Pine Point, Northwest Territories
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Through Lead
History
Construction of both the Pine Point mine and the community commenced in 1962. Pine Point incorporated as a town on April 1, 1974.
The mine was closed in 1987, forcing the single-industry town to close in 1988. Mike Lenton was the town's last mayor. Pine Point houses were sold cheaply, and many of the buildings were then moved to Fort Resolution (including the ice arena), Hay River and northern Alberta while the remaining buildings were demolished. The Town of Pine Point was absorbed into Unorganized Fort Smith on January 1, 1996. Today the site is completely abandoned, although there is still evidence of the street layout.
Pine Point is the subject of Welcome to Pine Point, a 2011 web documentary created by Michael Simons and Paul Shoebridge and produced by the National Film Board of Canada. The web documentary includes audiovisual material and mementos compiled by former resident Richard Cloutier for his own website, Pine Point Revisited.
The song "Pine Point" by the Toronto, Ontario band PUP, is a non-fictional story about the town.
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Demographics
As an unincorporated place, Pine Point's population was first recorded by Statistics Canada as 459 in 1966, an increase from a 1961 population of only 1. It then grew to a population of 1,225 in the 1971 census. By 1976, Pine Point held town status and reached a peak population of 1,915. The town's population slightly declined to 1,861 by 1981 and then declined further to 1,558 by 1986. The population exodus that followed closure of the mine left a population of only 9 in 1991.
Education
Pine Point had two schools – Galena Heights Elementary School (grades K-6) and Matonabbee School (grades 7-12). Matonabbee School burned down on February 1, 1980, after which was replaced by a new building in the same location. The last graduating class was in 1988 after the mine's closure.
Places of worship
- Anglican Church, the name of which is not known
- Catholic Church, St. John the Baptist
- Pine Point Pentecostal Church
Transportation
Pine Point was along the Fort Resolution Highway, and the Mackenzie Northern Railway, which was owned by the Canadian National Railway. Ore concentrates from the mine were moved south by the railroad. The town also had a small airport.
Notable people
- Everett Klippert, last Canadian sent to jail for being gay
- Geoff Sanderson, professional ice hockey player