1. History
    Early history  Building of the Rideau Canal  Entry of the railways 

2. Local government

3. Demographics
    Language data (2016 Census) 

4. Economy

5. Sports and recreation

6. Education
    Catholic schools  Public schools 

7. Notable people

8. Hospitals

9. Local media
    Newspapers  Radio stations 

10. Nearest cities

11. References

12. External links

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Smiths Falls is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada, with a population of 8,978 according to the 2011 census. It is in the Census division for Lanark County, but is separated from the county. The Rideau Canal waterway passes through the town, with four separate locks in three locations and a combined lift of over {{convert|15|m|-1}}.

The town's name was sometimes alternatively spelled "Smith's Falls" or "Smith Falls", but "Smiths Falls" is now considered correct.

History

Early history

The town is named after Thomas Smyth, a United Empire Loyalist who in 1786 was granted {{convert|400|acre|km2}} in what is present-day Smiths Falls. The Heritage House Museum (c. 1862), also known as the Ward House, was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1977.^[3]

Building of the Rideau Canal

At the time of construction of the Rideau Canal a small settlement had been established around a mill operated by Abel Russell Ward, who had bought Smyth's land. Colonel By ordered the removal of Ward's mill to make way for the canal. He settled with Ward for £1,500, one of the largest claims made by mill owners on the canal.

The disruption of industry caused by the building of the canal was only temporary, and Smiths Falls grew rapidly following construction. An article in Smith's Gazetteer in 1846 described the town as a "flourishing little village pleasantly situated on the Rideau River and on the Canal, {{convert|14|mi|km|spell=in}} from Perth. It contains about 700 inhabitants. There are fifty dwellings, two grist mills (one with four run of stones), two sawmills, one carding and fulling mill, seven stores, six groceries, one axe factory, six blacksmiths, two wheelwrights, one cabinet maker, one chair-maker, three carpenters, one gunsmith, eleven shoemakers, seven tailors, one tinsmith and two taverns."

A {{convert|36|ft|m|adj=on}} drop in less than a quarter of a mile posed an obstacle to navigation at Smiths Falls. A natural depression to the south of the river was used to create a flight of three locks, known as Combined Lockstation today. The natural course of the river was dammed to create a basin upstream of the locks. At the upper end of the basin a fourth (detached) lock was constructed.

A mile below the Combined Lockstation is a flight of two locks called the Old Slys Lockstation. This station is named for the original settler at this location, William Sly. A dam and waste weir control water levels upstream of the locks.

Defensible lockmasters' houses were built at all three stations in Smiths Falls. The house at Old Slys was built in 1838 and the houses at Combined and Detached around 1842. Only the house at Combined has a second storey, which was added late in the 19th century. The defensible lockmaster's house at Detached Lockstation was torn down in 1894.

Entry of the railways

In the 1850s the major railway companies were looking to build main trunk lines linking Toronto, Kingston and Montreal. The two major companies at the time, the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Grand Trunk Railway, were competing for the easiest routes to lay track. At one point a fledgling third national railway, the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR), was also trying to squeeze itself into the busy Montréal-Ottawa-Toronto corridor.

For a number of geographical reasons, and also due to the proximity of the Rideau Canal, the town of Smiths Falls became a major focal point for both the CPR and the CNoR. Each used a mix of existing regional rail lines and new construction to build their networks. CP purchased the 1859-era Brockville and Ottawa Railway, a line from Brockville-Smiths Falls-Sand Point/Arnprior with a branch Smiths Falls-Perth (the latter joining CP's Ontario and Quebec Railway line to Toronto). CNoR built a 1914-era main line from Ottawa-Smiths Falls-Sydenham (to join an existing Bay of Quinte Railway line extending westward via Napanee-Deseronto^[4]). By 1887, the CPR had extended its Toronto-Smiths Falls mainline to reach Montréal; in 1924, 1600 CPR workers were employed in Smiths Falls.^[5]

This gave the town direct rail lines in half a dozen directions (Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Brockville, Napanee and Arnprior) on two different rail companies.

During World War II, Axis prisoners of war (POWs) were transported to Canadian POW camps via the railway. It was near Smiths Falls that German soldier Oberleutnant Franz von Werra jumped from a POW train and escaped to the United States, eventually reaching his homeland.^[6] Von Werra was, reputedly, the only escaped Axis POW to successfully return home during the war and his story was told in the book and film entitled The One That Got Away.^[7] The North American première of the film occurred on Thursday, 6 March 1958 at the Soper Theatre in Smiths Falls.^[8]

Both the Canadian Pacific and the Canadian Northern (later part of Canadian National) had established stations in the town, however, with the creation of Via Rail, the CN station was abandoned and all passenger traffic routed though the CPR station until a new Smiths Falls railway station opened in 2010. The CN station has been renovated and is now home to the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario. The railway station, along with the nearby railway bascule bridge, comprise the town's two National Historic Sites of Canada.^[9][10] The Cataraqui Trail now follows the former CN railbed southwest from Smiths Falls, starting from a parking lot at the end of Ferrara Drive.

Local government

The town's council includes a mayor and six councillors elected on the basis of one per ward. The members of council elected as of the 2018 municipal election are:^[11]

Mayor: Shawn Pankow

Councillors:

• Peter Mckenna
• Christopher McGuire
• Niki Dwyer
• Lorraine Allen
• Wendy Alford
• Jay Brennan

Demographics

Language data (2016 Census)

Economy

The town is on the Rideau Canal system for recreational boating, and is served by the Smiths Falls-Montague Airport for general aviation. It is also a major railway junction point, and its station receives regular passenger service to Ottawa and Toronto from Via Rail.

Several manufacturers were based in Smiths Falls, perhaps the best-known being the Canadian operation of The Hershey Company (opened in 1963) which closed in December 2008.^[12] Hershey announced they would instead open a factory in Mexico where they could obtain cheaper labour. In late 2006, the plant was temporarily closed due to a case of possible salmonella contamination.^[13][14] Other former large manufacturers include RCA Victor (closed circa 1980), Frost and Wood / Cockshutt and Stanley Tools (2008). The closure of the Rideau Regional hospital site in March 2009 resulted in a further loss of jobs from the community. However, the 350 acre site was purchased by a local developer and re-named the Gallipeau Centre. It is a mixed use property with residential and recreational uses including condominiums, a recreational facility, swimming pool and theatre. In 2014, the former Hershey facility was purchased by medical marijuana company Tweed Marijuana Inc,^[15] now known as publicly traded company Canopy Growth Corporation (TSE:WEED). The town has been cited as the "Pot Capital of Canada".^[16] Over 750 jobs have been created by Canopy Growth which has revitalized the town's economy after the departure of the Hershey factory and the closure of Rideau Regional Centre.^[17]. Investment by Constellation Brands of $5B in Canopy Growth Corporation has helped further secure the positive economic potential for Smiths Falls. ^[18]. There has been significant growth in construction in the community.^[19]

The Ontario Provincial Police Eastern Region Communications Center is located out side Smiths Falls. Its communications operators answer emergency 9-1-1 and administrative phone lines, dispatching Smiths Falls Police Service note: The town is not policed by the OPP.

Sports and recreation

In 1906, a hockey team from Smiths Falls launched an unsuccessful challenge to win the Stanley Cup.^[20] Smiths Falls was home to a professional baseball team, the Smiths Falls Beavers, for one season in 1937. The team was a part of the Canadian–American League.

The town is currently home to the Junior A hockey team Smiths Falls Bears, who play in the Central Canada Hockey League. Smiths Falls is also home to the Settlers organization which is a member of the Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League (CPJHL), which operates throughout Ontario and Western Quebec.

There are many opportunities for minor and adult league sports including baseball, volleyball, basketball, soccer, ball hockey and hockey.

The Rideau Trail passes through Smiths Falls.

Education

Public education in the town is managed by the Upper Canada District School Board, while Catholic education is under the care of the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario. Each operates several elementary schools and one secondary school as listed below. Students who reside in the Smiths Falls area and wish to attend Catholic high school are bussed to Perth to St. John’s Catholic High School.

Catholic schools

• St. Francis de Sales Catholic Elementary School
• St. Luke's Catholic High School (alternative school)

Public schools

• Duncan J. Schoular Public School
• Chimo Elementary School
• Smiths Falls District Collegiate Institute

Notable people

• Oliver R. Avison, doctor, pharmacist and missionary; creator of Severance Hospital (first hospital in Korea) and Severance Union Medical College; considered the founder of modern medical knowledge in Korea^[21]
• Dr. Margaret O'Hara, Indian Missionary {{citation needed|date=January 2019}}
• Francis Theodore Frost, businessman and politician
• Terry Carkner, former NHL player
• Brooke Henderson, professional ladies golfer and former world number one ranked female amateur at age 16; won the 2016 LPGA Championship at age 18;^[22] first Canadian in 45 years to win the Canadian CP Women's Open title^[23]
• Todd Lynn, fashion designer^[24][25]
• Gary McAdam, former NHL player
• Don McKenney, former NHL player

Hospitals

General hospital facilities and services are provided by the Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital, with a site on Cornelia Street. Also located in Smiths Falls was the Rideau Regional Centre, which provided a residential program for mentally challenged and disabled persons from 1951 until its closure in March 2009.^[26]

Local media

Newspapers

• The Record-News – weekly newspaper

Digital local news:

• Record News – insideottawavalley.com
• Hometown News – hometownnews.ca

Radio stations

• FM 92.3 – CJET-FM, adult hits
• FM 101.1 – CKBY-FM, country music

Nearest cities

• Ottawa – about {{convert|75|km|mi}} north-east
• Brockville – about {{convert|50|km|mi}} south-east
• Kingston – about {{convert|95|km|mi}} south-west

Neighbouring municipalities

References

External links

• Smiths Falls town site
• Hometown News
• Smiths Falls Police Service note: The town is not policed by the OPP.
• Smiths Falls Bethel Pentecostal Church
• Smiths Falls Free Methodist Church
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101114173547/http://www.falls.igs.net/~stfranrect/ St Francis de Sales Catholic Church]
• Smiths Falls Public Library
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716093722/http://www.smithsfallsmarket.com/ Smiths Falls Marketplace]
• Smiths Falls Chamber of Commerce
• {{cite book|title=Who's who in Smith Falls - A pictorial edition of the progressive institutions of the district|date=1924|publisher=Record-News Press|location=Smiths Falls|pages=106|url=https://archive.org/details/whoswhocompletec00stil|accessdate=29 April 2016}}

• Murray, Kenneth
• Murray, Kevin
• Murray K. Hill
• Murray Khouri
• Murray Kushner
• Murray Lake
• Murray Lake (disambiguation)
• Murraylander
• Murrayland mallee
• Murraylands mallee
• Murray, Lawrence
• Murray Lee Stewart
• Murray Leibbrandt
• Murray Lincoln
• Murray-Lyon, David
• Murray Macgregor
• Murray magpie
• Murray, Mark
• Murray (Martian crater)
• Murray Martin
• Murray Mathieson
• Murray, Matthew
• Murray Matthewson
• Murray McCallum
• Murray McLachlan (swimmer)