Bruce Mines, Ontario

Bruce Mines is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located on the north shore of Lake Huron in the Algoma District along Highway 17. The town of Bruce Mines has a population of 566 residents. The current mayor of Bruce Mines is Lory Patteri.HistoryCopper deposits at Bruce Mines came to the attention of non-native settlers in 1846, and mining began that year. The area was named after James Bruce, the Governor General of Canada appointed in 1846. The Bruce Mines comprised Bruce, Wellington and Copper Bay mines. In 1876 the mines were closed due to floods, cave-ins, and declining profits, leading to a shift to agricultural development in the area. Mining resumed from 1915 to 1921, and despite occasional efforts to resume mining, has been inactive since then. However, the mine shaft are still open for the public to see. Bruce Mines was the second ever copper mining town in all of North America behind Cliff Mine in Michigan's Copper Country. An Ontario Historical Plaque was erected by the province to commemorate the Bruce Mines' role in Ontario's heritage.Bruce Mines: The Early EraThe Bruce Mines changed ownership several times between 1847 and 1944, when they were decommissioned. Flooding and cave-ins in 1876 ended the 30-year period of active mining history. In the 1870s, agriculture and logging prospered in the wake of uncertainty with the mines. The Township of Plummer Additional was incorporated in 1891 while Northern Ontario's first town, the Town of Bruce Mines was officially incorporated in 1903 when it separated from the Township of Plummer Additional. Several attempts to re-open the mines in the early 1900s saw only limited success by Mond Nickel, who shipped the quartz-copper flux ore to Sudbury. Mond Nickel shut down the Bruce Mines in 1921. The mines were decommissioned in 1944 and forestry activities have declined, but agriculture, aggregate extraction and tourism continue as the main economic activities in the area.