A bit of South Porcupine history.

South Porcupine's history of developement is closely tied to the main industry of the region; mining. This exerpt from "The Golden Porcupine" explains very well all that went on in the early days of settlement in the region.

The early arrivals tended to congregate in a few settlements along the shore of Porcupine Lake. Golden City and Pottsville at the northeastern end of the lake were the first two. The townsite for South Porcupine was laid out on the southwestern end of the lake when it was learned that the survey plan for the extension of the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway had the new line running south of the lake, touching it only at the one point. From July 1st, 1911 relative luxury came to northern travel when it became possible to step out of a Pullman car in South Porcupine only a day after boarding the train in Toronto.

South Porcupine was about six miles from the Hollinger and McIntyre mines and under existing conditions that presented quite a problem to the daily commuter. The answer was a new community which Noah Timmins envisaged as the core of the whole district. No time was lost and the municipality of Timmins took shape on the relatively flat sand plain east of the Mattagami River. Timmins was incorporated as a town January 1, 1912. It is still a town, now with a population of about 40,000, one of the biggest urban municipalities in Canada without city status. Application for incorporation as a city has never been made simply because the system of government grants to municipalities would make such a move unprofitable.