Nemegos (ghost town)

Nemegos was a small community which began around 1900 as a section village along the Canadian Pacific Railway. The name was derived from the nearby Lake Nemegosenda.

The men who lived here worked on the nearby CPR railway. The site contained a siding, water tower, sectional homes and train station.

In addition to the railway buildings there was also a store, hotel, bunkhouses and one-room school.

Nemegos(a) two dozen residents were a mix of native and settlers, primarily Finnish. As lumbering camps opened in the area, some of the workers built homes in the section village. In 1911 the population of Nemegos stood at 28 residents.

In 1912 a general store and a post office operated by S.A. Hatch opened for business. A lumber depot was built in 1916 in order to supply the lumber camps.

Nemegos(a) growth was slow and gradual; in 1921 it contained 38 residents. When a lumber mill was built in 1924, the influx of workers brought the population to approximately 100 residents. Bunkhouses were built for the single men and simple wooden homes for those with families.

A school and a small hotel were built.

The lumber mill closed in the 1940(a)s but many residents remained on, having other means of living. When a fire devastated much of the forest in 1945, the Kormak Lumber Company created area jobs by opening a salvaging mill.

That mill closed in 1957 and once more the population of Nemegos began to slowly decrease. By 1961 the count stood at 45. In 1964 there weren(a)t enough residents to justify a post office and it closed. The railway removed the section village in the mid 1960(a)s. By 1966 only 25 residents remained in Nemegos and the general store closed it(a)s doors.

The station was removed during the 1970(a)s, the water tower in the 1990(a)s.

Many old cabins line the dirt road, they can be seen to the left and right of the road. Some appear to have been abandoned based on the waist high grass, others are used for seasonal cottages.

The road continues on, to where more seasonal homes might be found. This is also the site of the Kinogami Lodge. It(a)s interesting to look around and see nothing but forest and yet, in the middle of isolation, is a payphone. Nemegos has one full time resident, Larry Koski.

A large forest fire wiped out much of the forest in 1999, including Tophet. Fortunately it missed Nemegos. Tophet, Nemegos(a) neighbouring town was a small native community which stood alongside the railway. When highway 101 was opened, the village was relocated in 1972 to the Duck Lake Reserve.

South of the village, approximately 1.5 kilometers, you will find the rotting piles of lumber from the Kormak Lumber Company.

Location: 30 km South of Chapleau on Hwy 129, turn left on Hwy 667, and turn right on Nemegos Road 300 meters away from the junction.

Drive to the C.P.R. crossing (8km) and turn left onto a bumpy dirt road (6km). It(a)s best not to make this trip if it has rained recently, for flooding does occur on the road. Past another crossing you will see the village and past that the mill ruins. Nemegos Road is also 36 km West of Sultan on Hwy 667.