The North Shore, Ontario
# The North Shore, Ontario

The North Shore is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Algoma District. The township had a population of 497 in the Canada 2016 Census. It is along the north shore of the North Channel of Lake Huron (hence its name), with its main communities all along Highway 17.

## Communities

### Algoma Mills

Algoma Mills is located between the North Channel and Lauzon Lake, near the township's western boundary with Blind River. The Algoma Mills Water Aerodrome serves the community.

### Moiles Mills

Moiles Mills is a ghost town. It was established as a lumber town in April 1889 and burned down in 1918. The former townsite is now the site of John Island Camp, a children's summer camp operated by the YMCA.

### Serpent River

Serpent River is located at the junction of highways 17 and 108.

### Spragge

Originally known as Cook's Mills, in 1882 the Cook Brothers Lumber Company established a sawmill at this location on the north shore of Lake Huron. The mill operated until 1906 when it was sold to Waldie Brothers Lumber Company. With the mill no longer in Cook's ownership, Spragge (the original name of the township in which it is located), was adopted as the name of the community. Waldie Brothers in turn sold the mill to McFadden and Malloy in 1913.

Over time a small village with a school, hotel, barbershop, general store was created, and by 1926 the community had a population of about 300 people. Sawmill activity was terminated in Spragge in the early 1930s following a disastrous fire, which eliminated the mill, lumber inventory, docks and most of the town. The town subsequently revived with the discovery of uranium and copper deposits in the area, leading to a thriving mining industry.

## Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, The North Shore had a population of 531 living in 249 of its 365 total private dwellings, a change of 6.8% from its 2016 population of 497. With a land area of 230.17 $km^2$ (88.87 sq mi), it had a population density of $2.3/km^2$ (6.0/sq mi) in 2021.

Population trend:

* Population in 2016: 497
* Population in 2011: 509
* Population in 2006: 549
* Population in 2001: 544
* Population in 1996: 678
* Population in 1991: 729

## Images

* Algoma Mills and Lauzon Lake
* Turn of the century view of the main street in Moiles Mills
* Serpent River
* Spragge
* Marina in Spragge
