Gananoque ( )
is a town in the
Leeds and Grenville
The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, commonly known as Leeds and Grenville, is a county in Ontario, Canada, in the Eastern Ontario subregion of Southern Ontario. It fronts on the Saint Lawrence River and the international boundary betw ...
area of
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada. The town had a population of 5,383 year-round residents in the
2021 Canadian Census
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sl ...
, as well as summer residents sometimes referred to as "Islanders" because of the
Thousand Islands
The Thousand Islands (french: Mille-Îles) constitute a North American archipelago of 1,864 islands that straddles the Canada–US border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for abo ...
in the
Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...
, Gananoque's most important tourist attraction. The
Gananoque River
The Gananoque River is a river in Leeds and Grenville United Counties in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Shows the course of the river highlighted on a map. The river is in the Atlantic Ocean drainage basin and is a left tributary of the Saint Lawrence R ...
flows through the town and the St. Lawrence River serves as the southern boundary of the town.
Pronunciation
The town's name is an
aboriginal name which means "town on two rivers". The town's name rhymes with the place name ''Cataraqui'', which appears in the
Cataraqui River
The Cataraqui River ( ) forms the lower portion of the Rideau Canal and drains into Lake Ontario at Kingston, Ontario. The name is taken from the original name for Kingston, Ontario; its exact meaning, however, is undetermined. Early maps showed s ...
, the
Little Cataraqui Creek
The Little Cataraqui Creek is a watercourse, much of which is a semi-urban wetland, that empties into Lake Ontario within the municipality of Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Further inland, just north of Highway 401, the creek has been dammed to form a ...
, and the
Cataraqui Cemetery
Cataraqui Cemetery is a non-denominational cemetery located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1850, it predates Canadian Confederation, and continues as an active burial ground. The cemetery is 91 acres in a rural setting with rolling wo ...
in nearby
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Tor ...
. One way to remember its pronunciation is "The right way, the wrong way, and the Gananoque". In eastern Ontario speech, the town name is often abbreviated to ''Gan''.
History
Colonel
Joel Stone
Colonel Joel Stone (1749–1833) was a United Empire Loyalist and the founder of Gananoque in Ontario, Canada.
Early life
Stone was born in Guilford, Connecticut, to Stephen Stone and Rebecca Bishop. When he was two, his family moved to the grow ...
, who served with
Loyalist
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British C ...
militia during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, established a settlement on this site in 1789. Land was granted to Col. Stone for use as a
mill
Mill may refer to:
Science and technology
*
* Mill (grinding)
* Milling (machining)
* Millwork
* Textile mill
* Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel
* List of types of mill
* Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...
site.
During the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...
,
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
forces raided the government depot in the town to disrupt the flow of British supplies between Kingston and
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
. The raiders seized the supplies they found and burned the depot. Within a month of the raid, construction of the Gananoque Blockhouse was started, with completion in 1813. It had an
octagon
In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon.
A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, w ...
al log
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...
containing five guns. The blockhouse was abandoned after the War of 1812 and given to a private landowner.
[Young, Richard. ''Blockhouses in Canada, 1749–1841: a Comparative Report and Catalogue.'' Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History, Canadian Historic Site, 1980]
The blockhouse was quickly repaired in the 1837–38
Patriot War
The Patriot War was a conflict along the Canada–United States border in which bands of raiders attacked the British colony of Upper Canada more than a dozen times between December 1837 and December 1838. This so-called war was not a conflic ...
when there were fears American militia forces were planning to attack. The Gananoque Blockhouse stood until 1852.
[
]
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...
conducted by Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...
, Gananoque had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Population trend:[Statistics Canada: ]1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
, 2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...
, 2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
, 2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
census
* Population in 2016: 5159
* Population in 2011: 5194
* Population in 2006: 5285
* Population in 2001: 5167
* Population in 1996: 5219 (or 5217 when adjusted for boundary changes)
* Population in 1991: 5209
Total private dwellings, excluding seasonal cottages: 2,404 (total: 2,516).
Mother tongue:
* English as first language: 94.2%
* French as first language: 1.3%
* English and French as first language: 0.4%
* Other as first language: 4.1%
Local attractions
Gananoque is referred to as the "Gateway to the Thousand Islands
The Thousand Islands (french: Mille-Îles) constitute a North American archipelago of 1,864 islands that straddles the Canada–US border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for abo ...
," which lie next to it in the St. Lawrence River. Local attractions include boat
A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats.
Small boats are typically found on i ...
cruise
A cruise is any travel on a cruise ship.
Cruise or Cruises may also refer to:
Tourism
* Booze cruise
* Music cruise
* River cruise
Aeronautics and aircraft
* Cruise (aeronautics), a distinct stage of an aircraft's flight
* Aviasouz Cruise, a R ...
s through the Thousand Islands and to Boldt Castle
Boldt Castle is a major landmark and tourist attraction in the Thousand Islands region of the U.S. state of New York. Open to guests seasonally between mid-May and mid-October, it is located on Heart Island in the Saint Lawrence River. Heart I ...
, New York, live theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...
, the summer theatre festival of The Thousand Islands Playhouse, the Arthur Child Heritage Museum of the 1000 Islands and the Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands
The Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands, formerly known as the OLG Casino Thousand Islands, the Thousand Islands Charity Casino and the Thousand Islands Casino, is a small casino located in Gananoque, Ontario. It is owned by Great Canadian Entertai ...
. The theatre company in Gananoque is The Thousand Islands Playhouse which operates two theatre spaces: The Springer Theatre, and the Firehall Theatre, attracting international attention since 1982.
The Thousand Islands – Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
, designated in November 2002, is the third in Ontario, the twelfth in Canada, and one of over 400 around the world, and is part of UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
’s program on Man and the Biosphere.
Transportation
Gananoque lies directly on three of Canada's busiest transportation routes: the four-lane Highway 401
King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one,
is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provin ...
, the double-track Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN i ...
main line, and the St. Lawrence Seaway. It is also home to a rich provincial highway heritage, being home to the remaining stretch of Highway 2. It is the western terminus of the Thousand Islands Parkway
The Thousand Islands Parkway (often written as 1000 Islands Parkway) is a scenic parkway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It extends easterly from an interchange with Highway 401 in Gananoque for approximately to rejoin Highway401 nea ...
, and a short drive from the Thousand Islands Bridge
The Thousand Islands International Bridge (french: Pont des Mille-îles) is an American-maintained international bridge system over the Saint Lawrence River connecting northern New York in the United States with southeastern Ontario in Canada. Co ...
, which crosses into the United States as Interstate 81
Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Isla ...
.
Via Rail
Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...
inter-city passenger trains bound for Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
and Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...
stop at the unstaffed Gananoque station to the north of downtown. Gananoque is also served by the Gananoque Airport for general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
.
Historically, the Gananoque River
The Gananoque River is a river in Leeds and Grenville United Counties in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Shows the course of the river highlighted on a map. The river is in the Atlantic Ocean drainage basin and is a left tributary of the Saint Lawrence R ...
's watershed had been an important water transportation corridor, extending north to the Rideau River watershed and playing a key role in the town's early history and economic importance. In 1830, water was diverted near Newboro to the Cataraqui River as part of the Rideau Canal, sending this traffic instead to Kingston.
A four-mile short line railroad
:''Short Line is also one of the four railroads in the American version of the popular board game Monopoly, named after the Shore Fast Line, an interurban streetcar line.''
A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that opera ...
once linked the main CN Rail tracks to the heart of the village; the Thousand Islands Railway
The Thousand Islands Railway (originally Gananoque & Rideau Railway) was an long railway running from the town of Gananoque north to the Grand Trunk Railway (now CN) Toronto-Montreal mainline, just south of present-day Cheeseborough. The service ...
terminated near the town hall.
Gananoque Police Service
Gananoque Police Service is a small law enforcement agency in the Eastern Ontario
Eastern Ontario (census population 1,763,186 in 2016) (french: Est de l'Ontario) is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies in a wedge-shaped area between the Ottawa River and St. Lawrence River. It s ...
community of Gananoque.
The current Chief of Police
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the b ...
is Scott Gee. Unlike other Towns and Villages of Ontario which have disbanded their municipal police forces in favour of contracting with the Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorp ...
, the Gananoque Police Service continues to grow.
Notable persons
* Harry Brown—Gananoque-born recipient of the Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
for actions during the Battle of Hill 70 during the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
* Frank Belknap Long
Frank Belknap Long (April 27, 1901 – January 3, 1994) was an American writer of horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, gothic romance, comic books, and non-fiction. Though his writing career spanned seven decades, he is best known ...
—Famed horror and science fiction writer. Long spent his summer family vacations in the vicinity with his parents, between the ages of six months and 17 years (1901–1918).
* Alyn McCauley
Alyn Daniel McCauley (born May 29, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for ten years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, and the Los Angeles Kings. Prior to his NHL ca ...
—Gananoque-raised former NHL hockey player who currently serves as a pro scout for the Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...
.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Municipalities in Leeds and Grenville United Counties
Ontario populated places on the Saint Lawrence River
Single-tier municipalities in Ontario
Towns in Ontario