55-609: The Cornwall Canal was built by the British government of Canada to bypass a troublesome rapids hindering navigation on the St. Lawrence at Cornwall, Ontario . Construction began in 1834 and was completed in 1843. The canal extended past the Long Sault rapids from Cornwall, Ontario , to Dickinson's Landing . From the head of the Soulanges Canal to the foot of the canal, there is a stretch of
110-534: A 500,000 sq ft (46,000 m ). distribution facility in Cornwall's Business Park. Over 130 new jobs resulted. Service Canada established a new contact centre which opened in 2010. Over 170 new jobs were created. Cornwall's unemployment rate was about 4% at the time. Cornwall Square, also known as "The Square," is a two-level 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m ) shopping mall in Cornwall on Water Street East, opposite to Lamoureux Park. In 2016, Cornwall had
165-409: A Quebec-based company, operated a paper mill in the city for nearly 100 years, ceasing operations on March 31, 2006. At its peak, Domtar employed nearly 1,500 employees. In addition, Canadian Industries Limited (C.I.L.) has operated a plant in Cornwall since 1935. The facility has been converted into a major derivatives plant. The site has a long history of mercury contamination, given that for decades
220-406: A blending of different backgrounds that became typical of Eastern Ontario . Smaller but impressive contributions in the region were made by a host of other migrants, from Jewish traders, craftsmen, and merchants to Eastern European refugees and even a significant body of former slaves. Many of the stories go unreported in standard histories, which pass over the remarkable history of migration in
275-459: A building in the downtown core to house its arts and culture centre. The Focus Arts Association organizes multiple exhibitions and coordinates events where artists can connect with and support other artists. Your Arts Council, created to provide artists and the community with the tools and resources they need, offers programs aimed at promoting the work of local artists. United Empire Loyalists Too Many Requests If you report this error to
330-446: A new distribution centre in Cornwall's Business Park on a 169-acre (68 ha) parcel of land. The Target Canada distribution centre was operated by Eleven Points Logistics. When Target left Canada, its distribution centre was assumed by Walmart. StarTek ( closed ), and Teleperformance (closed January 2013) both operated call centres in Cornwall. Teleperformance provided in excess of 300 jobs. In late 2008, Shopper's Drug Mart built
385-453: A north-south line crossing the St. Lawrence , with a station in Cornwall dating to 1898. The Canadian Pacific Railway created a succession of subsidiaries and plans for a Cornwall line starting in the 1880s, which culminated in the Glengarry and Stormont Railway in 1915 to connect to CP's Ontario and Quebec Railway mainline to the northeast for an alternative route to Montreal . In 1879,
440-502: A population of 47,845 living in 21,386 of its 22,214 total private dwellings, a change of 2.7% from its 2016 population of 46,589 . With a land area of 61.5 km (23.7 sq mi), it had a population density of 778.0/km (2,014.9/sq mi) in 2021. As of 2021, 9.9% of Cornwall residents were visible minorities, 5.6% were Indigenous, and the remaining 84.5% were white/European. The largest visible minority groups were South Asian (5.1%) and Black (1.7%). In 2021, 66.3% of
495-405: A process that would go on continuously over many generations. The lack of strict hierarchy was a characteristic of the region. For example, from the 1780s to the 1830s, a "bee" was a social event that pooled local labour resources for people to come together for collective projects or to help out individual families, and it was often a festive occasion. The early "bees" presaged the development of
550-477: A regional centre for a large, rapidly expanding, and increasingly populated rural hinterland. The network of villages and towns surrounding Cornwall helped make the city a local entrepot for business, commerce, media and services. In 1944, the city was rocked by the magnitude 5.8 Cornwall–Massena earthquake . There were no deaths or injuries reported, but several chimneys were destroyed or damaged, along with heavy damage to historical masonry structures. For example,
605-409: A varied and integrated culture that ultimately drew on many different classes, backgrounds, and ethnic and linguistic groups, all of which were forced by the harsh reality of life in the region to work together for common goals, the primary of which was survival. The "bees" and different forms of collective shared labour were extremely common all over Eastern Ontario , especially in the early villages of
SECTION 10
#1732859542700660-677: A visitor from Scotland enthusiastically declared that the Lochaber dialect of Scottish Gaelic language was better preserved, "with the most perfect accent, and with scarcely any, if any, admixture of English", in Glengarry County and in Cornwall than in Lochaber itself. The railway connections, however, provided connections between Cornwall and local communities that required access to public services in Cornwall itself, such as high schools and medical services, and helped cement Cornwall's position as
715-612: Is represented federally by Member of Parliament (MP) Eric Duncan ( Conservative ). John Sandfield Macdonald , the first Premier of Ontario , was from Cornwall and is buried in St. Andrews West at the Catholic Church cemetery. A heritage plaque facing York Street at 211 Water Street West commemorates the 1897 launch of Cornwall's first permanent hospital in the former John Sandfield Macdonald house at that location. The City of Cornwall hosts festivals and special community events, including Canada Day festivities. In 2018, it purchased
770-539: Is the urban centre for the surrounding communities of Long Sault and Ingleside to the west; the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne to the south; St. Andrews West and Avonmore to the north; and Glen Walter, Martintown, Apple Hill, Williamstown, and Lancaster to the east. The city straddles the St. Lawrence River and is home to the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation , which oversees navigation and shipping activities for
825-574: The American Revolution , many of those who were afraid for their lives or uncomfortable in the newly independent United States became United Empire Loyalists as they were later called, and migrated to Canada . The British government helped them settle throughout the Canadas as a reward for their loyalty and to compensate them for their losses in the United States. One of the chief settlement regions
880-645: The Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School received heavy damage from masonry work falling through the roof of the gymnasium. West of Cornwall, along the St. Lawrence River , there were several smaller communities known as the Lost Villages . They were submerged in 1958 during the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway , providing a reservoir for the Moses-Saunders Power Dam , which regulates water levels flowing from Lake Ontario and maintains
935-666: The Province of Canada in 1791 into two: Upper Canada for English settlers fleeing persecution in the United States and Lower Canada for the French. That was designed to accommodate Loyalists who had fled postwar reprisals and persecution in the new United States, but the 5,000 English-speaking settlers in the Eastern Township of Quebec were allowed to stay in the French-speaking area, and many French settlers moved into Ontario . Along with
990-507: The St. Lawrence Seaway . It lies within the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor along Ontario Highway 401 , is a major port of entry from the United States into Canada, and is positioned to support some of Cornwall's largest industries, which include logistics, distribution, and call centres. Though accounts suggest Europeans filtered into the area and had scattered settlements for some time, the first documented European settlement
1045-503: The St. Lawrence Valley . "In her book 'Roughing It in the Bush,' Susanna Moodie observed that 'people in the woods have a craze for giving and going to bees and run to them with as much eagerness as a peasant runs to a race.' Bees often involved all ranks and nationalities of society. Thomas Need, a sawmill operator in Victoria County , described in 'From Great Wilderness to Seaway Towns'
1100-556: The chloralkali process was carried out here. This entailed using used mercury cells to convert brine into caustic soda and chlorine. Cornwall's industrial base has shifted to a more diversified mix of manufacturing, automotive, high-tech, food processing, distribution centres and call centres. The city hosts the largest supply chain management distribution centre in Canada, Walmart , its massive 1,500,000-square-foot (140,000 m ) facility employing nearly 1,000 people. Target Canada built
1155-502: The 11th-lowest household median income in Canada and the second-lowest in Ontario, at $ 51,712. The Cornwall City Council is governed by an elected eleven-member municipal government composed of a mayor and ten councillors who serve four-year terms and represent the city as a whole. The mayor of Cornwall is Justin Towndale , having been elected in 2022, defeating interim mayor Glen Grant who
SECTION 20
#17328595427001210-457: The Cornwall area fuelled public health concerns about respiratory disease and cancer. In 1995 Health Canada reported the rate of hospitalization for asthma was approximately double that of Ontario industrial cities such as Hamilton , Sudbury and Windsor . Further research showed that infants under two years of age had four times the expected hospital admission rate for asthma. Lung and male rectal cancer rates were also elevated in comparison with
1265-489: The St. Lawrence River. Cornwall was once home to a thriving cotton processing industry. Courtaulds Canada, Inc.'s viscose rayon manufacturing mill operated until 1992; at one point, it employed nearly 3,000 people. A Cellophane factory was opened in 1971 by British Cellophane , a subsidiary of Courtaulds , as an ancillary to the rayon plant, and traded successively under the names TCF of Canada Limited, BCL Canada Inc. and Courtaulds Films; it too closed in 1992. Domtar ,
1320-575: The US side of the river. Most was subsequently filled in, helping to create Lamoureux Park. A section still remains as a long body of water stretching to the foot of the Moses Saunders hydro dam revetment. 45°00′36″N 74°45′40″W / 45.00989°N 74.76104°W / 45.00989; -74.76104 Cornwall, Ontario Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario , Canada, situated where
1375-466: The area's original inhabitants, that made the area a patchwork of intersecting ethnicities that later greatly intermingled. Cornwall and the surrounding area, originally called "Royal Settlement #2" and then "New Jamestown," was initially a rough place and was largely left to its own devices. According to contemporary reports, that bred a local culture of intense self-reliance. Adding to the initial history of pragmatic entrepreneurialism, since very early with
1430-475: The city's southern edge.) With the completion of the new low-level bridge connecting Cornwall to Cornwall Island, the C.B.S.A. port was moved to a permanent temporary facility on the canal lands. The city is connected to the United States at Roosevelttown near the municipalities of Massena, New York and Malone, New York via the Three Nations Crossing (Canada, Mohawk, and United States) which traverses
1485-489: The city, the legacy of which is a riverfront contaminated by mercury , zinc , lead , and copper , soil contaminated by coal tar and byproducts, and most evidently, "Big Ben", an 18-hectare (44-acre), 80-metre-tall (260 ft) dumpsite within the city filled with wood bark, paper mill sludge, demolition waste and asbestos . In September 2008, over public opposition and in spite of Ontario Ministry of Environment (M.O.E.) reports indicating off-site leachate impact from
1540-516: The colony to be freed, making Upper Canada the first place in the British Empire and even the world that unequivocally moved towards the formal abolition of chattel slavery. Most of the former slaves settled and integrated into the same communities in which they were freed. By 1833, this process of liberation had succeeded throughout the British Empire by the decision to free all of its slaves. It
1595-646: The cost of $ 18.5 million. The secondary treatment level plant was completed in November 2014. In 2006, the City updated its Strategic Plan, including the objective to develop an environmentally sustainable community. In 2007, a former city councillor, Naresh Bhargava, began working with the St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Sciences on a project called the Community Carbon Reduction Initiative. City Council provided $ 5,000 in start-up funding for
1650-472: The country. The Cornwall region was unusually integrated for rural counties in Ontario. For hundreds of years, the local population has been characterized by a mix of economic migrants, refugees, and opportunists. The mixing of different social classes and ethnic backgrounds was common even early in its history because of the interdependence demanded by isolation and the lack of support from or interference by official authorities. The original Native population
1705-417: The development of an aristocracy and, instead, united all members of the community in a struggle for survival. Early Loyalists, regardless of the amount of land they owned, depended upon the help of their neighbours to clear land, build homes, and share supplies and food during times of poor harvests." Cornwall does not enjoy a positive environmental reputation as a result of decades of industrial pollution in
Cornwall Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
1760-419: The dump and the likelihood of runoff to the St. Lawrence River, the M.O.E. permitted additional dumping at the "Big Ben" site of creosote and bitumen -contaminated soils from Domtar's former No-co-rode Ltd. site. Although the area is touted as recreational, it is off-limits until winter when the waste is covered and the odours are subdued. It is then used as a ski hill. For years, the industrial emissions in
1815-447: The fall of 1784, Loyalists were given a tent, one month's worth of food rations, clothes, and agricultural provisions by regiment commanders. They were promised one cow for every two families, an axe, and other necessary tools in the near future. For the next three years, bateaux (boat) crews delivered rations to the township, after which residents were left to fend for themselves." The region's energetic spirit of enterprise and fortitude
1870-639: The founding of the city, provincial and federal governments have typically neglected the area and treated it as little more than a transit corridor. Those who remained in the region tended to be those who had the fortitude and the energy to survive on their own, with little outside assistance. "The original 516 settlers arrived in Royal Township #2 with minimal supplies and faced years of hard work and possible starvation. Upon their departure from military camps in Montreal , Pointe Claire , Saint Anne, and Lachine in
1925-616: The levels required to operate the two adjacent Canada-US hydroelectric power generating stations. The post-contact regional population was a mixture of French Canadian , Ojibwe and Mohawk residents. Then came an influx of American Loyalists and refugees from the Thirteen Colonies , along with other French Canadian and Acadian migrants. Then poor Scottish and Irish immigrants and refugees who arrived from overseas and other parts of Canada. The different groups mixed and integrated over time, with family names and histories reflecting
1980-420: The population were Christian , down from 83.0% in 2011. 50.1% of residents were Catholic , 9.8% were Protestant , 3.4% belonged to other Christian denominations or Christian-related traditions and 3.1% were Christian n.o.s. 26.8% of the population were non-religious or secular, up from 12.1% in 2011. The largest non-Christian religion was Islam , accounting for 3.7% of residents, up from 2.4% in 2011. Hinduism
2035-538: The project. Earlier progress in energy conservation was made when in 1995, the first municipally owned hot water district heating and cogeneration system in Canada went into operation, providing about 4% of the city's daily electrical needs while at the same time heating a number of buildings, including a hospital site, schools, and a municipal library. Cornwall converted all of its traffic signals in 2002 to energy-efficient LEDs that have reduced power usage by more than 600 kW—enough to light close to 70 homes. The data
2090-521: The provinces of Ontario and Quebec and the U.S. state of New York converge. It is the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry and is Ontario's easternmost city. Cornwall is named after the English Duchy of Cornwall ; the city's coat of arms is based on that of the duchy with its colours reversed and the addition of a "royal tressure ," a Scottish symbol of royalty. It
2145-443: The raising of his facility in 1834 in the following way: 'They assembled in great force, and all worked together in great harmony and goodwill notwithstanding their different stations in life.' These gatherings exhibited the lack of aristocracy in the rural loyalist settlement along the St. Lawrence River and residents' disregard for individuals' former social standing or lineage. The harshness and isolation of frontier living prevented
2200-558: The region. One good example is the story of John Baker, who died in Cornwall in 1871 at the age of 93. Born in Lower Canada , he was said to be the last Canadian born into slavery and had been an active soldier in the War of 1812 who fought in both Canada and Europe. Slavery was ended in the colony of Upper Canada in stages; in 1793, the importing of slaves was banned, and in 1819, Upper Canada Attorney-General John Robinson declared all slaves in
2255-564: The rest of the province. The shutdown of the Courtaulds rayon fiber operation (1992) and the Domtar paper mill (2006) has been a significant factor in the city's improved air quality. Cornwall consistently ranks in the top 10 of 40 monitored communities across Ontario. More recently, a Pembina Institute study of 29 communities across Ontario examined a number of environmental, social, and economic factors. Cornwall ranked 13th overall, and its air quality
Cornwall Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue
2310-438: The river through Lake St. Francis of 32 3 ⁄ 4 miles (53 km). The length of the canal was eleven miles (18 km). It had six locks that were 270 by 45 feet. The total rise or lockage was 48 feet. The depth of water on the sill was 14 feet. It was 100 feet wide at the bottom and 164 at water surface. It closed in 1968, after becoming obsolete and functionally replaced by the St. Lawrence Seaway and its Wiley-Dondero Canal on
2365-493: The site of Cornwall, which was then called New Johnstown. Many of the new arrivals were of German origin, and the town is named for Johnstown, New York , the origin of many of them. The main group was led by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir John Johnson and had soldiers from the First Battalion King's Royal Regiment of New York and a contingent of the 84th Royal Highland Emigrants. Following the success of rebellious colonists in
2420-627: Was appointed by council shortly after mayor Bernadette Clement was appointed to the Senate of Canada in June 2021. At the 2010 municipal election, 56.5% of eligible voters did not vote as out of 30,655 registered voters, only 13,338 cast ballots (43.5%). Cornwall is located within the Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry riding, which is represented by MPP Nolan Quinn ( Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario ). Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry
2475-421: Was contained in a report prepared by the city's public works department. Similar to most of Southern Ontario , Cornwall has a humid continental climate ( Köppen : Dfa ) with cold, snowy winters and warm, humid summers. Precipitation is significant year-round, although the winter months are generally drier than the summer months. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Cornwall had
2530-463: Was established in 1784 by United Empire Loyalists , primarily from the former British colony of New York. In 1787 this settlement became the first in present-day Ontario to be visited by a member of the royal family , Prince William Henry (later William IV ). After the war for US independence , former colonial soldiers loyal to the Crown and other disbanded soldiers and their families began to settle at
2585-553: Was later renamed to Cornwall for the Duke of Cornwall by the proclamation of Prince George , and in 1834, the town became one of the first incorporated municipalities in the British colony of Upper Canada . Much later, during one of a series of annexations, those former portage points were added to the expanded community. During the War of 1812 , the Battle of Hoople's Creek and the Battle of Crysler's Farm were fought nearby, and Cornwall
2640-457: Was little industry except for a foundry and two tanneries, but there were many independent tradesmen of various types. Other amenities included two bank agencies, eight taverns, and a ladies' school. Canal and lock construction in the late 1800s and the early 1900s brought work and international business. The Grand Trunk Railway ( CN Rail ) built an east-west line through Cornwall in 1856. The New York and Ottawa Railway (NY&O) followed with
2695-544: Was occupied by the United States Army from November 11-13, 1813. The construction of the Cornwall Canal between 1834 and 1842 accelerated the community's development into a regional and industrial economic "capital" for a growing hinterland of towns and villages. In 1846, the population was about 1,600, and there were many brick and stone houses, a stone courthouse and jail, and several government offices. There
2750-553: Was ranked #1 in the province. Cornwall was at one point one of only two cities left in the Province of Ontario with only primary sewage treatment facilities. But construction was started in May 2012 on the secondary treatment level plant with the Governments of Canada and Ontario each covering one-third of an estimated $ 55.5 million construction cost. The City picked up the remaining one-third of
2805-456: Was remarkably welcoming, and the Iroquois were especially well known for integrating newcomers into local societies and for adapting to change as it happened. Many people in the region have some Native ancestry as a result, and many communities sit on sites that have been occupied, farmed, or managed for hundreds of years. Some people were pushed out, but others simply blended into new communities in
SECTION 50
#17328595427002860-488: Was the St Lawrence River Valley, from Kingston to Cornwall, which would later be known as "Loyalist Country." They founded a permanent settlement north of one of a series of portage points (the point was not a settlement, nor was it even a trading post), sometimes referred to as Pointe Maligne by European explorers. The square mile town was temporarily named "Royal Town #2" then "Johnson" or "New Johnstown." It
2915-535: Was the first major state in world history to abolish slavery, and Ontario was the place where the process first bore fruit. John Baker, the last slave to be born into slavery in Canada, died in Cornwall. "Canada" had been conquered from France after the Seven Years' War and included roughly the areas covered by Quebec and Ontario . In the aftermath of the American Revolution, the British authorities divided
2970-582: Was the second largest, at 1.8% of residents, up from 1.5% in 2011. All other religions and spiritual traditions accounted for 1.4% of the population. North American Indigenous , n.o.s. Cornwall has traditionally been a gateway from the Montreal area to the rest of Canada and was and remains a major port of entry into Canada (Canada Border Services abandoned the Cornwall Island post on May 31, 2009, but resumed service on July 13, 2009, at temporary facilities on
3025-623: Was well-known in the 19th century. David Thompson , the Welsh-Canadian explorer who mapped the Far West and was called the greatest land geographer in history, drew many of his travelling companions from Cornwall's rural hinterland, with Scottish and native settlers, and he lived in Williamstown. More recently, Cornwall has seen an increase in the arrival of new immigrants, who tend to integrate and often fare better than immigrants in other parts of
#699300