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Welcome to the Website of The
Walden Community
Action
Network.
Here you will be able
to keep your finger on the pulse of life in Walden.
This is your website,
completely interactive and updated daily.
You can access and add community events and be kept
up to date on important issues.
The Walden C.A.N. was
established by the Greater City of Sudbury in 2005
to serve as a community resource for development and
also a source of information and feedback to the
city council.
Walden C.A.N. is an
organization that is here for you, the people of
Walden.
It is our joy to show
you that Walden is a superb place to live.
Simon Lake
Walden is a vast area
of lakes, forest and farmland. Nestled amongst this
beautiful area are many small communities each with
a strong sense of who they are.
These communities are
Beaver Lake, Worthington, Fairbanks, Den-Lou, Penage,
Whitefish, Naughton, Black Lake and Lively.
Lively is the largest
of these communities and can provide most of the
needs that feed all the surrounding area.
Walden- Community Action Network
& Walden Youth Centre
…Invite you to attend
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www.mysudbury.ca/125
History of Walden
The first inhabitants of the area that became
the town of Walden were the First Nations who
arrived around eleven thousand years ago. The
ancestors of the present day Ojibway came to
this area around 1000 A.D.
The traditional lands of the Whitefish Lake Band
of Ojibway ran from the Vermilion River Valley
on the west, to the Wanapitei and Sturgeon
rivers, and from Lake Penache on the south to
the watershed.
With entry of the French explorers into the area
in the mid-seventeenth century, life for the
First Nations underwent profound changes. The
first Europeans, the Jesuit missionaries, have
documented the Ojibway living in the area since
the mid 1600's.
In 1824, the Whitefish Lake post of the Hudson's
Bay Company was established on the lands that
would become the Reserve. It was a sub-post of
the LaCloche post and in turn, the Whitefish
Lake post supervised a short lived post at
Wahnapitae and another just north of the
Vermilion River at Larchwood.
The lands of the Reserve were established by the
Huron-Robinson Treaty of 1850. Chief
Shawenakeshick signed the treaty on behalf of
the band. The trading post remained on the
reserve and a section of land was claimed by the
Company for firewood for the post.
In 1883, the railway came through what would
become Walden. The Hudson's Bay post was
relocated in 1887 from the Reserve to a section
just south of the railway line. Faced with
competition from the growing town of Sudbury,
the post closed in 1896.
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The Naming of a Town
The history of the Town of Walden is full of interesting
stories, and the origin of the name "Walden" is one
which is worth repeating. We only have to go back to the
year 1972 to find the origin of the name Walden. At that
time, the Regional Municipality of Sudbury was being
formed and it meant the uniting of independent towns and
townships into larger bodies.
What is now the Town of Walden was made up of The United
Townships of Drury Denison and Graham, Waters Township,
and the Town of Lively. These areas were organized with
their own councils and mayors (Reeves). In addition,
Lorne, Louise, and Dieppe Townships and parts of the
Townships of Trill, Fairbanks, Creighton and Snider were
included in what was to become the Town of Walden.
In 1972, Charles White, then Reeve of Waters Township,
chaired a joint meeting of the member groups to discuss
a number of issues surrounding the upcoming
amalgamation. One of the topics was a name for the new
municipality.
Councillor Gertie Falzetta of Drury Denison and Graham
recommended that the new town be known as "Makada" an
early Ojibway name for Black Lake. Councillor John
Robertson of Lively suggested that the name be "Walden".
He said the "W" from Waters, the "L" from Lively, and
the "Den" from Denison could be combined to make up the
name "Walden". He also remembered a county named Walden
he knew as a young boy in Scotland. Other names were
also suggested but it was these two, "Makada" and
"Walden", that made it to the final selection process.
In 1973, the Town of Walden was established and Tom
Davies was appointed the first Mayor.
With the new town established, a crest was needed to
unite the settlements. Randy Grover, Director of
Physical Services for the Town of Walden provided the
design that would become the town crest.
The crest is meant to signify "Unity". The central torch
reflects the Olympic torch, a unifying symbol for the
competitors from many countries. The seven orange flames
represent the seven areas within the Town of Walden.
Inside the seven orange flames are six red flames
representing the named or known named areas within
Walden: Lively-Creighton, Waters, Naughton, Whitefish,
Worthington, and Beaver Lake.
Through the amalgamation of the City of Greater Sudbury
in 2001, the Town of Walden became a significant part of
our city and is still regarded as one of the best
communities in which to live.
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