A Brief History of Gogama

Gogama is located on a major water system that has been a highway for early natives and European explorers searching for mineral wealth in the north. Located near the height of land and Dividing Lake, the portage into the Gogama watershed leads to rivers that flow north. Pictographs on local rivers and lakes attest to the fact that natives have used the waterways for centuries.

Europeans first explored the shores of Misinakwa Lake and Kenogamissi in the early 1800s as part of the Hudson Bay Company's fur trade. Later in the same century, the rival Northwest Company came seeking riches in the lucrative fur trade. Seeking trading relations with the local native residents, the newcomers also established an outpost. Written records are still available from the post called Matawagamingue that was located close to the present day Mattagami Indian Reserve. Gogama was on a main voyageur portage route when the highways of the time were the waterways that generally ran north and south. Early prospectors from the Sudbury area are known to have used these waterways to search for gold in the present day Timmins.

Gogama is located 109 km south of Timmins on Highway 144. It has a population of about 600 people on a seasonal basis. There is access to the area using roadways, rail and air with daily bus service from Timmins and Sudbury

More recent settlement came in the 1920s when the CNR railroad that formed a network of communities linking Gogama with several isolated northern communities including Tionaga Kukatush, Palomar and the larger rail center of Foleyet. Gogama was now linked with the outside world although a highway link to Timmins was not established until the early 1960s.

In the 1950s, a major fire destroyed local sawmills and local mines were destroyed and capped. Although many people left the community at this point, Gogama still hosts a vibrant community of friendly northern people. An active tourism group is now working to open the area for ecotourism to take advantage of the many wildlife viewing opportunities and excellent canoe routes in the area that rival any in Canada.