Schefferville

Schefferville is a city of the Quebec (Canada), located in the regional Municipalité of county of Caniapiscau, in the administrative area of the Coast-North. In full heart of the peninsula of Labrador, with 320 miles in the north of the wearing of Seven-Islands. Located with 54° 49 ' of northern latitude and with 66° 50 ' of Western longitude, between the lakes Knob Lake and Pearce. In 1982, company IOC ceased its mining operations and the inhabitants had to leave the city.

History

The city draws its name from Mgr Lionel Scheffer (1904-1966), which was apostolic Vicaire Labrador of 1946 to 1966. The construction of the city began late in 1953 but it is only in spring 1954, after the railroad of Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway had been finished, that work was undertaken on large scales. The city was built-in 1955 under the terms of the law on the municipal organization of the mining villages.

In 1972, a new reserve of 106 dwellings at summer built in Schefferville, to replace that located a little outside the city, hearth of some 800 Montagnais Indians and Naskapi.

In 1975, a program was launched to add 236 garçonnières, to rent with the employees who lived in residences for workmen. The streets, broadsides of concrete pavements are paved, and one finds there a little everywhere gardens, lawns and shrubs. In the center of the city draw up three modern churches and three schools. The Catholic churches, Anglican and plain serve the worship, while two Catholic schools and a Protestant school provide for the instruction with many children.

The district of the businesses comprised two banking institutions, a cinema, two hotels, restaurants, a Ferronnerie, service stations and stores grocers. Several shops of newsagents, hairdressers, jewellers, menswears and women, of wash-house and others are grouped in two commercial buildings. A town hall, including a police station and service of the fires, an federal office of the stations and a modern hospital of 33 beds with doctors.

The installations for the recreation and the sports were centralized under the same roof, that is to say the arena, the entertaining center, the arts center and the gymnasium. The arena, to artificial ice offered entertainments eight month per year: hockey, ice-skating and the balloon-brush. The entertaining center had a swimming pool with Olympic dimensions, four alleys of skittles, three tracks of Curling, a library and a conference room.

In 1976, Schefferville was the host of the plays of winter of the Arctic, an sporting event which gathered more than 1000 athletes of the Yukon, of the Alaska, of the territories of the North-West and the North of Quebec.

During the school year 2006-2007, the elementary school and secondary were renovated entirely. Since the month of July 2007, the community innue has a new chief, Mr. Réal McKenzie.

Mining city

Iron mines were worked there of 1954 to 1982 by mining Company IOC (in English Iron Ore Company off Canada ) whereas the population climbed with 5000 hearts. Mining exploration continues but no mine is in exploitation today.

Access

The only means to go to Schefferville are the train and the plane starting from Seven-Islands to 500 km in the south. Schefferville is the northern terminus of the Rail-bound railroad Transport Tshiuetin , acquired of Quebec North Shore & Labrador Railway, built of 1950 to 1952 to transport the iron ore to the wearing of Seven-Islands.

Amerindians

The Amerindian communities Innu (Indian reserves of Matimekosh and Lake-John) and Naskapi (community of Kawawachikamach), Schefferville takes into account approximately 1300 permanent inhabitants. The summer season accommodates many tourists for the activities of sport, fishing and hunting for the caribou.

Municipalities bordering

Sources

Repertory of the municipalities of Quebec
Commission of toponymy of Quebec
municipal Businesses and areas - regional charts

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