Lynn Lake

History

What is now Lynn Lake was developed by Sherritt Gordon Mines Ltd and the Manitoba government. It was originally known as Sherridon, Manitoba. It was named after Lynn Smith, then chief engineer of the mining company. Nickel was discovered at Lynn Lake in the late 1930s, but awaited development until 1952. In 1950 Sherritt Gordon began moving its operations up from Sherridon, 250 km south. The move, which involved 219 buildings (including houses, a school, a bank, stores and churches, as well as mining and milling equipment), was by tractor train and took 4 winters to complete. After a rich vein of copper ore had been nearly depleted in Sherridon, the company sent out prospectors to find another strike. Around 1945, the expeditions were successful when one of the world's largest nickel strikes was found near the soon-to-be-established Lynn Lake. Most of the people of Sherridon moved to Lynn Lake when housing was completed. Gold mining was once the major industry of the town. The mine was shut down in the late 20th century. The town was heavily affected by the 2025 Canadian wildfires, evacuation orders were put in place from May 27 to June 20, then again July 4 until August 22. During those times the town was mostly empty except for firefighting staff and volunteers that created fire breaks, maintained infrastructure and setup sprinklers to protect the entire town from being destroyed. Some outlying properties were lost, and damage and cleanup costs were estimated to be $10 million. Afterwards the lack of electrical services in town due to damage on its long and isolated Manitoba Hydro feed meant that residents were not able to return until mid-September.