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Ear Falls is a township located in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, on the banks of the English River, Lac Seul, Pakwash Lake and Wenesaga Lake. It is located along Highway 105, north of Highway 17 and Vermilion Bay, about halfway between Highway 17 and Red Lake, or about northwest of Thunder Bay.
Ear Falls is entirely surrounded by Unorganized Kenora District. The closest community to Ear Falls is Wabauskang First Nation, followed by the unincorporated community of Perrault Falls. It was first incorporated as an Improvement District in 1970 out of unorganized area.
The early French fur traders' name for the falls was Portage D'Oreille, or literally speaking, "carrying place of the ear". Upper Ear Falls, about 1.5 miles upstream, was drowned out when the lake level was raised some when the power dam came into operation, and nothing of it remains today except dangerous ripple rapids with a very strong current.
The arrival of the railway in the 1880s began the decline of the fur trade. The Hudson's Bay Company shifted the focus of their posts to meet the needs of the new residents in the area: supplies for miners, lumbermen and settlers were sold at posts and stores in the Ear Falls area.
Development of Ear Falls did not occur immediately with the arrival of the railways as the lines were not close to the town, but occurred when the fur trade was altered as a result of the railway. Supplies were brought in and furs were taken out at the closest point to the rail. Warehouses were erected for shipping and receiving at Hudson (near Sioux Lookout). A steamer was placed on Lac Seul to enhance freight operations.
A generating station was constructed by Ontario Hydro in order to supply power to the mines at Red Lake, which led to the creation of the Hydro colony at Ear Falls. By the 1930s, Ear Falls had replaced Goldpines as the main settlement in the area. When bush planes became more affordable to transport goods, Ear Falls became the jump off point to Red Lake.
The construction of the dam at Ear Falls began in the spring of 1928, but not before camp buildings were constructed along the east side of the river. A coffer dam, two earth dikes, excavation and preparations of the foundations of the dam were also completed before construction began. The pouring of concrete commenced in November and work on the dam continued throughout the winter months.
The conservation dam was an economical means to create a storage basis for power developments in both Ontario and Manitoba. The construction of the dam had a dramatic impact on the lake due to a rise in water levels. Upper Ear Falls was drowned out by the dam, and well known landforms around the lake disappeared under the water level.
Ontario Hydro played an instrumental role in the development of Ear Falls. The company realized that many of its generating stations in Northern Ontario were situated in isolated areas. In order to retain operators for these plants, the company recognized that they would need to supply quality housing, schools, recreation halls, stores, hospitals and other buildings. The company also supplied provisions for water supply, electrical services, sewage disposal and fire protection. In 1937, a colony was constructed at Ear Falls.
Ontario Power Generation constructed the Obishikokaang Waasiganikewigamig/Lac Seul Generating Station (GS) beginning its commercial operation on 18 February 2009. OPG and the Lac Seul First Nation have formed a historic partnership that will see the First Nation own 25 per cent of the station. The station has dual names. The Ojibway name, Obishikokaang Waasiganikewigamig, means "White Pine Narrows electricity generating building". White Pine Narrows is the original Ojibway name for the area where the station is located. The English name of the plant is Lac Seul GS. The Lac Seul GS is located adjacent to Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) existing Ear Falls GS on the English River in Ear Falls. The facilities are located at the outlet of the Lac Seul reservoir on the English River. This station consists of one 12.5 MW double regulated pit turbine and will operate under a rated net head of 9.78 metres and flow of 139.45 cubic metre per second. It will use the excess water flow that has historically been passed by the existing Ear Falls GS. This water will now be used to generate clean, renewable energy. The combined nameplate capacity of the two facilities is 29.3 MW. The existing 4-unit Ear Falls GS was placed in service between 1930 and 1948. Each unit has two intakes. The Ear Falls GS powerhouse is connected to the 185-metre long Lac Seul Conservation Dam which is owned by the province of Ontario and operated by OPG. The dam is used to regulate water levels and flows for the purposes of power production in Ontario and Manitoba. It is estimated these facilities will generate approximately 185,000 megawatt-hours of renewable energy per year.
At this time, the Chukuni Lumber Company was operating at Snake Falls. The operation consisted of a saw mill, a small box mill, and about a dozen houses lining the trail that ran through the lumber yards to the saw mill. The children of the workers were bussed to school in Ear Falls. By 1954, plans were made to move the mill operations to Ear Falls. The workers constructed houses north of the highway, along the hydro line. The Chukuni Lumber Company was eventually purchased by Colenso of Red Lake Road in 1968 and the Ear Falls sawmill operations were closed. Colenso was, in turn, sold to the Dryden Paper Company in 1972.
In the early 1950s, ore deposits were discovered on Bruce Lake north of Ear Falls. In 1966 Stelco, an iron pelletizing plant, was developed in the area. The Canadian Northern Railway constructed a line to the mine which crossed highway 105 to the south of Ear Falls and the outlet of Lac Seul to the east of the dam. A new town site containing 100 residential units was developed in Ear Falls North of the dam. Today the mine is closed and the rail line has been abandoned.
On 14 May 1998, the Ear Falls Sawmill opened to produce dimensional lumber (Premium, Stud, #3 & Btr, Economy; 2x3, 2x4, 2x6; 6' to 9' length). The sawmill is CSA certified with a capacity of . The sawmill was built by Avenor Inc. and later sold to Weyerhaeuser, then to Domtar, and is now owned by Eacom Timber Corporation. The sawmill was operational from 1998 to 2009. There were intermittent closures in 2008, and was closed indefinitely in 2009 due to unfavourable market conditions. Eacom has announced a plan to reopen the sawmill with an anticipated start date in mid- to late- 2014.
In 2013, EACOM and the local union, Unifor, signed an 8-year agreement from 2014 to 2022. The sawmill commenced operation in August 2014. Unifor estimates as many as 125 of its members will have work at the sawmill site and up to 175 more will be employed in log harvesting and hauling operation.
A tourist camp was built around the former Hudson's Bay store at Goldpines. Camps were also operated at Little Canada and Snake Falls. Once the Ontario Hydro construction at Manitou Falls was completed and the lumber company had closed, the tourist industry became the economic mainstay of the Ear Falls community. Hunting and fishing have been a popular draw to the area for years, and more recently, eco-tourism has added an additional element to the tourism experience of Ear Falls.
In 2019, the Township of Ear Falls, in coordination with Accommodation Facilities in the Tourism Sector, reviewed the option of implementing a Municipal Accommodation Tax in the municipality. Council has determined that the Municipal Accommodation Tax, as revenue tool, does not appear to be in the best interest of the community at large due to the relatively low level of revenue that would be generated and the increased costs to administer another form of taxation. Council determined that a Municipal Accommodation Tax will not be implemented for Ear Falls.
Other facilities include a Community Health Centre (built in 2010) and a Municipal Government Building (constructed in 2011) which contains the Municipal Office, Fire Hall, Day Care, Public Library, Best Start Hub (Parent Resource Centre) and a Museum as well as public meeting rooms.
In the summer months, mountain biking, ATVs, hiking and geocaching are some of the ways to see the wildlife and experience the outdoors. In the winter months, activities include snowmobiling, snow-shoeing, ice fishing and cross-country skiing are common. The community utilizes a few different Facebook Groups to advertise local events (search Township of Ear Falls (@earfalls), Ear Falls Central and Ear Falls Best Start Hub (@earfallsbeststarthub)
Every year, the community hosts the annual Trout Forest Music Festival.
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