Trenton (2001 population 16,770) is a large unincorporated community in

Central Ontario Central Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario that lies between Georgian Bay and the eastern end of Lake Ontario. The population of the region was 1,123,307 in 2016; however, this number does not in ...

in the municipality of

Quinte West Quinte West is a city, geographically located in but administratively separated from Hastings County, in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is located on the western end of the Bay of Quinte on Lake Ontario. The Lake Ontario terminus of the Trent–Sev ...

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 C ...

, Canada. Located on the

Bay of Quinte The Bay of Quinte () is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of ...

, it is the starting point for the Trent-Severn Waterway, which continues northwest to

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

and eventually

Port Severn Severn is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, located between Lake Couchiching, and the Severn River (both are part of the Trent–Severn Waterway) in Simcoe County. Communities The township comprises the communities of Amigo Beach, Ar ...

Georgian Bay Georgian Bay (french: Baie Georgienne) is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To ...

History

The Trenton area is part of the traditional area of the Mississauga and other Indigenous First Nations. The first known expedition by Europeans in the area was one by French explorer Samuel de Champlain, which followed the Trent passing through Trenton in 1615. The Trent River is known to the Mississauga as ''Sangichiwigewonk'', or 'fast flowing.' Settlers gave it the name 'Trent', after the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

in England. The area around the mouth of the Trent River was first settled by Europeans in the 1780s, after the area was ceded to the British in 1783 as part of the

Crawford Purchase The Crawford Purchase was an agreement that surrendered lands that extended west along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario from the Mississaugas to the British crown to enable Loyalist settlement in what is now a part of ea ...

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America dur ...

first settled in Trenton in 1792. First named Trent Port, it was renamed Trent Town and later became Trenton. Assorted settlements and town plots in the area went under a number of names, until the Village of Trenton was incorporated in 1853. Trenton grew thanks to its port location and the area's lumber industry. 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 ...

, the town was home to a major munitions plant owned by the British Chemical Company. This facility was built in 1915 to manufacture artillery, rifle, and small arms ammunition. Three weeks before the Armistice, an explosion levelled the plant. Remains of the old plant can still be found today. Trenton was also an important film production centre. In 1917, a film studio was built in the town and a number of productions were filmed there."The History of the Canadian Film Industry"
. ''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

''. In 1923, the Trenton Film Plant was purchased by the Ontario government to house the studio and laboratory of the Ontario Motion Picture Bureau. The advent of

talkies A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

and 16mm film made the equipment at the film plant obsolete and the facility closed in 1934. The construction of a

RCAF Station Trenton Canadian Forces Base Trenton (also CFB Trenton), formerly RCAF Station Trenton, is a Canadian Forces base located within the city of Quinte West, Ontario. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is the hu ...

, a major

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

base just east of Trenton, started in 1929 and continued through the 1930s. This provided a major economic boost to the area through the Great Depression, the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and later. Trenton was incorporated as a city in 1980. On January 1, 1998, Trenton was amalgamated with the Village of Frankford and the Townships of Murray and Sidney to form Quinte West. Home to nearly half the population of Quinte West, Trenton is the largest community within the municipality, and is one of Ontario's largest unincorporated settlements.

Economy

Canadian Forces Base Trenton/8 Wing, located on the east side of the town, is an important facility for the Royal Canadian Air Force's transport and search and rescue operations, and is Trenton's main employer. Other large employers include Trenton Cold Storage, Norampac, Kruger, Mapco, Citipack, Jobsters,

Pentair Pentair plc (PNR) is an American water treatment company incorporated in Ireland with tax residency in UK, with its main U.S. office in Golden Valley, Minnesota. Pentair was founded in the US, with 65% of company's revenue coming from the US a ...

Thermal Controls,

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since ...

, ElectroCables, Domtech, Global Med Inc., Mckesson Canada and DECA Cables. Tourism also plays an important role in the economy, given Trenton's location as the southern entry point for the Trent–Severn Waterway. From 1917 to 1920, The Parker Bros. Textile Mill was a movie studio, which dubbed Trenton "Hollywood North".

Transportation

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 provinc ...

crosses the Trent River on the north side of the town. Hastings County Road 2 (formerly

Ontario Highway 2 King's Highway2, commonly referred to as Highway2, is the lowest-numbered provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, and was originally part of a series of identically numbered highways which started in Windsor, stretch ...

) is the main east–west route through town, leading towards Brighton in the west and to Belleville in the east. The main north–south route is Hastings County Road 33 (formerly Ontario Highway 33), leading towards Picton to the south and

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

to the north.

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

and

Canadian National 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 ...

main railway lines (Toronto – Ottawa/

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 ...

) pass through the city.

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 ...

offers limited passenger service to and from Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal via Kingston to Trenton Junction station. Trenton Airport is co-located with CFB Trenton on the east side of town. Trenton is the starting point for the

Trent–Severn Waterway The Trent–Severn Waterway is a canal route connecting Lake Ontario at Trenton to Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, at Port Severn. Its major natural waterways include the Trent River, Otonabee River, Kawartha Lakes, Lake Simcoe, Lake Couchiching ...

and two locks (Lock 1 and Lock 2) are located in the community.Angus, James T. ''A Respectable Ditch: A History of the Trent-Severn Waterway 1833–1920''. McGill-Queens University Press, Montreal and Kingston, 1988. Trenton also has a local public transit system, run by Quinte Access. It runs an hourly schedule Monday to Friday and limited service on Saturday (no Sunday Service, check for holidays) with Chevrolet Arboc specialized buses with ramps for wheelchairs. Several private firms also provide dispatched taxi services.

Climate

Recreation and culture

Trenton is located on the Lake Ontario

Waterfront Trail Stretching over 3600 km (2236 miles) from Prince Township, west of Sault Ste. Marie, to the Quebec border, the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail is a signed route of interconnecting roads and off-road trails joining over 150 communities and First Na ...

. Surrounding Trenton, there are numerous conservation areas, a YMCA, campsites, picnic grounds, and marinas. The area has nine golf courses, three

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

rinks, numerous soccer fields,

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thou ...

, many kilometres of walking trails, a

dog park A dog park is a park for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners. Description Dog parks have varying features, although they typically offer a 4' to 6' fence, separate double-gated ...

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

rinks and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

diamonds, amongst many other recreational activities. Trenton also serves as a gateway to Prince Edward County, south of the Bay of Quinte. This area is becoming increasingly well known for its vineyards, camping, beaches and boating. The city is home to the Trenton Golden Hawks a junior hockey team that plays in the OJHL. Trenton is the site of the

National Air Force Museum of Canada The National Air Force Museum of Canada is an aviation museum dedicated to preserving the history of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is located on the west side of CFB Trenton in Trenton, Ontario. The museum is a permanent archive which c ...

. It features an original RAF Halifax Bomber, the 75th RCAF time capsule, a Lockheed CC-130E Hercules, and many other aircraft and exhibits. The museum is presently restoring an Avro Lancaster bomber. Every summer CFB Trenton also is home to over one thousand

Royal Canadian Air Cadets The Royal Canadian Air Cadets (french: Cadets de l'Aviation royale du Canada) is a Canadian national youth program for young individuals aged 12 to 18. Under the authority of the National Defence Act, the program is administered by the Canadian F ...

who attend two-week Familiarization Courses, three-week Introductory Specialty Courses, and six-week Advanced Specialty Courses, and has special staff positions for more senior cadets. These summer courses introduce the cadets to a military learning environment. Most camps here also go on trips to the airport, the Air Museum, and other relevant places. Trenton is a hot spot for sport fishing. Popular freshwater fish in the Bay of Quinte and the Trent River include walleye (pickerel), bass, pike, perch, and mudcat. During particular times of the year, salmon and rainbow trout can be caught in the Trent River and in cold-water streams in the area. Each year in May, the Kiwanis Club of Trenton holds the Annual Live Release Fishing Derby, attracting thousands of sport fishermen from around North America with major prizes for tagged fish and heaviest weighed walleye and Northern pike. In 1990, Canadian poet

Al Purdy Alfred Wellington Purdy (December 30, 1918 – April 21, 2000) was a 20th-century Canadian free verse poet. Purdy's writing career spanned fifty-six years. His works include thirty-nine books of poetry; a novel; two volumes of memoirs and four b ...

(who received the Order of Canada and the Governor General's award) published his only novel ''A Splinter In The Heart''. It takes place entirely in Trenton and provides a historical look at the town. It mentions many of the landmarks in the city (Mount Pelion, The Bridges, Trent River, etc.) and documents the period of the town directly before and after the huge munitions plant explosion of 1918. Purdy also wrote a poem entitled "At the Quinte Hotel" about the strip club in Trenton called The Sherwood Forest Inn. Another thing that Trenton is known for is its great swimming, fishing and boating. In addition it is known for being the capital of walleye fishing.

Education

The public school system is served by the

Hastings & Prince Edward District School Board The Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board (known as English-language Public District School Board No. 29 prior to 1999) has 39 elementary and eight secondary schools, serving over 18,400 students, and employing more than 1,070 teachers ...

, and the separate school system is served by the

Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board (ALCDSB) is a separate school board in Ontario, Canada. The school board is the school district administrator for Roman Catholic schools in the western portions of Eastern Ontario, includin ...

as well as one school in the area that is part of the neighbouring school board, the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. Public Schools:
Trent River Public SchoolNorth Trenton Public SchoolPrince Charles Public SchoolV.P. Carswell Public SchoolTrenton High School
French Immersion
Bayside Public School
(Located in Bayside) Separate Schools
St. Mary Catholic SchoolSt. Peter Catholic SchoolSt. Paul Catholic Secondary SchoolMurray Centennial Public School
French Schools
École élémentaire Catholique l'Envol
(French Catholic School
École élémentaire publique Cité-Jeunesse
(French Public School
École secondaire publique Marc-Garneau
(French Public High School) Private Schools
Trenton Christian School

Notable people

* Roy Bonisteel (1930–2013), journalist and the former host of the CBC Television program '' Man Alive''. *

Mel Bridgman Melvin John Bridgman (born April 28, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1975–76 until 1988–89. Bridgman was born in Trenton, Ontario, but grew up in Thund ...

(born 1955), former

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

player. * William Bleasdell Cameron (1862–1951), survivor of the

Frog Lake Massacre The Frog Lake Massacre was part of the Cree uprising during the North-West Rebellion in western Canada. Led by Wandering Spirit, young Cree men attacked officials, clergy and settlers in the small settlement of Frog Lake in the District of S ...

, author, journalist. *

Graydon Carter Edward Graydon Carter, CM (born July 14, 1949) is a Canadian journalist who served as the editor of '' Vanity Fair'' from 1992 until 2017. He also co-founded, with Kurt Andersen and Tom Phillips, the satirical monthly magazine '' Spy'' in 1986 ...

, editor-in-chief, '' Vanity Fair''. *

Henry Comstock Henry Tompkins (or Thomas) Paige Comstock (1820–1870) was a Canadian miner after whom the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nevada, was named. The Comstock Lode was the richest silver mine in American history. Referred to by history books various ...

(1820–1870), after whom Nevada's

Comstock Lode The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the Unit ...

was named. * George Ferguson (1952–2019), former professional hockey player for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

. * John Garrett (born 1951), former National Hockey League goalie and hockey announcer. * Howard Graham (1898–1986),

Commander of the Canadian Army The commander of the Canadian Army (french: commandant de l'Armée canadienne) is the institutional head of the Canadian Army. This appointment also includes the title Chief of the Army Staff (french: links=no, chef de l'état-major de l'Armée) ...

(1955–1958). * Steve Graves (born 1964), former National Hockey League hockey player. *

Jayna Hefford Jayna Hefford (born May 14, 1977) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current chairperson of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association. During her career, she won multiple medals at the Winter Olympics and IIHF World Women's ...

(born 1977), member of Canada's gold medal women's hockey team at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. *

Peter Knegt Peter Knegt is a Canadian writer, producer, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of four Canadian Screen Awards and his CBC Arts column Queeries received the 2019 Digital Publishing Award for best digital column in Canada. Knegt began his career as ...

(born 1984), a writer, producer, and filmmaker. *

Elizabeth Manley Elizabeth Ann Manley, CM (born August 7, 1965) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater. She is the 1988 Olympic silver medallist, the 1988 World silver medalist and a three-time Canadian national champion. Early life and training Manle ...

(born 1965), 1988

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are m ...

silver medalist. *

Brenda Martin Brenda Kim Martin is a Canadian citizen from Trenton, Ontario, whose arrest and conviction in Mexico was subject of much publicity in Canada. Martin began living in Mexico in 1998, working in the culinary industry, allegedly without a visa. In 2006 ...

, a

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 ...

woman imprisoned in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. *

(1918–2000), C.M., O.Ont., one of Canada's most renowned writers. *

Adam Sioui Adam Carter Sioui (born May 10, 1982) is a former competition swimmer who represented Canada in international events. He was a butterfly and freestyle specialist and was the Canadian national record-holder in the 200-metre butterfly. Early yea ...

(born 1982), 2008

swimmer. *

Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to: Academics * Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager * Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...

(born 1963), former National Hockey League player. *

Marc Tessier-Lavigne Marc Trevor Tessier-Lavigne (born December 18, 1959) is a Canadian-American neuroscientist who is the 11th and current president of Stanford University. Previously, he was a professor at the University of California, San Francisco and then pre ...

(born 1959), neuroscientist, the 11th and current president of Stanford University. *

Peter Wintonick Peter Kenneth Wintonick (June 10, 1953 – November 18, 2013) was a Canadian independent documentary filmmaker based in Montreal. A winner of the 2006 Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts, former Thinker in Residence for the Premier ...

(1953–2013), documentary filmmaker.

Notes

* Rayburn, Alan. ''Place Names of Ontario. ''Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997. .
Quinte West Tourism
retrieved 2007-10-30

External links

City of Quinte West Official Homepage

Trentonian Newspaper
* * Memories of Good Times : A Pictorial History of the Lives and Activities of the People of Trenton Over the Past Century (Trent Port Historical Society, 1982) https://cdm22007.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p22007coll8/id/302870/rec/9 * Trenton Downtown Business Improvement Area http://www.downtowntrenton.ca/en/index.asp {{Authority control Populated places on Lake Ontario in Canada Neighbourhoods in Quinte West Former cities in Ontario Trent–Severn Waterway Populated places disestablished in 1998