Spanish, Ontario

2,318 miles

May 14 – When I first saw this place on a map, I was curious.  And a few miles farther on, I saw the town of Espanola.  How could a town in Ontario get a name like “Spanish”?  For that matter, where did all these other Spanish-related place names in Anglo territory come from?

Peru (NY, IN, IL, NE)

Lima (OH, MT)

Bolivia (NC)

Bolivar (NY) 

Brazil (IN)

Cuba (NY, MO, NM)

Panama (NY)

Western New York State, in particular, seems to have had a proliferation of South American town names.  I wonder whether there were anti-colonial rebellions in South America at the time of this region’s settlement that resonated so strongly with North American anti-colonial patriots that they would name a new town to honor that spirit.

With a little research, I learned that Peru & Bolivia were engaged in anti-colonial warfare from 1809 to 1842.  Cuba was involved in wars of liberation throughout the 19^th century, and abolition of slavery was a major issue of contention.  I think this confirms my premise that northern Americans, at least, were thinking about the whole Western Hemisphere as their own neighborhood.

Along the Spanish River and in the town of Spanish, legends have been told to explain the origin of the name.  According to one legend, the Spanish name originated around the year 1750, when the region was part of New France.  A French Jesuit priest who was travelling in the area encountered a Spanish-speaking woman with children. The woman had been captured by local warriors in a battle in Spanish-controlled lands far to the south in what later became the United States of America, and had been married to a local Ojibway chief.  The family took the name "Espaniel" or “Espagnol”, which is still a common surname among the local Ojibway communities.

Another version of the story said that a Spanish man had fled the Spain-controlled lower Mississippi Valley during the fur trade days and had taken refuge along the North Shore of lake Huron and married into a local Ojibway community.

A more recent story claims that a geologist with the Canadian Boundary Commission, Dr. J.J. Bigsby (1792-1881), simply named the Spanish River as a contrast with the nearby French River.  

In 1980, two Spanish coins from 1742 were found near the mouth of the Sauble River, which has renewed speculation about the early Spanish-speaking people of the North Shore.

Native oral tradition says that the Spanish River has been called Minitegozibe or Eskimanetigon. 

Although the railway station was named Spanish River Station, the town acquired the name Shedden, probably from a railroad or timber company official (possibly John Shedden, the foreman during the construction of Toronto's Union Station).   In 2004, the municipality adopted its current name to honor its legendary heritage.  


info:  Wikipedia.com
http://pogamasing.com/