From the Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre:
The Porcupine Gold Rush brought many thousands of prospectors to the Porcupine region in the early 1900s. After the 50km trek from the rail line through the dense forest and across meandering rivers, newcomers to the gold camp would arrive in Golden City (now Porcupine) at the east end of Porcupine Lake.
Golden City had been designated the administrative centre for the camp and was once an important townsite featuring the post office, various banks, and the mine recorder’s office. It quickly diminished once the bulk of the mining development appeared to be happening west of the lake.
But back in the earliest days of the camp, Golden City was quite a hopping place.
Hotels such as the City Hotel typically operated as boarding houses for prospectors settling into the gold camp for a season. At the end of a long day searching for gold, at least they knew they had a meal and a bed waiting for them. And a hotel offered a much more upgraded experience for a weary prospector compared to the canvas tents many of them slept in. One canvas tent can be seen next door to the hotel – maybe this is where the loudest snorers get kicked out to.
Each week, the Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre provides TimminsToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.
Find out more of what the Timmins Museum has to offer at www.timminsmuseum.ca and look for more Remember This? columns here
