Sultan

Sultan is a small village located at the eastern extremity of Highway 667, 60km southeast of Chapleau.

Founded in the 1920's, Sultan originated as a sawmill community. The product was shipped out via the Canadian Pacific Railroad, which was until recent years the only means of transportation for the residents.

Prior to the first sawmilling days, Sultan was a jumping-off place for many trappers and for those travelling up and down the watershed of the area. It also boasted considerable prospecting activity after the turn of the century.

In 1913, Dan Eaton built the first lumber manufacturing plant on the site of what by 1965 was the largest wood operation between Sudbury and Chapleau. His operations, however, were on a very small scale when compared with the later output. It was not until 1926 that the first ambitious effort was made to harvest the great forest wealth adjacent to Sultan. This company operated at Sultan until 1934, when the limits and plant were purchased by the Sheppard intents of Coldwater. After the transfer the name was changed to the Wakami Lumber Company.

In the autumn of 1946 J.J. McFadden Lumber Company of Blind River, the oldest operating Lumber Company in Northern Ontario purchased the company. It was then known as the Wakami Division of the JJ. McFadden Lumber Company. Logging or lumbering in the early days of Sultan, and a few years prior to the exit of the Sheppard interest was exclusively for white pine, but as the "King of Lumber" was depleted and with continued research into the possibilities of other species, the company turned to the cutting of jack pine.

Today the major output is spruce for pulpwood. At the height of the Depression, the McNaught Lumber Company became the Wakami Lumber Company. The white pine sustained the mill until the late 1940's. In 1956, fire destroyed the Sultan mill and lumbering at Wakami Lake Mill came to an end.

Today the people of Sultan's major employer is E.B. Eddy Forest (Domtar) Limited and C.P. Rail Ltd. Come and visit the hospitality of all there is to offer in Sultan. The little town is quiet and pleasant. If you're looking for relaxation, excitement, hunting or fishing, they offer it all.

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