Parry Sound District is a

census division Census divisions, in Canada and the United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-level census geographic uni ...

of 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 ...

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 ...

. Its boundaries are District of Muskoka to the south, the Sudbury District to the north-northwest, the French River and

Lake Nipissing Lake Nipissing (; , ) is a lake in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It has a surface area of , a mean elevation of above sea level, and is located between the Ottawa River and Georgian Bay. Lake Nipissing i ...

in the north,

Nipissing District Nipissing District is a district in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1858. The district seat is North Bay. In 2021, the population was 84,716. The land area is ; the population density was , making it o ...

and North Bay in the north and east and parts of

Algonquin Park Algonquin Provincial Park is an Ontario provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River, mostly within the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District. Established in 1893, it is the oldest provincial park in Canada. Addit ...

in the northeast. It is geographically in

Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a Region, primary region of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada, with approximately 13.5 million people, approximately 36% o ...

, but the Ontario and federal governments administer it as part of

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

. Like other census divisions in Northern Ontario, it does not have an incorporated county,

regional municipality A regional municipality (or region) is a type of Canadian municipal government similar to and at the same municipal government level as a county, although the specific structure and servicing responsibilities may vary from place to place. R ...

, or

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level of government but instead serves as a purely territorial division, like the other districts of Northern Ontario. Instead of an upper tier of municipal administration, all government services in the district are provided by the local municipalities or by the provincial government itself. Some communities that are not part of any incorporated municipality are served by local services boards. The district is also included in the service areas of FedNor and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund. Accordingly, in most administrative contexts, the division is grouped with the Northern Ontario region instead of Southern Ontario, which is mainly geographic. Along with the neighbouring Muskoka and Haliburton regions, the Parry Sound District is considered part of Ontario's

cottage country Cottage country is a common name in Ontario, New Brunswick, and other regions of Canada for areas that are popular locations for recreational properties such as cottages and summer homes. In the Greater Toronto Area, cottage country traffic r ...

, which is geographically in the primary region of Southern Ontario and the secondary region of

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 ...

. The district is commonly divided into two subregions, West Parry Sound and East Parry Sound, the latter of which is often referred to as the

Almaguin Highlands The Almaguin Highlands Region (colloquially known as Almaguin, also referred to as 'the Highlands') in Ontario, Canada, covers approximately comprising the eastern half of Parry Sound District. It is bounded by District Municipality of Muskoka, M ...

Subdivisions

Communities within these subdivisions are added in parentheses. Towns: * Kearney * Parry Sound * Powassan Townships: * The Archipelago *

Armour Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

Callander Callander (; ) is a small town in the council area of Stirling (district), Stirling in Scotland, situated on the River Teith. The town is located in the historic county of Perthshire and is a popular tourist stop to and from the Highlands. De ...

* Carling * Joly * Machar * Magnetawan * McDougall * McKellar * McMurrich/Monteith * Nipissing *

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

* Ryerson * Seguin *

Strong Strong may refer to: Education * The Strong, an educational institution in Rochester, New York, United States * Strong Hall (Lawrence, Kansas), an administrative hall of the University of Kansas * Strong School, New Haven, Connecticut, United ...

* Whitestone Villages: * Burk's Falls * South River * Sundridge Unorganized areas: *

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

( Restoule) * North East

First Nations

Reserves: * Dokis * French River * Henvey Inlet * Magnetawan * Naiscoutaing * Shawanaga * Wasauksing

Original geographic townships

History

The district falls under the Robinson-Huron Treaty in 1850. The Anishinaabeg/Anishinaabek - Ojibway, Odawa, and Potawatomi communities reside in the District of Parry Sound, which also encompasses the lands of the Wasauksing, Shawanaga, Magnetawan, Dokis, and Henvey Inlet First Nations. During the early part of the 20th century, the area was a popular subject for the many scenic artworks of Tom Thomson and members of the

Group of Seven The Group of Seven (G7) is an Intergovernmentalism, intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non- ...

Forest fire protection history

The Parry Sound Forest Fire District was founded by Ontario's former Department of Lands and Forests (now the MNR) in 1922 as one of 17 districts to help protect Ontario's forests from fire by early detection from

fire tower A fire lookout tower, fire tower, or lookout tower is a tower that provides housing and protection for a person known as a " fire lookout", whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness. It is a small building, usually on the summit ...

s. The headquarters for the district were housed in the town of Parry Sound. It was the central location for 21

lookouts, including the Parry Sound fire tower, which was erected in the same location as the modern lookout tower at 17 George Street. The other 20 towers in the district were: Pickerel River CPR, Byng Inlet, Still River, Pointe au Baril, Pakesley, Pickerel River CNR, Key Junction, Ardbeg, Spence, Go Home, Loring, Stormy Lake (Restoule), Nipissing, Boulter, Lount, Laurier, Strong, Proudfoot, Stisted and Draper. When a fire was spotted in the forest a tower man would get the degree bearings from his respective tower and radio back the information to headquarters. When one or more tower men from other towers in the area would also call in their bearings, the forest rangers at headquarters could get a 'triangulation' read and plot the exact location of the fire on their map. This way a team of forest firefighters could be dispatched as soon as possible to get the fire under control. In 1969 there remained only 4 actively staffed towers: Ardbeg, Go Home, Stormy Lake, and Boulter. These would all be phased out shortly after when aerial firefighting techniques were employed in the 1970s.

Demographics

As a

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 ...

, the Parry Sound District 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.

References

External links

Parry Sound Tourism

The Parry Sound Area Chamber of Commerce

Parry Sound and Area information

Map of Parry Sound District showing its municipalities

Rooted in Stone: Reflections on West Parry Sound's Past

Almaguin Highlands Ontario
East Parry Sound's Almaguin Highlands Regional Portal
Almaguin Highlands Digital Collection
A service of Knowledge Ontario {{Authority control