Bancroft, Ontario
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Bancroft () is a town located on the York River in
Hastings County Hastings County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. Geographically, it is located on the border of Eastern Ontario and Central Ontario. Hastings County is the second-largest county in Ontario, after Renfrew C ...
in the
Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...
of
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
. It was first settled in the 1850s by descendants of the
United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) 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 Ameri ...
s and Irish immigrants. From the mid-1950s to about 1982, mining was the primary industry. A village until 1999, Bancroft then merged with Dungannon Township to form the Town of Bancroft. The population at the time of the 2021 Census was 4,065; the regional population is 60,000. There are 150,000 visitors to Bancroft, annually.


History

By 1823, the government had purchased nearly two million acres of land from the Chippewa and Mississaga First Nations including a tract on the York River in Hastings County which had been established in 1792. The area was mapped in 1835 by explorer David Thompson. The first family to build a cabin here, the Clarks in 1853, did so to take advantage of the fur trade. Early settlers included James Cleak and Alfred Barker from England who arrived in 1855, settling on Quarry Lake. They got jobs in administration; Cleak opened a small store and Barker became the first postmaster. Over the years the settlement grew quickly. In fact, there were 89 families by 1868. Lumber companies arrived to remove timber. Some of the earliest settlers were
United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) 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 Ameri ...
s, but from 1856 to 1861, most were from Ireland, fleeing the problems caused by the Great Famine; many had farming experience and settled in the Township of Dungannon where the land was fertile. Most of the settlers were attracted to the area by the offer of free parcels that had been advertised in Great Britain. Some of the residents also sold furs, obtained through
trapping Animal trapping, or simply trapping or ginning, is the use of a device to remotely catch and often kill an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including for meat, fur trade, fur/feathers, sport hunting, pest control, and w ...
. Several colonization roads were built to the settlement in the 1850s70s, opening up the lands along the way to further settlement. The Hastings Road ran north. It was joined at Bancroft by the Mississippi Road running northwest from Plevna in
Frontenac County Frontenac County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. The city of Kingston is in the Frontenac census division, but is separated from the County of Front ...
and the Monck Road running west from Atherley on
Lake Couchiching Lake Couchiching ( ; from the Anishinaabe language, Ojibwe ''gojijiing'' meaning "inlet") is a medium-sized lake in Central Ontario, Canada, separated from Lake Simcoe by a narrow channel. Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching are popular spots for fishin ...
. This made Bancroft (then still known as York Mills) a significant crossroads. The settlement had various names over the first years, York Mills, York River and York Branch. When the post office opened in 1861, it was called York River. A grist mill opened in 1865, gold was discovered in 1866 and other minerals would be discovered later. The discovery of sodalite by Frank Dawson Adams in 1892 led to the opening of the Princess Sodalite Mine.Gem, Kitchener-Waterloo.
''Mineral of the Month: SODALITE''
" (2006).
The first church and two schools were built in 1870. In 1879, the name of the settlement was changed to Bancroft by Senator Billa Flint, after the maiden name of his wife Elizabeth Ann Clement Bancroft.Bancroft & District Chamber of Commerce, ''Bancroft District 2006 Destination Guide'' Flint convinced tradesmen to move to the area, which helped to attract more settlers. A woollen mill began operating in 1884. The Central Ontario Railway arrived in 1900. In 1903, the Irondale, Bancroft and Ottawa Railway connected to the COR north of town at what is now Y Road, referring to the wye junction joining the two lines. They were beneficial in transporting settlers and goods; the railway would operate until 1982. Bancroft was incorporated as a village in December 1904. The first telephone in the village was at the railway station; it was connected in 1905. Electricity was not available until 1930. Uranium was discovered in 1949 and construction of Faraday Mine started in 1952. The Red Cross Hospital opened in 1949. Faraday Mine was later renamed Madawaska Mine and operated until 1982. Other minerals were also mined over the years. The closing of the mine caused some economic hardship. The Ontario Municipal Board approved a request for Bancroft village to become a town on August 9, 1995, with Bancroft Council bylaw 649-95 confirming the new status on 28 August 1995. In 1999, Bancroft merged with Dungannon Township to form the Town of Bancroft. Paul Jenkins was elected as Mayor in the October 2018 municipal election. He was reelected in 2022.


Demographics

In 1931 the population was 911 people, growing significantly when the uranium mines opened. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...
, Bancroft 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. Mother tongue (2021): * English as first language: 94.2% * French as first language: 1.2% * English and French as first language: 0.3% * Other as first language: 3.9%


Housing

In 2021, Bancroft was ranked as the best place in Canada to buy real estate by '' MoneySense''.


Camping and hiking


Silent Lake Provincial Park

Nearby south on Highway 28 provides local
camping Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...
opportunities. American sportsmen fished and hunted on this private lake for 40 years before it became a park. Silent Lake has a rocky and undeveloped shoreline, a mixed forest and marshes full of birds and wildlife best seen by canoe. A rugged trail circles the lake, and sections of groomed ski trails have been graded for mountain biking.


Algonquin Provincial Park Algonquin Provincial Park is an Ontario Ontario Parks, provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River, mostly within the Nipissing, Unorganized, South Part, Ontario, Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District. Established i ...

About an hour away on Highway 62 N - Highway 127 N - Highway 60 W, provides camping and
hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...
opportunities, beautiful forest and outdoor scenery. Portaging is quite common in this park. Algonquin offers many visitor attractions. Like Silent Lake, Algonquin has a rocky, treed and extensive undeveloped shoreline, a mixed forest and marshes full of birds and wildlife best seen by canoe. The OFSC trails through the park provide easy winter access by snowmobile. One of the most common sights is the Canadian Moose.


Egan Chutes Provincial Park

Located 15 km east of Bancroft on highway 28. Egan Chutes Provincial Park is a nature reserve. The park is home to many local plants including Poplar, White Birch, Ash, Buffalo Berry, and Purple Flowering Raspberry. You can also find many different minerals including Nepheline, Blue Corundum, Zircon, Biotite, and Sodalite. Collecting of rocks and minerals are prohibited in the park. It is about a 10 to 20 minute hike. You can drive for the first 100m until you reach a parking lot, the access road is paved for another 200m. The rest of the hike is done on a dirt road, continue walking for another 10 to 15 minutes and you will come to a clearing where you will be standing at the top of the main waterfall - Egan Chute.


Eagle's Nest Park

It is a scenic lookout in the town of Bancroft, Ontario. It is built on the top of a sheer rock face and overlooks the northern portions of the town, the York River and Bancroft Airport. It features the Hawkwatch Trail, capped by a large wooden platform that provides views out over the town. The trail passes the footings of a former fire watchtower.


Vance Farms Park

Located near the Bancroft hospital, on Oak street, this 37 acre hilly site was donated to the town of Bancroft in 1998 and opened in 2001. It features hiking and walking trails.


Arts and events

In 2004, Bancroft won
TVOntario TVO (stylized in all lowercase as tvo), formerly known as TVOntario, is a Canadian Public broadcasting, publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It operates ...
's "Most Talented Town in Ontario" contest. A large number of artists and artisans live in the surrounding area, and exhibit together in events like the "Fall Studio Tour". The Art Gallery of Bancroft hosts 11-12 exhibitions per year celebrating the work of local and regional artists and artisans. These exhibitions include the popular annual "Juried Show" and the annual student show displaying the work of four regional high schools. The gallery gift shop displays the paintings and fine crafts of area artists and the AGB boasts a permanent collection including some of Ontario's finest artists. ''A Place For the Arts'' is an artist's cooperative and art gallery located in the town centre. The town is home to the Village Playhouse, a theatre which has been hosting sold out plays, musicals and concerts since the early 1990s. Formerly the Bancroft Community Hall, the historical building was once the local jail, court house and library. The annual Bancroft Rockbound Gemboree occurs in July and August.


Transportation

Bancroft lies at the intersection of two provincial highways, Highway 28 and Highway 62, with several other inroads allowing access to the city. Bancroft is served by the Jack Brown Airport, a
Transport Canada Transport Canada () is the Ministry (government department), department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, Policy, policies and Public services, services of road, rail, marine and air Transport in Canada, tra ...
Registered Aerodrome (CNW3), with a crushed gravel runway, located immediately adjoining the town. A small airport, it was named after the man who was reeve at the time and instrumental in its construction. Currently operated by the Bancroft Flying Club, the Jack Brown Airport is freely available to the general public and frequently referred to as The Bancroft Airport. Due to high terrain near both ends of the runway, pilots typically use a non-standard circuit, following the York River valley through the town for departing from runway 12 or landing on runway 30. The Central Ontario Railway arrived in November 1900, connecting Bancroft with Trenton. The railway went through the Musclow-Greenview road and extended behind Birds Creek through a back trail (which is now used for cyclists and four wheeling) and continued through the town eventually going further away from the town at the 'Y' road division. The line was closed in 1975 and subsequently removed. The Bancroft, Irondale and Ottawa Railway connected Bancroft with Kinmount, Ontario. The line was purchased by the Canadian Northern Ontario Railway which became part of the
Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...
in 1918. The line was abandoned in 1960. The old train station in Bancroft served as the Chamber of Commerce and Mineral Museum until it was condemned in 2008. The Chamber, Mineral Museum, and Art Gallery relocated to other sites in the town. In 2011, the old station was moved onto a new foundation; it is now restored with an addition at the southern end of the building to house the Bancroft Gem and Mineral Club's museum and a
caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting; as well as in keeping a lookout for load ...
, which is not currently in use.


Media


Print

* The Bancroft Times, an independently-owned weekly (5,000 copies, paid circulation) founded 1894. * Bancroft This Week *North Hastings Advertiser


Radio


Television


Climate



Notable people

* Clay Ives, Olympic bronze medalist in
luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...
* Ed Robertson, singer and songwriter for
Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies (BNL) is a Canadian Rock music, rock band which was formed in 1988 in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their Barenaked Ladies (EP), self-titled 1991 cassette becoming th ...
, owns a cottage in the Bancroft area * Cathy Sherk, golfer. Winner of the 1977 Canadian Women's Amateur and 1978 U.S. Women's Amateur * Arthur H. Shore, uranium mine owner * Bryan Watson, former
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
defenseman * Father Henry Maloney, priest *
Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...
, Jazz Pianist, owned a cottage on Baptiste Lake near Bancroft


See also

*
List of communities in Ontario {{short description, None There are various lists of communities in Ontario, grouped by status, type or location: *List of census subdivisions in Ontario - counties, districts and regional municipalities *List of cities in Ontario - places which a ...
*
List of townships in Ontario This is a list of township (Canada), townships in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Townships are listed by List of census divisions of Ontario, census division. Northern Ontario Northeastern Ontario Algoma D ...
* Uranium mining in the Bancroft area


References


External links

* {{Authority control Towns in Ontario Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Municipalities in Hastings County