Powassan, Ontario is a charming municipality nestled in the Canadian province of Ontario. It's conveniently located near North Bay and is part of the Almaguin Highlands region of Parry Sound District. The easternmost boundary of Powassan touches the Nipissing District. The municipality is home to the population centres of Powassan and Trout Creek, both situated along Highway 11.
The name Powassan is derived from a First Nations term meaning "bend", a nod to the original settlement at the bend of the South River. Today, this location is known as the Bingham Chute, where the current hydro plant stands. The village of Powassan came into existence around 1880 with the construction of a sawmill and a grist mill, with mill employees building their homes in that section of the village.
In 1885, a construction camp for the Northern and Pacific Junction Railway was established in Powassan. The railway track, completed in 1886, was taken over by the Grand Trunk Railway in 1888 and later absorbed by Canadian National Railways in 1923.
The operation of the Northern and Pacific Junction Railway between Gravenhurst and Nipissing Junction in 1886 led to the development of a second settlement near the railroad. Christopher Armstrong and William Faulkner Clark were granted two lots by the Crown, which later became the present-day Main Street, Powassan's main thoroughfare.
On November 30, 1904, a Royal Proclamation declared Powassan a separate and new municipality. The citizens were constituted a body corporate under the name of the Corporation of the Town of Powassan. The present town hall was built in 1906.
The Powassan virus, a tick-borne disease, was named after the town when it was identified in a 5-year-old boy who died from encephalitis in 1958. The current Municipality of Powassan was formed on January 1, 2001, as a result of the amalgamation of the Town of Powassan, Town of Trout Creek, and the Township of South Himsworth.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Powassan had a population of 3,346 living in 1,317 of its 1,381 total private dwellings. This represented a change of -3.2% from its 2016 population of 3,455. With a land area of 223.26 km2 (86.20 sq mi), it had a population density of 15.0/km2 (38.8/sq mi) in 2021.
