Moisie, Quebec

Moisie
District and former city
Moisie Location of Moisie, Quebec
Coordinates: 50°11′29″N 66°5′40″W
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Côte-Nord
RCM	Sept-Rivières
Municipality	Sept-Îles
Municipality	January 1, 1955
City	October 29, 1983
Amalgamated	February 12, 2003
Area
• Land	1,396.99 km2 (539.38 sq mi)
Population  (2001)
• Total	930
• Density	0.7/km2 (2/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
Postal code	G0G 2B0
Area code(s)	418, 581, and 367
Geographical code	24 97005

Moisie (Quebec French pronunciation: [vɪl də mwazi] ) is a district (secteur) of the city of Sept-Îles, Quebec, Canada.

Prior to February 12, 2003, Moisie was an independent city; on that date, it and the Municipality of Gallix were merged into Sept-Îles.

History

Originally Moisie was a small fisherman village located at the mouth of the Moisie River. Its name, taken from this river, has been in use since the 17th century and its meaning and origin are unknown. The village, which was at sea level, was relocated in 1967 after several storm surge floods.

Molson Inc. established a smelter on the other bank of the river in the late 19th century. The company was plowing through three feet of pure iron black sand lying on the beaches as raw material for the forge. Prospectors later explored the region upstream of the river which led to the discovery of large iron ore deposits around Labrador City and Schefferville.

Between 1933 and 1949, the Hudson's Bay Company had a post at Moisie, operating as an outpost of Sept Iles.

On January 1, 1955, the Municipality of Moisie was created out of territory ceded by the Township of Letellier.

The community became home to RCAF Station Moisie in the late 1950s, when the Royal Canadian Air Force established a Pinetree Line early warning radar station nearby. The facility was later renamed CFS Moisie and closed by the early 1990s after defence cutbacks.

On October 29, 1983, the Municipality of Moisie and the Municipality of Rivière-Pigou merged to form the City of Moisie. On February 12, 2003, the City of Moisie was amalgamated into Sept-Îles.

Demographics

Historical census populations – Moisie, Quebec

Year Pop. ±% 1956 672 —     1961 1,063 58.2% 1966 1,014 −4.6% 1971 988 −2.6% 1976 1,089 10.2%	Year Pop. ±% 1981 1,499 37.6% 1986 1,118 −25.4% 1991 776 −30.6% 1996 897 15.6% 2001 930 3.7%
Population counts are not adjusted for boundary changes or mergers. Source: Statistics Canada

External links

Media related to Moisie at Wikimedia Commons