors to truck timber before it rotted. The Chapleau Road (now Highway 129) was completed on January 28, 1949. In the early 1960s, Highway 101 was completed to link Chapleau with Timmins to the east, and Wawa to the west. Chapleau also developed logging and lumber mill operations, up until 1994 the town supported no less than three lumber mills, but the United States' imposition of a softwood lumber tariff designed to benefit American lumber companies has led to many layoffs and difficult times for the town. At its largest, with large CPR and lumber operations, the town had a population of over 5,000. However, the town has been gradually shrinking since 1950. In 1967, the Chapleau Centennial Museum was opened to showcase and celebrate local history. It is located at 94 Monk Street. [edit] Research Tips
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