Lynn Lake, Manitoba

Lynn Lake is a small town in the northwest region of Manitoba, Canada, 1,071 km from Winnipeg. The town was named after Lynn Smith, chief engineer of Sherritt Gordon Mines Ltd.

Lynn Lake was founded in 1950, when a deposit of nickel ore was discovered. The nickel mine was developed, and soon after, gold was also discovered. Most of Lynn Lake's 208 houses and commercial buildings were moved from Sherridon, Manitoba, over cat train trails. The houses and commercial buildings were moved by digging out the foundation, loading them on the tricycle winter freighting sleigh pulled by Linn tractors and caterpillar crawlers. The buildings once loaded were the last sleigh on the cat trains which were usually 4-5 sleighs long.The Linn Tractors were used to move the town of Sherridon, Manitoba to Lynn Lake, Manitoba in the 1950's. Only 2500 Linn tractors were created between 1920 -1949 in Morris, New York.

After a rich vein of copper ore had been nearly depleted in Sherridon, the company sent out prospectors to find another strike. Around 1945, the expeditions were successful when one of the world's largest nickel strikes was found near the soon to be established Lynn Lake. Most of the people of Sherridon moved to Lynn Lake when housing was completed.

Gold mining was once the major industry of the town. The mine was shut down in the late 20th century, but if the price of gold and other metals rises enough, mining operations could be resumed.

The 1996 census recorded Lynn Lake's population at 1,038. By 2001, the population of Lynn Lake had dropped 32.7% to 699. As of December, 2004, the population of Lynn Lake has stabilized somewhat at an estimated 800 residents, 208 of which are students at West Lynn Heights School.

Canadian rock musician Tom Cochrane was born in Lynn Lake and lived there until he was 4. Lynn Johnston, the creator of the comic strip "For Better or For Worse", also lived for a number of years in Lynn Lake, where she began her career.

There are numerous outfitters in the Lynn Lake area. They offer services for most wilderness experiences, including sport fishing and bear and moose hunting.

Due to Lynn Lake's northern location, the residents have long been subject to Seasonal Depression.

Local media

Television

"CBWRT" began as Frontier Coverage Package station "CBTA" in September, 1967. In early 1969 the province-wide microwave system replaced the kine recordings and Lynn Lake has enjoyed live television since then. [cite news | title = Microwave Hook-Up Gives North Live TV | publisher = Winnipeg Free Press | page = 28| date = April 29, 1969]

* CBWRT Channel 8 (CBC)

Internet

Internet is available from either MTS Allstream (dial-up only) or from external satellite providers. There are no current plans for this community of several hundred to be provided with DSL Internet service in the forseable future.. [cite news | title = MTS Allstream Inc. DSL Availability | publisher = MTS Allstream Inc.| ] https://hsreg.wsc.mts.net/servlet/Eligibility MTS Allstream Inc. DSL Availability

References

External links

* [http://www.lynnlake.ca Town of Lynn Lake web site] Maintained by the Town of Lynn Lake
* [http://www.kingofobsolete.ca King of Obsolete] is a site created by one of the local residents, which also explains a great deal of the history of Lynn Lake, including numerous archival photos.