You won’t need Google for this map. A new physical map of North Bay is celebrating the city’s 100-year history.
North Bay’s Centennial Heritage Map is available at no cost at City Hall, at customer service on the main floor.
The two-sided, colour document features more than eighty points of interest and more than fifty thumbnail heritage vignettes. It was produced by community volunteer Bill Steer, who is also Founder and General Manager of the Canadian Ecology Centre (CEC) at Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park.
“The thematic map has so much natural and cultural heritage, it reads like a book,” he says. “I am glad to make this community contribution as I was born and raised here. The waterfront is highlighted as it is our Central Park, a jewel to be visited and appreciated.”
He says one side follows the chronological history of North Bay’s waterfront, along with the pre-colonial, Indigenous history of the area.
There’s also a profile of North Bay’s founder, John Ferguson.
Steer says the map was one of the city’s many Centennial projects, but its publication was delayed because of the June 21, 2025 storm event that devastated the CEC and Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park.
