Redditt is an unincorporated community in
Unorganized Kenora District
Kenora District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The district seat is the City of Kenora.
It is geographically the largest division in Ontario: at , it covers 38 percent of the province's area, making it large ...
in
northwestern 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.
It is on the
MacFarlane River, and located at the northern terminus of
Ontario Highway 658
Secondary Highway 658, commonly referred to as Highway 658, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Kenora District. The highway extends between the city of Kenora and the community of Redditt. For a ...
, north of
Kenora. Redditt is also the name of the surrounding
geographic township
The term township, in Canada, is generally the district or area associated with a town. The specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country, usually to describe a local rural or semirural government within the co ...
that includes the community.
A
designated place
A designated place (DPL) is a type of community or settlement identified by Statistics Canada that does not meet the criteria used to define municipalities or population centres. DPLs are delineated every 5 years for the Canadian census as the sta ...
served by a
local services board A local services board (LSB) is an organization in the Canadian province of Ontario that is contracted by the Government of Ontario to provide municipal-level services in a community that is not part of an incorporated municipality.
Most local ser ...
, Redditt had a population of 139 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 ...
.
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population 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 cultur ...
, Redditt had a population of 139 living in 76 of its 170 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 116. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Transportation
Until 1985, the main street of Redditt was called Highway 666. In 1985, an Evangelical Christian church located on the road nearer to
Kenora asked for the highway to be renumbered, as there was a highway sign directly outside the church and they "got a lot of comments" from it being the number of the
mark of the beast
The number of the beast ( grc-koi, Ἀριθμὸς τοῦ θηρίου, ) is associated with the Beast of Revelation in chapter 13, verse 18 of the Book of Revelation. In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of t ...
. Subsequently, the main street of Redditt and the road into town were renumbered to Highway 658. Members of the church had argued to the
Ministry of Transportation of Ontario
The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is the provincial ministry of the Government of Ontario that is responsible for transport infrastructure and related law in Ontario. The ministry traces its roots back over a century to the 1890s, when the pro ...
that it was inappropriate for their church to be located on the "Highway to Hell." Redditt is also the starting point for what is locally known as the "English River Road," which provides access the exploitation of resources, mostly logging, in the region north of Redditt.
Once a location for a
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 ...
roundhouse, the rail-yard operations were closed down in the early 1950s when the CNR switched to diesel-electrics from steam.
Ontario Central Airlines
Ontario Central Airlines was a Canadian airline headquartered in Kenora, Ontario. It was founded in 1947 and served the Kenora District. It operated a wide range of aircraft, ranging from outdated passenger planes like the Douglas DC-3 to small bus ...
, owned by Barney Lamb, then established a maintenance facility in the old roundhouse for its fleet of amphibious charter aircraft. The old switch yard was used as a landing strip for wheel aircraft after the tracks had been pulled. The inflow to Corn Lake (the MacFarlane River) was then dredged, and a control dam was constructed at the out flow of
Ena Lake to ensure an adequate water depth for the landing of amphibious aircraft, which were then towed by dolly to the former roundhouse for maintenance.
Redditt is on the Canadian National Railway
transcontinental
Transcontinental may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Transcontinental", a song by the band Pedro the Lion from the album ''Achilles Heel''
* TC Transcontinental, a publishing, media and marketing company based in Canada, a subsidiary o ...
main line
Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to:
Transportation
Railway
* Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system
* Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...
,
between
Ena Lake to the west and
Brinka to the east, and
Redditt railway station
Redditt railway station is located in the community of Redditt in Unorganized Kenora District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The station is on the Canadian National Railway transcontinental main line and is in use by Via Rail as a stop for t ...
is served by
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 ...
transcontinental ''
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
'' passenger trains.
There is no scheduled bus service to Redditt.
Economy
The primary economic activities are tourism and resource harvesting. Several hunting and sport fishing lodges and camps are found in Redditt. The facilities are usually quite basic, relying on the "external" or outdoor experience to provide the fun and excitement. Prices are generally quite affordable. Many outfitters, lodges, and camps (the terms are quite often interchangeable) provide varying levels of service from simple "house keeping" cabins to full "American plan" (generally understood to mean all-inclusive except for licenses, alcohol, and tobacco). Price is, of course, service level dependent. Some of the operators provide an "outpost" camp experience; these outlying camps or cabins can usually only be reached by air via float plane, or by canoe over one or more portages and lakes. Traditionally, this has been seen as the truest wilderness experience. The areas where these "outposts" are located are more isolated, and less frequented by travelers, and thus often offer a higher potential for trophy hunting and fishing, and consequently also offer the non-hunter or non-angler a better chance to experience the northern wilderness uninterrupted without being imposed upon by strangers.
The greater proportion of the working population is employed in Kenora. There are many summer and weekend cottages/camps located in and around Redditt; the majority of which are owned by people from
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
and Kenora, with few American people that have purchased properties in and around the town. The relative remoteness and isolation, low density, and privacy are attractive to people seeking a "rustic" retreat or recreational experience. The cost of recreational properties around Redditt is still very affordable for average incomes, especially when compared to prices on
Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods (french: Lac des Bois, oj, Pikwedina Sagainan) is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. Lake of the Woods is over long and wide, containing more than 14,55 ...
or the
Winnipeg River
The Winnipeg River is a Canadian river that flows roughly northwest from Lake of the Woods in the province of Ontario to Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. This river is long from the Norman Dam in Kenora to its mouth at Lake Winnipeg. Its watershed is ...
.
ATV Trails and ski trails are abundant around Redditt to experience true wilderness, plus in blueberry season people come from far and wide to pick their own supply of wild fresh blueberries.
At the west side of Redditt, just north of Corn Lake, there is a rock quarry where high quality
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
is mined. Visitors and residents are sometimes alarmed when blasting takes place at the quarry.
A branch of the
Royal Canadian Legion
The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization (veterans' organization) founded in 1925. Membership includes people who have served as military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, Royal ...
is located in Redditt. There is also a Fire Hall, and a Community Club which hosts curling in Winter and also various other Community Functions etc.
Recreation
Fishing and hunting are the primary recreational and tourism activities for Redditt, and the
Northwestern Ontario
Northwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. Its western boundary is the ...
region in general. Though so called
ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...
is also being promoted, it has however failed to develop fully. Locals (including the
First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
, or
Aboriginal Peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
) historically engaged in hunting and fishing for food. As such, whitetail deer, moose, ducks and geese were and are the primary quarry for local hunting. Ruffed and spruce grouse are popular upland game birds. Snowshoe hare is a tradition catch for women and children.
Walleye
The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...
(pickerel),
northern pike
The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...
,
whitefish and
lake trout
The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...
were the primary food fish species. Outfitting and sport hunting is still focused on whitetail and moose. Black bears and wolves are becoming more and more desirable for non-resident hunters, especially those from Europe and the USA. Many local residents find employment as hunting and/or fishing guides. The primary sport fish species are walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass, lake trout and muskie.
Snowmobiling is a popular winter activity in Redditt. Snowmobile trails connect Redditt with Kenora. Day trips to Redditt from Kenora are very popular. It is also possible to travel by snowmobile from Redditt to Manitoba, and to
Woodland Caribou Provincial Park. The trails to Manitoba are fairly well maintained, and appropriate for operators of average ability. The trails to Woodland Caribou Provincial Park are single track, rugged, and extremely challenging, with many unpredictable water crossings and are therefore only appropriate for very experienced operators. Hiring an experienced guide is strongly recommended, as is traveling in groups. It is always recommended to be prepared for self rescue when snowmobiling, winter weather conditions can prevent search and rescue from reaching those seeking aid for many days.
Norway Lake, at the north end of town, is a popular picnic location(overnight.camping is no longer allowed). A fine beach and warm water makes it an attractive outing destination in the summer. Armstrong Lake, at the east end of town, is also popular for recreation and fishing. Corn Lake, at the south/west side of the village, is also a popular fishing and swimming destination for residents and visitors.
Bottle House
![Redditt Bottle House](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Redditt_Bottle_House.jpg)
There is an attraction called The Bottle House that was designed and built by Hank and Myrtle Deverell in 1973.
["Attractions in Redditt" Century 21 ] It took approximately 25,000 bottles and 1,000 pounds of mortar to build and the Deverells spent approximately 1,756 hours building it.
References
External links
Redditt profile at Sunset Country Tourist Region
{{authority control
Communities in Kenora District
Designated places in Ontario
Local services boards in Ontario
Bottle houses