Powassan

Powassan takes its name from an Ojibwe word for a bend in the river. The South River turns through the wooded country here before flowing north into Lake Nipissing. The lake and the forests around it are the homeland of the Nipissing people, who hunted, fished and travelled across the region. To the north, the Mattawa and French rivers formed a route between the Ottawa valley and Lake Huron, later followed by fur traders and voyageurs.