Traces the development of the company town of Copper Cliff (now part of Sudbury), Ontario, to show how a corporation viewed the purpose of such a community and how it was used to meet company ends. Copper Cliff was a settlement around the copper mines of the Canadian Copper Company. A highly pragmatic solution to the problem of getting workers to resettle in out-of-the-way places, these towns usually had their houses, water and systems, schools, roads, stores, and entertainment centers built and financed by the primary company operating in the area. To the company, the housing and the town in general were investments, and also a 'tool' for controlling workers. / Based on company records and local archives; 6 tables, 8 illus., 72 notes.